The human brain's remarkably prolonged development is unique among mammals and is thought to contribute to our advanced learning abilities. Disruptions in this process may explain certain ...

Which genes are required for turning embryonic stem cells into brain cells, and what happens when this process goes wrong? In a new study published today in Nature Neuroscience, researchers led by ...

The findings shed new light on human reproduction and suggest pathways for developing treatments to lower the risk of ...

A study led by Dr. Li Chuanyun from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has revealed how recently evolved human-specific genes—critical for ...

A new Yale study provides a fuller picture of the genetic changes that shaped the evolution of the human brain, and how the process differed from the evolution of chimpanzees. For the study, published ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

An international team of scientists led from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet has for the first time mapped all the genes that are activated in the first few days of a fertilized human egg. The study, ...

DNA can also be demethylated, either through passive or active processes. Passive DNA demethylation occurs when the methylation pattern is not replenished during DNA replication and gradually ...

Ancient DNA is turning human evolution into a crime scene reconstruction, and one of the prime suspects is a herpesvirus that ...

Precision and timing of gene expression is essential for normal biological functions and, when disrupted, can lead to many ...