What makes every person unique? Part of the answer is in our genes. A gene is a basic unit of heredity, the means by which traits get passed from one generation to the next, and genetics is the study ...

Dr. Conley is the author of “The Social Genome: The New Science of Nature and Nurture.” Since Francis Galton coined the phrase “nature versus nurture” 150 years ago, the debate about what makes us who ...

When my middle school class read Tuck Everlasting, the novel about a girl who befriends a family who drank from a magical stream and gained eternal life, I was conflicted. The moral of the story was ...

Arun Durvasula has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Science. Sitting in my doctor’s examination room, I was surprised when she told me, “Genetics ...

The human microbiome is essential for good health. It affects digestion, immune system activity, and how the body regulates metabolism. The gut microbiota is a complex community of microorganisms, ...

Environmental factors such as lifestyle and the medications you take influence the effects your genes have on your body — and can clarify how diseases develop. When you purchase through links on our ...

Researchers have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants. The method allows persons with high risk of disease to be distinguished more ...

A new study, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, uses two large gene databases to identify health traits associated with coffee consumption. Although the research does not answer the enduring “Is ...