epigenetics

You and Your Doppelganger Might Have More in Common Than Just Looks

Unrelated people with eerily similar appearances seem to share many genetic variations, a study has found.

Biology Ed Cara Aug 23

A Defunct Pregnancy Drug May Still Affect the Grandchildren of Women Who Took It

The ties that bind us to our ancestors might be even more influential than we knew, suggests a new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. It found that the grandchildren of women who took a certain hormone-mimicking drug before the 1970s were at higher risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to children…

Health Ed Cara May 21

Why You Can’t Separate Nature from Nurture, Even When Looking at DNA

Your genes are what make you, you, but they’re not the entire picture. In recent years, scientists have been increasingly interested in how our genes interact with other factors like our environment: how nurture influences nature, and vice versa. Your mother might be a champion long-distance runner thanks in part to her genes. Her influence…

Biology Kristen V. Brown Jan 25

Can Trauma Experienced by Your Great-Great-Grandparents Be Passed on to You?

Our families pass on pieces of themselves to us in more than one way. Your eye color may be thanks to genetic inheritance, but not everything we inherit is encoded in the letters of our DNA. An affinity for Russian literature might be something your parents passed on via social influence, reading it to you…

Health Kristen V. Brown Aug 16

Someday Scientists Could Reprogram Carpenter Ants To Do Our Bidding

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to modify the behavior of carpenter ants using epigenetics—the science of how a gene gets turned into a physical body part or a character trait. They reported their findings last week in the journal Science. Are you ready to be a Beastmaster? Camponotus floridanus —…

Tech News Esther Inglis-Arkell Dec 31

Biologists Coax Worms Into Growing New Kinds of Heads

In what sounds like a plot line from a BioShock game, a team of biologists has coaxed an animal into growing a new head and brain resembling those of a different species. The bizarre accomplishment adds to a growing body of research highlighting the importance of non-DNA factors—collectively known as the ‘epigenome’—in determining the most…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 24

Report: DNA Markers Accurately Predict Male Homosexuality, At Least in This Small Study

Today, a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics tied male homosexuality to chemical markers on DNA that affect how genes are expressed. Geneticist and lead author Tuck Ngun examined the genomes of brothers in 37 sets of identical twins where one twin was gay, and 10 pairs where…

Tech News Diane Kelly Oct 8

Ditch the Binary Model: Sexual Orientation Is More Like Height, with Many Variations

Research on the biological origins of human sexual orientation remains controversial (and poorly funded), and more than two decades of slow work is starting to reveal a much more complex process than anyone first suspected. In an article for the Boston Globe Magazine last month, Neil Swidley examines the current state of the field, and…

Tech News Diane Kelly Sep 1

The Real-Life Science Behind Orphan Black

In addition to being incredibly entertaining and provocative, the popular Orphan Black series is absolutely teeming with science. From human clones and genetic engineering through to DNA barcodes and genetic patents, here’s what you need to know about the science behind the show. For the uninitiated, Orphan Black is a conspiracy thriller that stars Tatiana…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 31

This Video Is the Best Explanation Yet of How Genomes Really Work

There are 20,000 genes in the human genome, but only a small fraction of them are active in any given cell. This video from Nature explains with beautiful clarity the system that activity, turning genes on and off. It’s called the epigenome, and it’s incredibly important. Now you can understand how it works, too. Back…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Feb 19

Researcher Examines The Real Biology Of Captain America And The Hulk

While many comic book heroes may have gained their powers through scientific experiments or accidents, there’s more magic than science behind their powers. Or is there? A Stanford biologist looks at how epigenetic science can explain two Marvel characters’ abilities. Post-doc researcher Sebastian Alvarado considers how epigenetics might account for Captain America’s change in physique…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 15

It’s time to get skeptical about “the selfish gene”

The truth makes for a bad meme. That seems to be the lesson we can take from the continued popularity of Richard Dawkins’ idea that the “selfish gene” controls evolution. Image by Sergey Nivens via Shutterstock Current evidence suggests evolution is guided by environment as much as genes, but most people still think genes are…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 4

