genes
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How Much Do Our Genes Restrict Free Will?
Many of us believe we are masters of own destiny, but new research is revealing the extent to which our behaviour is influenced by our genes. It’s now possible to decipher our individual genetic code, the sequence of 3.2 billion DNA “letters” unique to each of us, that forms a blueprint for our brains and…
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Scientists Have Mapped Out How Our Genes Might Lead To Mental Illness
It’s often said mental illness runs in the family. But while that’s true, scientists have had very little luck actually understanding how our genes influence our risk of developing major depression or schizophrenia. New research published yesterday in Science seems to provide something big needed for that greater insight: A roadmap of how genes are…
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Powerful New Gene Editing Tool May Finally Be Used On Humans
Next week, a federal advisory committee is set to review a proposal to use CRISPR — the cheap, powerful and buzzy gene-editing tool — on human patients for the first time.
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Predict What Your Future Children Look Like In ‘Virtual Embryos’
Remember those slightly horrifying sites that mash up two faces to tell you what your hypothetical babies might look like? With genome sequencing and “virtual embryos”, we might actually be able to do that — using science. Those days are not quite here yet, but New Scientist has an intriguing report about a company called…