Scientists are Learning to Rewrite the Code of Life

In a giant feat of genetic engineering, scientists have created bacteria that make proteins in a radically different way than all natural species do.

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What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato

An ancient hybrid of tomatoes and potato-like plants may have given rise to the modern spud, a new study suggests.

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Many Lung Cancers Are Now in Nonsmokers. Scientists Want to Know Why.

The face of lung cancer — once older men with a history of smoking — has changed.

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Obesity Prediction Could Be Guided by Genetic Risk Scores

Researchers hope that a better understanding of which genes contribute to excess weight could help with prevention starting in childhood.

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A 37,000-Year Chronicle of What Once Ailed Us

In a new genetic study, scientists have charted the rise of 214 human diseases across ancient Europe and Asia.

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How New DNA Science Could Help More Families of the Missing

Emerging methods are improving the ability to identify even highly degraded human remains.

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Shining a Light on the World of Microproteins

From viruses to humans, life makes microproteins that have evaded discovery until now.

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Early Humans Settled in Cities. Bedbugs Followed Them.

A new study suggests that bedbugs were the first urban pest, and their population thrived in that environment. For the bloodsucking insects, it’s been the perfect 13,000-year-long marriage.

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23andMe Customers Did Not Expect Their DNA Data Would Be Sold, Lawsuit Claims

The genetic-testing company, which collected DNA data from users, is for sale in bankruptcy court. Now, 27 states and the District of Columbia oppose selling the data without express consent.

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A DNA Technique is Finding Women Who Left Their Babies for Dead

Genetic genealogy is identifying the mothers of deceased newborns found abandoned, shedding light on crimes that went unsolved for years. Women now may face lengthy prison sentences for decades-old chapters of their pasts.

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