Genetics

Dr. Roger Beachy says we can't satisfy a hungry and growing planet without using 'every safe tool in the arsenal.'

8 | June 30, 2010 2:00am | By Melanie D.G. Kaplan

Researchers want to know how the 1,000 different species of bacteria in your gut. Many diseases are linked to messed up intestinal microbe distributions. But it's not entirely the bacteria's...

June 29, 2010 8:26am | By Boonsri Dickinson

Renewable products company Amyris announced on Friday that it entered into an agreement with energy giant Shell for the supply of its diesel fuel.

June 28, 2010 6:35am | By Andrew Nusca

Silicon Valley startup LS9 hopes to sell diesel made from bacteria and sugar cane commercially next year.

13 | June 25, 2010 12:01am | By Deborah Gage

Google co-founder wants to upend drug development. Knowing he is at risk of developing Parkinson's, he invested in an initiative to find some genetic clues.

June 24, 2010 6:43am | By Boonsri Dickinson

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has a 50 percent chance of developing Parkinson's disease, the degenerative central nervous system disorder that impairs motor skills and speech.

June 23, 2010 2:33pm | By Andrew Nusca

The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted the ban on genetically modified alfalfa seeds, a big win for agricultural giant Monsanto.

10 | June 22, 2010 2:40pm | By Boonsri Dickinson

Scientists find the gene in a fern responsible for the plant's incredible arsenic tolerance. Could this spawn improved methods to clearing the toxin from soils?

1 | June 16, 2010 4:00am | By Melissa Mahony

The FDA thinks the consumer-to-direct DNA tests are medical devices that need to be regulated. What do you think?

4 | June 15, 2010 10:08am | By Boonsri Dickinson

Scientists from Pennsylvania State University have identified new genes in corn that could increase crop yields and biofuel potential.

2 | June 12, 2010 6:50am | By Andrew Nusca

Harvard geneticist George Church has ambitious plans to sequence 100,000 genomes through his Personal Genome Project.

3 | June 10, 2010 8:35am | By Boonsri Dickinson

Some customers who asked for DNA tests got the wrong results.

1 | June 8, 2010 11:34pm | By Deborah Gage

Startup company, GnuBio, can sequence DNA in tiny droplets. The inexpensive DNA sequencing method would drop the price of decoding a genome to $30 and would take just 10 hours to complete.

3 | June 7, 2010 9:48am | By Boonsri Dickinson

30% of science students drop out of their science program after their first year in college. It's the worst possible time to have a dearth of scientists--and Scitable is one solution.

1 | June 7, 2010 6:00am | By Dan Nosowitz

A trip to the World Science Festival delves into questions of what the human mind is, and what music means to it.

June 4, 2010 4:00am | By Melissa Mahony

The University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers can now sequence the structural variation in the genome. This might be a game changer in our understanding of human disease.

June 2, 2010 9:36am | By Boonsri Dickinson

So Craig Venter has created the first synthetic cell, but should he be able to patent it? The short answer is yes. But his patent applications are too broad.

17 | May 28, 2010 4:32am | By Boonsri Dickinson

A Congressional investigation has brought into sharp relief some of the political implications of genetic testing.

3 | May 26, 2010 9:56am | By Dana Blankenhorn

Australian researchers have created a seven atom transistor that could set the pace of computing. Enter this quantum leap.

6 | May 25, 2010 8:35am | By Boonsri Dickinson

After visiting old rottweilers around the country, Dr. David Waters has created the world's first archive of biological specimens from exceptionally long-lived dogs. What can these canines teach...

2 | May 24, 2010 2:00am | By Melanie D.G. Kaplan