Health & Medicine / Genes & Health

The Sea Change That's Challenging Biology's Central Dogma

For decades, RNA was seen as a simple slave to DNA. Newer research shows it has an active and critical role in every disease from Alzheimer's to cancer. 11.03.2009

When Less Information Is More

NYU medical geneticist Harry Ostrer says commercial genomic testing can leave consumers confused—and scared. 10.05.2009

Reading Women's Biological Clocks

Computational geneticist Tara Matise looks for biomarkers that predict when women will become infertile. 09.29.2009

The Psychology of Genetic Testing

Even geneticist Tara Matise was curious about—but not spooked by—having her genetic palm read. 09.23.2009

The Second Coming of Gene Therapy

For years, gene therapy produced tons of hype but no results. Recently, though, new approaches have yielded its first successes: breakthrough treatments for blindness, cancer, and the deadly bubble boy disease. 09.02.2009

Why Does the Vaccine/Autism Controversy Live On?

Research has soundly disproved the alleged connection, yet fears about vaccines continue to be a major risk to public health. 05.06.2009

Promising Antibiotic Could Spawn the Next Superbug

Bacteria-killing viruses called bacteriophages can speed up pathogen evolution by a billion years. 03.28.2009

How to Tell If You're Poisoning Yourself With Fish

Researchers are creating genetic tests to determine if mercury hiding in that "healthy" dinner could be messing with your brain. 03.19.2009

Evolution by Intelligent Design

Bioengineers will likely control the future of humans as a species. 02.02.2009

When Modern Medicine Battles Genetics... and Loses

Despite the best care, a patient succumbs to a genetically predisposed disease. 01.14.2009

#9: Your Genome, Now Available for a (Relative) Discount

The first cost around $1 million; now, it's more like $200,000. 12.21.2008

#17: Cell Reprogramming Could Help Cure Diabetes—and Other Diseases

Stem-cell guru says reprogramming adult cells might actually work better. 12.19.2008

#24: Gene Therapy Returns (Some) Sight to (Some) Blind People

Genetic tinkering helps repair one rare form of congenital blindness. 12.17.2008

#29: A New Law Bans Genetic Discrimination

After over a decade, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act becomes law. 12.17.2008

#34: Anti-Malaria Gene Boosts HIV Vulnerability

An adaptation against tropical disease makes people of African descent more prone to AIDS. 12.16.2008

#57: Schizophrenia Linked to Large Genetic Alterations

Some sufferers of the disease have entirely unique DNA duplications or deletions. 12.11.2008

3 Diseases We May Be Able to Blame on Our Ancient Ancestors

Obesity, lactose intolerance, and high blood pressure may all be traceable to hunter-gatherer survival. 11.27.2008

Robert Lanza

08.31.2008

How Much Can You Learn From a Home DNA Test?

One reporter has her DNA analyzed and finds that genetic testing isn't an exact science. 08.20.2008

The History of Humans, Written in One Person's DNA

One reporter's genetic test hints at how people colonized the entire world. 08.20.2008

Will Gene Therapy Destroy Sports?

A new age of biotechnology promises bigger, faster, better bodies—and no existing tests will catch it. 08.05.2008

The Blood Pressure Mystery

A patient's low blood pressure tipped his doctors off to a potentially fatal condition. 04.16.2008

9. The Genome Turns Personal

With individual sequencing, medicine may soon be custom-tailored to your own DNA. 12.12.2007

Scientist of the Year Notable: Elizabeth Blackburn

Her genetic explorations could lead to revolutionary treatments for cancer. 12.06.2007

Small Genetic Differences, Huge Health Problems

Genomics takes the first step toward curing the toughest diseases. 10.03.2007

The Goldilocks Method for Curing Autism

Combining two bad mutant genes produces neurons that're just right. 08.23.2007

Health FAQs: Diet and Genetics

If protein, fat, and carbs are bad, what do you eat? 06.06.2007

The Real Story on Gay Genes

Homing in on the science of homosexuality—and sexuality itself 06.05.2007

Ironman 2.0

Biologists enhance endurance with genetically altered muscles. 05.30.2007

Inside the Lab-Mouse Factory

Inbred oddballs help decode everything from cancer to obesity. 05.22.2007

Eyes May Really Be the Window to the Soul

Squiggles of color could indicate a tender heart 05.17.2007

Is There a Genetic Basis to Race After All?

It may not be a question of which genes, but how they behave. 05.07.2007

How to Grow a New Limb

Starfish can grow new arms. Why can't we? 04.24.2007

Autism: It’s Not Just in the Head

New treatments for a disease that may affect the whole body 03.22.2007

Eye Color Explained

Everything you know is wrong. 03.13.2007

Killer Fat

Not all fats are equal. 02.28.2007

How Good Genes Go Bad

More ways to mess up your kids. 12.11.2006

Osteoporosis and Bears

Bears may hold the secret to keeping our bones healthy. 06.20.2006

Fat Belly Genes

Blame your genes when you can't fit your jeans. 06.13.2006

Fat Gene Found

Frustrated dieters finally have hard evidence. 04.24.2006

Vital Signs: Why Is Her Vision Hazy?

