For the first time ever, Chinese scientists report having successfully edited human embryos’ genomes. The breakthrough has, however, also revived heated debate about the ethical feasibility of such experiments, which are feared to lead to eugenics. The 16-person team of researchers was based at the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, and led by Junjiu Huang, a gene-function researcher. They... 

Assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University Charles Gersbach Researchers have gained control of gene activity through the synthetic creation of a key component of the epigenome that controls gene expression. The research was carried out by a group of scientists from the Duke University and published in the online journal Nature Biotechnology on Monday. “The epigenome is everything... 

Bags of corpses dug out of a mass grave found in northern Iraq on March 14, 2015. Iraqi security forces have discovered at least 14 mass graves since the strategic city of Tikrit was liberated from the ISIL Takfiri terrorists last week. According to an Iraqi security source, the mass graves contain the bodies of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers massacred by ISIL outside the northern city. The victims were... 

Playing music enhances gene activity related to memory, learning, motor behavior and dopaminergic neurotransmission, a new study says. A Finnish research group carried out the study on musicians from a professional orchestra and music university, the ScienceDaily website reported on Friday. “The findings provide a valuable background for molecular studies of music perception and evolution, and... 

The Woolly Mammoth at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia. Scientists at Harvard University are one step closer to bringing Woolly mammoths back to life, after successfully inserting some sequences of mammoth DNA into an elephant genome. The study is yet to be published, though, as there is still work to do. No recreation of the Ice Age would be complete without large, shaggy woolly mammoths... 

The genome of humans and other complex animals contains essential “foreign” segments of genetic code, new study says. The research, which cast doubt on the theory that evolution is exclusively a process of selection through ancestry, was published on Friday in the journal Genome Biology. Initially, it was thought that complex animals’ genes were solely inherited through parents, but the... 

With Julian Assange’s 1000 days in the Embassy coming up March 16, here’s a reminder of some facts. Swedish prosecutors have offered to question Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London over allegations of sexual misconduct and rape, Reuters reports. The WikiLeaks founder’s lawyer said he welcomes the request, but the process will take time. Prosecutors have also asked to carry... 

A recent study suggests that genes tied to autism development risk are associated with higher intelligence in people. The study was carried out by researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Queensland and published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. “Our findings show that genetic variation which increases risk for autism is associated with better cognitive ability in non-autistic individuals,”... 

The remains of a male associated with the Middle Neolithic Salzmünde culture in Germany. A recent study has suggested that a vast human migration by ancient Eastern European steppe herders may have spread Indo-European languages to other parts of Europe. The study was carried out by a team of researchers from the US, Australia, and other countries by assessing multiple libraries of DNA samples from... 

This cryo-electron tomography image reveals the internal structure of an ultra-small bacteria cell like never before. Scientists have taken the first ever extensive microscopy images of ultra-small bacteria, which are so far thought to be the smallest life forms in existence. The bacteria have an average volume of 0.009 cubic microns (a micron is one millionth of a meter), 150,000 of which could be... 

Dutch scientists have scanned a statue of Buddha, dating back to the 11th or 12th century, to reveal a mummy inside. They’ve also taken samples of the mummy’s insides and discovered scraps of paper with ancient Chinese characters on them. A human skeleton glows through the statue’s silhouette on the computed tomography scan, done in the Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Gastrointestinal... 

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is thought to have emerged some 40,000 years ago, started to be prevalent some 10,000 years ago and developed some dangerous resistant strains around 6,000 years ago. A recent study tracks the history of Tuberculosis around the world and over the centuries. The article “Tuberculosis genomes track human history” by Ewen Callaway in the recent publication of Nature... 

The Church of England has expressed opposition to an amendment on a bill up for debate next week that would allow so-called “three-parent babies.” Introducing laws to allow in vitro fertilization (IVF) babies to be born with DNA from three different people would be “irresponsible,” said medical ethics adviser to the Church of England, Rev Dr. Brendan McCarthy. An amendment to the Human Fertilization... 

Rats given GM soy found to have deadly amounts of toxicity in kidneys, liver, testes, sperm, blood and even DNA. In North America, approximately 75 to 89% of the soy beans grown are genetically modified (GM). One may not realize it, but this is concerning news – especially because recent research found that GM soy is toxic to the kidneys, liver, and more. There isn’t just one smoking gun anymore... 

2014’s accomplishments have uncovered new facts from Earth’s early days, as well as opened new horizons – in tiny cells and vast space exploration, affecting the planet’s and its inhabitants’ future. How did it all go? #Cometlanding and exploring origins of life Ten years on Earth might be a speck of sand in the hour glass of the galaxy, but not for the European Space...