What makes every person unique? Part of the answer is in our genes. A gene is a basic unit of heredity, the means by which traits get passed from one generation to the next, and genetics is the study ...

When my middle school class read Tuck Everlasting, the novel about a girl who befriends a family who drank from a magical stream and gained eternal life, I was conflicted. The moral of the story was ...

The headline figure of lifespan being around “50% heritable” risks being misunderstood as meaning genes determine half of a ...

“The eyes are the window to the soul,” notes a timeless quote. And while your eyes also bring the world your way, the origins of eye color are fascinating and even mysterious. To help lay out the ...

Dr. Conley is the author of “The Social Genome: The New Science of Nature and Nurture.” Since Francis Galton coined the phrase “nature versus nurture” 150 years ago, the debate about what makes us who ...

The human microbiome is essential for good health. It affects digestion, immune system activity, and how the body regulates metabolism. The gut microbiota is a complex community of microorganisms, ...

Researchers have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants. The method allows persons with high risk of disease to be distinguished more ...

Arun Durvasula has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Science. Sitting in my doctor’s examination room, I was surprised when she told me, “Genetics ...

Scientists have created the most detailed maps yet of how genes control one another inside the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Using a powerful new AI-based system called SIGNET, the team ...

Emma Johnson, PhD, assistant professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, was thrilled to win Illumina’s Polygenic Risk Scores Research Grant Contest. The grant ...

Using a large genetic database, a new study investigated links between coffee and health. The researchers found the genetics of coffee consumption were associated with outcomes of obesity and ...