The warning signs become more ominous as a patient's symptoms come and go 02.20.2006

When Women Go Bald

A scientist's painful battle with balding drives her to find the genetic basis for hair loss 02.20.2006

Who Gets the Flu?

Genetics increases susceptibility. 01.31.2006

The Covert Plague

Insulin resistance could bring down our health system, but it's easily preventable. 12.01.2005

Secrets of Redheads

Secrets of Redheads 11.22.2005

Vital Signs

A young man's surprising collapse has a complex cause. 10.24.2005

Genomics

Researchers focus on differences between groups to find bad DNA 10.24.2005

Autism Gene Located

08.06.2005

Native America's Alleles

Arizona's Pima Indians have the world's highest rate of diabetes, and the rest of the world is catching up fast. Can geneticists figure out why? 05.01.2005

Finland's Fascinating Genes

The people in this land of lakes and forests are so alike that scientists can filter out the genes that contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and asthma 04.28.2005

39: Cell Mutations Spark Aging

Aging may begin in the mitochondria—the powerplants of the cells 01.02.2005

Ginger's Gene

A genetic alteration causes premature aging. 10.01.2004

Testing Your Future

Every state in the country requires that infants be tested for a list of obscure diseases. Before long, some states could move on to DNA testing of all newborns. Now is the time to decide a critical question: How much do we want to know and when do we want to know it? 07.01.2003

Why Science Must Adapt to Women

An elite survivor assesses the hidden costs of exclusion 11.01.2002

Bad Genes, Good Drugs

Wondering what happened to all that knowledge we got from mapping the human genome? It launched a new race to identify the genes that give us diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. The winner gets to make remarkable new medicines 04.01.2002

The Biology of . . . Panic

The clue to understanding anxiety may be written in your genes 04.01.2002

Vital Signs

Uncovering a rare but age-old disease of pain and madness 04.01.2002

Body, Cure Thyself

The huge promise of genetic medicine is to cure the diseases we were born to inherit. Researchers seem so very close to a breakthrough, yet not one single experiment has worked—yet 03.01.2002

Reading the Language of our Ancestors

Getting up to speed on medical genetics through the vision of Victor McKusick 02.01.2002

Warning Drips

01.01.2001

The Year of the Genome

The End of a Great Mystery—The Real Beginning of Biology 01.01.2001

Fat Genes

He's already proved you wrong. 05.01.2000

Vital Signs

Mr. Chang can't move his legs, and if something isn't done, his lungs will go next 12.01.1999

The Genes of 1998

Another year brings us many, many genes closer to understanding the human genetic endowment. Here are a notable few: 01.01.1999

Tempting Fates

If you could dictate the content of your kid's genes, wouldn't you? Shouldn't you? 05.01.1998

The Year in Science: Genetics 1997

The Genes of 1997 01.01.1998

The River of Life

11.01.1997

Portrait of a Gene Guy

When it comes to questions of human behavior, Dean Hamer, big-gene hunter, is sure he's got the answers. 10.01.1997

A Gene For Nothing

One to make you happy, one to make you sad, one to make you mad--is that really the way your genes work? 10.01.1997

Immune to a Plague

A few lucky individuals won't ever contract AIDS: they're genetically immune. And the more we learn about how their genes protect them, the closer we come to protecting all of us. 06.01.1997

The Genes of 1996

01.01.1997

An Ancient Immunity

01.01.1997

The Second Key

01.01.1997

Fast-forward Aging

11.01.1996

Beyond the Lab Rat

By examining humans at the molecular level, researchers hope to pin down cancer's true causes. 05.01.1996

Strange Genes

01.01.1996

The Girl Who Mewed

08.01.1995

Unfortunate Drift

06.01.1995

Hidden Benefits

03.01.1995

The Promise of a Cure

Cystic fibrosis may be just the opponent gene therapy has been looking for. It's inherited, it's deadly, and--most important--it's responding. 06.01.1994

Hunting Down Huntington's

From the shores of Maracaibo to the halls of Washington, Nancy Wexler has spent 25 years stalking her mother's killer. 12.01.1993

The Pain Game

11.01.1993

Bent Out of Shape

07.01.1993

By a Thousand Cuts

02.01.1993

Genetic Surprises

Some seriously weird things are springing out of the twisted tangle of our DNA. 12.01.1992

Playing God: The Making of Artificial Life

Playing God: The Making of Artificial Life 08.01.1992

Psychadelic Cells

Fluorescent dyes shed new light on a cell's inner secrets. 03.01.1992