RNA: Secret Weapon Against Disease

Scientists make 'stunning' discovery in genome comparison

(NEWSER) - Three years ago, scientists thought humans had never had sex with Neanderthals. Last year, they changed their tune—and now it looks like DNA passed down from Neanderthals has had a “profound impact” on our immune systems. Scientists compared a section of the modern human genome to the same area in the genomes of Neanderthals and another ancient hominid, the Denisovans, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The promised age of unlocking the mystery of common diseases through DNA appears to have a hit a disappointing roadblock, the New York Times reports. As a result, companies that bill people to provide a personal genomic profile—and theoretically warn them of their risk to illness—are practicing nothing more than "recreational genomics," a geneticist tells the Times. “The information has little or in many cases no clinical relevance.” More»

Controversial international genome project

(NEWSER) - An international project to sequence the genomes of at least 1,000 people has begun at three research institutes in England, China and the US. The information gathered in the "1,000 Genomes Project " will be used to create a reference map of genetic variations. "This is going to have a profound impact on our ability to understand the risk factors underlying disease," said the director of one of the participating centers, the National Human Genome Research Institute in Maryland. More»

From the unfathomably small to the mind-blowingly huge, the most significant breakthroughs

(NEWSER) - The invention of the wheel was pretty good. Fire, even better. But what has science done for us lately? USA Today lists the top 25 scientific discoveries; here are the top 10:

1. Accelerating universe
2. Human genome
3. Climate accord

Breast cancer triggered by BRCA1 and BRCA2 no more lethal than other forms

(NEWSER) - Women who carry one of the two known breast-cancer-causing genes—BRCA1 and BRCA2—are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease before 50, but they're not more likely to die from it than other breast-cancer patients, a new study concludes. Tracking the 10-year survival rates of women in 22 hospitals in Israel, scientists found no significant difference between those with and without the gene. More»