chromosomes

(Newser) - Children appear to be highly susceptible to the stress of trauma on a biological level, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . US and Canadian researchers led by Eli Puterman of the University of British Columbia have been studying the length of telomeres,...

(Newser) - The sex of baby mice—and quite likely baby humans—is determined by a virus that inserted itself into the mammalian genome 1.5 million years ago, Live Science reports. Yale researchers published their surprising findings on March 30 in Nature . According to a press release , more than 40% of...

(Newser) - Here's your fun fact for the day: Contrary to popular belief, the X chromosome isn't shaped like an X at all—something that scientists have actually long been aware of. What they haven't known, however, is what that shape is ... until now. Per a paper published in...

(Newser) - Scientists have developed a new, more accurate method of tracking specific cancers using genetic “fingerprints”— the unique way every cancer rearranges chromosomes. Those rearrangements can be pinpointed with new genetic sequencing methods, allowing doctors to follow the cancer’s trail in the blood. The breakthrough is a key...