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33 stories from Planck Standard. Latest: September 27, 2026.
New Zealand researchers tracked gene activity in both the insects and the Mermis worms inside them, finding a coordinated 'molecular dialogue' as the infection pushes earwigs toward a fatal plunge.
Hybrids made up 38% of a stickleback population in a tsunami-made pond in Otsuchi in 2012. By 2020 the foreign species' DNA had almost vanished, giving scientists a rare real-time look at how species boundaries hold.
Cornell and Beijing researchers found that BC200, a gene active in human neurons, is still a working 'jumping gene' that has leapt into the molluscum contagiosum poxvirus at least twice.
The JCI Insight study maps 'loss of Y' from healthy tissue through precancerous cells to full malignancy for the first time and finds it strongest around colon, rectal, esophageal, pancreatic and lung cancers. Its senior author says it may be 'one of the earliest signposts of cancer forming.'
UC San Diego used cryo-electron microscopy to watch E. coli RNA polymerase transcribe hachimoji DNA, treating the four synthetic letters the same way it treats the natural ones.
Researchers compared 142 people with exceptional memory against 89 typical peers and found no genetic advantage — not in APOE, not in polygenic risk scores, not even in rare protective variants.
Buck Institute researchers report that neurons carrying the rare APOE2 variant accumulate less DNA damage and resist cellular aging — and that adding APOE2 protein protected high-risk APOE4 neurons too.
The largest genetic study ever of hyperemesis gravidarum points to appetite, nausea and metabolism pathways — and confirms a single hormone gene as the strongest culprit.
Genetic analysis of 144 people from one of prehistoric East Asia's largest settlements reveals a society organized around patrilineal clans — and mass burials of sacrificed men.
The 'lemon frost' leopard gecko develops aggressive, spreading tumors in 80% of individuals — and University of Nottingham scientists found its cancers share key genetic faults with our own.
Genetic analysis of 132 skeletons in a megalithic tomb near Paris shows the community that built it collapsed — and centuries later, unrelated newcomers from the south were burying their dead in the same graves.
Kyoto University researchers report in Nature that migrating neurons suffer double-strand DNA breaks as they squeeze through developing tissue, a hidden hazard of brain construction.
University of Pittsburgh researchers identified a long-hidden genetic partner, TPP1, that teams up with a known mutation to give the deadly skin cancer its runaway lifespan.
A study finds that a sliver of the genome making up less than a tenth of a percent of our DNA predicts language ability better than the other 99.9% combined.
Genomes from across Oceania reveal that interbreeding with at least three Denisovan groups left gene variants that still shape how people fight infection today.
A University of Michigan study finds beneficial mutations are surprisingly common, then explains why they almost never take over — a one-two punch that reframes the famous Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution.
A 13-year DNA study of more than 600 belugas in Alaska's Bristol Bay found both sexes reproduce with many different partners, a flexible mating system that preserves genetic diversity in a small, isolated population.
In a tiny worm, two proteins form a feedback loop that fires bursts of genes in precise, never-repeating order — the first non-repeating biological clock ever found.
Researchers use advanced CRISPR technique to precisely edit embryo genes for the first time, raising both hope and ethical concerns.
An international team links 'hyperconnectivity' and 'hypoconnectivity' signatures in brain imaging to distinct genetic and immune pathways, using mouse models as a biological Rosetta Stone.
Researchers tracking three generations of mice found hundreds of cases where chemical DNA marks were passed down in ways classical genetics says should be impossible — including the first naturally occurring mammalian paramutation.
New genetic evidence reveals complex interactions between hunter-gatherers and farmers, with women likely playing crucial roles in spreading agriculture across northwestern Europe thousands of years ago.
Wrens on St Kilda and Shetland have grown to nearly twice the size of their mainland cousins. University of Birmingham researchers say their distinct genes and songs suggest they are quietly evolving apart.
Scientists discovered the mysterious Asian snake represents five distinct evolutionary lineages, including three completely unknown to science until now.
A routine experiment with single-cell DNA sequencing revealed a microscopic pond organism that rewrites how genes signal their end, challenging fundamental assumptions about genetic translation.
Massive genealogical effort traces family across 21 generations while excavations at ancient tomb could provide Renaissance master's genetic profile.
Genetic research challenges single-population theory, showing early humans evolved from multiple intermingling groups across Africa over hundreds of thousands of years.
Breakthrough study using donated brain tissue reveals cellular changes in neurons and immune cells, providing clearest biological evidence of depression's physical basis.
Researchers at McGill University have pinpointed two distinct cell types that function differently in people with depression, offering new targets for treatment.
Scientists behind Casgevy — the world's first CRISPR-based medicine — and Luxturna, the first gene replacement therapy to restore sight in children, were honored at the April 18 ceremony.
Researchers reveal how cells detect and suppress inefficient genetic instructions through a protein called DHX29.
UC Berkeley researchers discover that an ancient archaeon reads the universal stop codon ambiguously, sometimes inserting an amino acid instead of halting protein synthesis — with implications for treating 10% of all inherited diseases.
University of Geneva researchers found cancer spread follows a predictable molecular program, and their MangroveGS tool can read it from standard tumor RNA sequencing.