Latest Articles
Theory Suggests That All Genes Affect Every Complex Trait
The more closely geneticists look at complex traits and diseases, the harder it gets to find active genes that don’t play some part in them.
How Many Genes Do Cells Need? Maybe Almost All of Them
An ambitious study in yeast shows that the health of cells depends on the highly intertwined effects of many genes, few of which can be deleted together without consequence.
Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues.
The long, variable times that some diseases incubate after infection defies simple explanation. An idealized model of tumor growth offers a statistical solution.
How Bacteria Help Regulate Blood Pressure
Kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to lower blood pressure after meals. Our understanding of how the symbiotic microbes affect health is becoming much more molecular.
The Overlooked Link Between Two of This Year’s Nobel Prizes
To better understand the molecules described by the latest prize in medicine, we will need the technique recognized by the latest prize in chemistry.
Missing Mutations Suggest a Reason for Sex
Sex might help natural selection purge excessive mistakes from our genes.
How Heat Kills Cells
The proteins that unravel as the temperature starts to rise turn out to be among the most vital.
How Circadian Clocks Differ From Sleep
The circadian clock is in nearly every cell, and researchers have untangled many of its secrets. But sleep has been harder to pin down.
Researchers Tap a Sleep Switch in the Brain
Powerful new experiments have uncovered some of the molecular underpinnings of sleep.