Both Genetics and Lifestyle Matter in the Obesity Epidemic
People with a specific mutation in one gene are substantially more likely to be obese than those without it. But they are also at higher risk of suffering from environmental factors.
Genes Are Us
To Read Our DNA, We Need to Crack Another Genetic Code
The only problem is that it may not be much of a code at all.
Why DNA Is One of Humanity's Greatest Inventions
How we've co-opted our genetic material to change our world.
The Giant Mutations in the Human Genome
Our genomes are a mess—and we're only beginning to understand the societal costs behind such genetic uncertainty.
Ancient DNA Is Rewriting Human History
We thought we knew how we'd been shaped by evolution. We were wrong.
Why Vaccines Still Matter
They remain our best investment for improving the world's health.
Why Our Molecular Make-Up Can't Explain Who We Are
Our genes only tell a portion of the story.
Why 'Nature Versus Nurture' Often Doesn't Matter
Sometimes it just doesn't make any sense to try to separate the social and the biological.
How the Sexes Evolved
The distinction between males and females is one of the oldest facts of biology—but how did it come to affect our social identity?
How Tiny Genetic Changes Have Massive Behavioral Effects
When comparing the social and the biological, it helps to look at how the breakdown of one can influence the other.
How and Why Does the Social Become Biological?
To get closer to an answer, it's helpful to look at two things we've taught ourselves over time: reading and math.
The Complications With Curing Childhood Cancer
The majority of American children with cancer will be cured, but it may leave them unable to have children of their own. Should preserving fertility in cancer survivors be a research priority?
Is Social Media Keeping Science Trustworthy?
Online discussions and post-publication analyses are catching mistakes that sneak past editorial review.
Genes Affect Our Behavior, but So Does the Environment
Despite the recent discovery of the "blonde gene," environmental differences and genetic effects remain inextricably linked.
Elizabeth Taylor and the Future of Antibiotics
While it's not clear whether or not they worked for the Cleopatra star over a half-century ago, phage treatments could help solve the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
We Now Can Edit Our Genes, but Should We?
Some gene-shifting possibilities once only thought to be in the realm of science fiction could soon be a reality.
Should Researchers Warn Subjects About Genetic Danger?
It seems like an easy question, but the indirect correlation between genetic mutations and disease risk muddles up the ethics.
Why Statistically Significant Studies Can Be Insignificant
Modern statistics have made it easier than ever for us to fool ourselves.
Autism Shows Why Disease Is So Hard to Solve
What's not a cause of autism? Vaccines. What is? Genetics—but only in a partial, tangled, complicated way that we're still trying to figure out.
The Gene Is Obsolete
Genes don't consistently do what we once thought they would, so it's time to reconsider what we mean when we say the word.
Great Time for the Life Sciences, Terrible Time for Life Scientists
Despite numerous recent breakthroughs and discoveries, the extreme competition and lab-research feedback loop don't bode well for the future of the field.