April 20, 2012
23andMe celebrates genetic diversity but today we’d like to celebrate our genetic similarities -- to other organisms. You are no rabbit or chicken (or, if you are, you are a truly impressive rabbit or chicken to be reading this blog). Rather, your DNA contains all the instructions for making you human. [...]
May 10, 2010
The author during her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. As a Peace Corps volunteer teaching in Kenya 25 years ago, I was fascinated by the cultural, linguistic, and physical differences among the people of eastern Africa. One of our Kenyan trainers took us to a "boma" where his tall, [...]
July 20, 2009
It may be you've heard a rumor that males are on the brink of extinction. Whatever you may think of that prospect, the rumor is false. But over the past decade, numerous studies have hinted that the Y chromosome, a male necessity, is going the way of the dodo. Though other studies have suggested this [...]
June 23, 2009
Genomewide association studies have had some success in finding DNA variants associated with increased risk for bipolar disorder. But researchers from the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University in England have taken these studies a step further by looking for common [...]
May 28, 2009
Type 1 diabetes is on the rise in European children, says a new report. Researchers studied type 1 diabetes data collected between 1989 and 2003 at 20 centers in 17 European countries. Their results, published online yesterday in the Lancet, show that more children, especially younger children, are being [...]
August 18, 2008
Throughout the history of our species there has been one constant: movement. Since the origin of Homo sapiens nearly 200,000 years ago in East Africa, humans have journeyed around the globe, ultimately inhabiting every continent save Antarctica.Scientists have traditionally used archaeology, and more [...]
