A bright, sunny summer day, no sunscreen, and there it is: you got a sunburn. On their way to self-destruction, your skin cells’ DNA has been damaged by the solar ultraviolet (UV) light. Absorbing UV, some DNA bases undergo a chemical reaction, called photocyclization, linking... click to read more

Genome editing is the ability to modify an organism's genetic information, stored in the DNA. In order to alter the genome, scientists were inspired by a system found in nature called CRISPR/Cas9. It is a primitive immune system found in bacteria that allows them to... click to read more

The genetic material of any two humans is 99.9% identical, but the small differences that do exist between our genomes provide a record of the complex evolutionary history we have undergone as a species. Over the past decade, scientists have sequenced a large number of... click to read more

In the field of "bottom-up" synthetic biology, we aim to build lifelike systems from inanimate building blocks. From this approach, we hope to gain deeper insights into the fundamental processes of life and develop new technological innovations. One such significant and possibly the most remarkable... click to read more

The diploid human genome contains 23 pairs of chromosomes whose DNA encodes genes for life activities, such as cell division. Cancer corrupts those genes, making growth-promoting genes more active (oncogenes) or growth-inhibiting genes (tumor suppressors) less active. One of the most common genetic alterations causing... click to read more