Featured series 
Tag: population genetics
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Health
Tracking genetic traits over time
Fossils may provide tantalizing clues to human history, but they also lack some vital information, such as revealing which pieces of human DNA have been favored by evolution because they…
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Health
Maternal, paternal genes’ tug-of-war may last well into childhood
An analysis of rare genetic disorders in which children lack some genes from one parent suggests that maternal and paternal genes engage in a subtle tug-of-war well into childhood, and…
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Health
Common gene variants increase risk of hypertension
A new study has identified the first common gene variants associated with an increased incidence of hypertension — a significant risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. The…
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Health
International study identifies gene variants associated with early heart attack
The largest study ever completed of genetic factors associated with heart attacks has identified nine genetic regions — three not previously described — that appear to increase the risk for early-onset myocardial infarction. The report from the Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium, based on information from a total of 26,000 individuals in 10 countries, was given…
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Science & Tech
The genes in your congeniality:
Can’t help being the life of the party? Maybe you were just born that way. Researchers at Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, have found that our place…
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Health
Gene scan of Alzheimer’s families identifies four new suspect genes
The first family-based genome-wide association study in Alzheimer’s disease has identified the sites of four novel genes that may significantly influence risk for the most common late-onset form of the…
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Health
Volunteers unveil DNA, medical data in push for everyday gene sequencing
The world moved a step deeper into the DNA age yesterday as 10 volunteers released their genetic and medical information on the Internet as part of a multi-year effort to…
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Health
Middle Eastern families yield intriguing clues to autism
Research involving large Middle Eastern families, sophisticated genetic analysis and groundbreaking neuroscience has implicated a half-dozen new genes in autism. More importantly, it strongly supports the emerging idea that autism…
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Health
Joslin-led study IDs genes key to regulation of body weight
A new Joslin Diabetes Center-led study has further illuminated the role of genes in regulating body weight and fat distribution. Because obesity is a major risk factor for type 2…
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Campus & Community
HapMap reveals roots of common diseases
The genes that everyone inherits contain coded information that influences which diseases any individual is most at risk of getting. Countless studies show that small variations in genes play a…
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Campus & Community
HapMap: First look at ‘order in variety’ of human genome
The completion of the human genome sequence in 2003, though momentous, was only the first step toward grasping the core mechanisms of human biology and disease. This ultimate biomedical goal…
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Science & Tech
First edition of HapMap released
A flurry of high-profile scientific manuscripts published in October 2005 describe both the content and uses of HapMap, a catalog that maps human genetic variation and relates it both to…
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Science & Tech
Genome scanning technique spots disease risk
A new technique, admixture mapping, takes advantage of the higher-risk genetic segments from one population that show up in the other through generations of racial mixing. The presence of higher-risk…
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Science & Tech
Human genome sequence yields new tool for microbe-hunting
Microbiologists have traditionally identified pathogens (disease-causing organisms) by growing them in a laboratory dish from a sample of infected tissue. But not all pathogens can be cultured this way. Molecular…
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Health
Human genome tally: Is recount in order?
The surprising finding that humans have fewer genes than expected led to endless speculations and editorial comments. Would biotech stocks be threatened? Should humans be more humble? Were entirely new…