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In addition to relieving headaches and preventing heart attacks, the drug seems to keep malignant cells from spreading

THE WORLD’S LARGEST genetics research center isn’t at Harvard or Stanford or even the NIH. It’s a 20-mile drive from Hong Kong International Airport, in the bustling Chinese city of Shenzhen. BGI-–formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute—has sequenced the DNA of organisms big and small: millet, rice, the giant panda, 40 types of silkworm, the SARS virus, even a 4,000-year-old man named Inuk. And soon it will add a new name to its genomic guest book: Dubs, the Alaskan Malamute, and mascot for...

Favorable mutations that went along with increased fruit size and other beneficial traits in tomato plants do not always play well together. A study published in Cell found that natural mutations in two important tomato genes that were selected for different purposes in breeding can cause extreme branching and reduce fruit yield when they occur in the same plant. The researchers used those genes to create a tomato plant that grows more tomatoes.

Microbes can control their animal hosts by manipulating the molecular machinery of their cells, triggering patterns of gene expression that consequently contribute to health and disease, new research shows. The work, which was conducted in zebrafish and mice cells, could have implications for human inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

A type of eye drop has been developed that could potentially revolutionize the treatment of one of the leading causes of blindness, age-related macular degeneration.

The loss of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN has been linked to tumor growth and chemotherapy resistance in the almost invariably lethal brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Now, Ludwig researchers have shown that one way to override the growth-promoting effects of PTEN deletion is, surprisingly, to inhibit a separate tumor suppressor gene.

Researchers report low doses of THC can help restore memory and reverse some of the effects of brain aging in mice. The findings could open new avenues for treating dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.

A new study finds wine-derived human gut metabolites may have neuroprotective capabilities.Low to moderate intake of red wine can delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Researchers have now found out how wine compounds are protective against neuronal death: they should pass through your stomach first.

As animals increasingly acquire interacting mutations that result in loss of gene function, the relative decline in their fitness may only be exacerbated, a new study in humans and fruit flies suggests.

Novel proteins, created from scratch with no particular design in mind, can sometimes do the work of a natural protein. The discovery may widen the toolkit of synthetic biologists trying to build bespoke organisms.