Professor Paige Harden talks about her new book, The Genetic Lottery, and how our genes shape our lives.
Why don’t elephants get cancer? The curious case of TP53
A family trip to the zoo led Josh Schiffman to uncover the reason why elephants hardly ever develop cancer
Reyna Gordon: Is there a ‘music gene’?
Reyna Gordon is combining neuroscience with genetics to understand more about musicality.
Jasmin Pfeifer: Studying congenital amusia - hereditary tone-deafness
Is being tone-deaf in your genes? Jasmin Pfeifer is studying the genetics of amusia, or tone-deafness
Rewriting the genetic alphabet
Hundreds of viruses contain an unusual DNA ‘letter’, known as Z, expanding the genetic alphabet
Mirror, mirror…
Researchers have created mirror-image DNA that could be used as a way of safely storing information
Genes Down Under
A new platypus genome helps to explain some of the unusual characteristics of this mysterious monotreme
Stealing genes
Researchers have discovered that whitefly have ‘stolen’ protective genes from the plants they feed on
Meet the Borg
Giant DNA elements enable microbes to assimilate genes from other species
Sam Behjati: The placenta is a genetic dumpster fire
Sam and his colleagues have discovered that the placenta is packed with genetic mutations, many of which are found in cancer.
Ros John: Why the placenta is the battleground between mum and dad
Ros’s research focuses on understanding maternal mental health, imprinted genes and the role of the placenta during pregnancy and even beyond.
The future of DNA sequencing
We discover how scientists are still creating new ways to read the book of life, from popping DNA through nanopores to sequencing DNA inside cells
The birth of DNA sequencing
We explore the earliest days of DNA sequencing in the 1970s
DNA sequencing: the next generation
From pyrosequencing to sequencing by synthesis, we look at the development of next generation DNA sequencing technologies
Dianne Newbury: Studying speech and language development on Robinson Crusoe Island
Dianne Newbury is studying the Robinson Crusoe Islanders to understand how genetic variations contribute to speech and language problems.
Where did DNA come from?
We explore the ideas behind the origins of RNA and DNA
The future of DNA - Meet XNA
We take a look at the future of DNA, exploring what’s next for the genetic code
Making new genes or stealing them?
We discover where genes come from, and how some species steal them
Benjamin Vernot: Digging for DNA in cave dirt
Benjamin Vernot is searching for traces of ancient humans by analysing DNA in cave dirt.
Kieren Mitchell: Direwolves and their DNA
Researchers are studying ancient DNA to understand the evolution and extinction of direwolves - yes, they’re real!