Most lethal mutations in wild fruit flies are driven by newly transferred jumping genes, not small DNA errors, according to a new study from Duke University. The findings, published in PLOS Biology, ...

Chromosomes are thread-like structures comprising DNA that are present inside the nucleus of every cell in the body. Specific segments of DNA are called genes. Every chromosome contains many genes, ...

Researchers at Cardiff University have uncovered how a particularly severe form of DNA damage arises—shedding new light on mutation processes that contribute to cancer and inherited genetic conditions ...

Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, ...

When closely related species mate, their offspring sometimes survive but cannot reproduce. This pattern often affects males ...

New research reveals that ancient interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals shaped our modern human DNA - especially on the X chromosome.

Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago. Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between ...

Cutting-edge gene editing technology could eradicate Down syndrome, according to Japanese scientists. Down syndrome, which causes a range of developmental differences and affects 1 in 700 newborns in ...

In 2002, evolutionary biologist Jenny Graves shared a controversial calculation. The human Y chromosome, she wrote two years later in a commentary, "is running out of time." The male-determining sex ...