Genetics

Everybody gets older, but not everyone ages in the same way. In this episode, Steven Strogatz speaks with Judith Campisi and Dena Dubal, two biomedical researchers who study the aging process.

When scientists discover genes linked to dangerous illnesses in their samples, how should they convey that news to the study participants? The geneticist Cristen Willer had to tackle that challenge.

Catherine Dulac is overturning preconceptions about “male” and “female” instincts and opening new avenues to treating postpartum depression.

The simple insight that most changes are random had a profound effect on genetics, evolution and ecology.

The unintentional creation of “sturddlefish” hybrids may illuminate the genomic mechanisms that govern whether species can interbreed.

Readers simulated the genetics of dog breeding to solve a puzzle about mixed breed percentages and sexual reproduction.

Solve a puzzle about mixed dog breeds, sexual reproduction and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In their search for sources of genetic novelty, researchers find that some “orphan genes” with no obvious ancestors evolve out of junk DNA, contrary to old assumptions.

We give our genes and our environment all the credit for making us who we are. But random noise during development might be just as important.