Scientists Discover Parts of Our Bodies Age at Different Rates

Some people age faster than others, but the discovery of a DNA body clock by UCLA researchers now shows that different parts of our bodies age faster than others. The discovery offers important insights into the aging process — and what we might be able to do about it. Image: Bruce Rolff/Shutterstock This isn’t the…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 21

Genetic evidence that humans’ “default state” is not solitude

Environment plays a key role in how our genes behave. Now evidence is mounting that our social world is part of that environment, and that interpersonal connection shapes the gene expression in animals from bees to humans. In humans, a lack of social connection can even compromise the immune system. Photo by Stargazing Adventures Over…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 3

How an 1836 Famine Altered the Genes of Children Born Decades Later

Why do some identical twins look so different from each other? Could your eating habits during puberty have an impact on the genetic makeup of your grandkids? These are just two of the startling questions raised by the science of epigenetics, as this “deleted” chapter from David Epstein’s book The Sports Gene explains. Top image:…

io9 David Epstein Aug 26

The wrong way to write about science

Over at Download the Universe, the science ebook review, I have a new article about one way that well-intentioned science journalism can go very, very wrong. The trouble starts when Scott Johnson, author of an essay called “Ghost in the Cell,” tries to write about two extremely complicated issues — violence and epigenetics — without…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 9

Is it really true that homosexuality can be explained by epigenetics?

Early last week we told you about a new paper published in the Quarterly Review of Biology which suggests that homosexuality arises on account of epigenetic processes rather than genetic ones (i.e. non-heritable factors that alter the expression of DNA). Not surprisingly, the web exploded in a firestorm of debate, with opinions and interpretations spanning…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 20

Scientists claim that homosexuality is not genetic — but it arises in the womb

A team of international researchers has completed a study that suggests we will probably never find a ‘gay gene.’ Sexual orientation is not about genetics, say the researchers, it’s about epigenetics. This is the process where DNA expression is influenced by any number of external factors in the environment. And in the case of homosexuality,…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 11

Stress makes you sick by changing your genes

Most of us are well aware that stress dramatically heightens our susceptibility to contracting illnesses — both physical and psychological. Scientists have known about this link for decades, but have often struggled to describe the actual mechanics involved. But new research from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is now indicating that genetics may be a contributing…

io9 George Dvorsky Aug 20

Tough Times Are Written in Your DNA; Good Thing You Can Erase Them

You’ve seen the reports that individuals with a lower economic and social status suffer from poor health more often than folks in higher tax brackets. Now, thanks to a multi-year study of rhesus macaques monkeys, researchers have found genetic changes caused by stressful environments are likely contributing to that poor health. On the bright side,…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Apr 9

epigenetics

You and Your Doppelganger Might Have More in Common Than Just Looks

A Defunct Pregnancy Drug May Still Affect the Grandchildren of Women Who Took It

Why You Can’t Separate Nature from Nurture, Even When Looking at DNA

Can Trauma Experienced by Your Great-Great-Grandparents Be Passed on to You?

Someday Scientists Could Reprogram Carpenter Ants To Do Our Bidding

Biologists Coax Worms Into Growing New Kinds of Heads

Report: DNA Markers Accurately Predict Male Homosexuality, At Least in This Small Study

Ditch the Binary Model: Sexual Orientation Is More Like Height, with Many Variations

The Real-Life Science Behind Orphan Black

This Video Is the Best Explanation Yet of How Genomes Really Work

Researcher Examines The Real Biology Of Captain America And The Hulk

It’s time to get skeptical about “the selfish gene”

Scientists Discover Parts of Our Bodies Age at Different Rates

Genetic evidence that humans’ “default state” is not solitude

How an 1836 Famine Altered the Genes of Children Born Decades Later

The wrong way to write about science

Is it really true that homosexuality can be explained by epigenetics?

Scientists claim that homosexuality is not genetic — but it arises in the womb

Stress makes you sick by changing your genes

Tough Times Are Written in Your DNA; Good Thing You Can Erase Them

The Nazis’ Most Notoriously Complex Cryptographic Machine Is Now Available Online

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