genetics
number of breaks: 19
The happiness chemical that sits on top of our DNA
Sometimes referred to as the happiness chemical, serotonin has a huge role to play in the proper functioning of our bodies. Any imbalance in serotonin levels can lead to all sorts of issues, ranging from intestinal problems to mood changes and depression. In the brain,... click to read more
Genetic determinants of thinness and obesity: cards of the same deck
Obesity is a major public health concern worldwide, with high prevalence paralleling an increasingly "obesogenic" environment that promotes a sedentary lifestyle and poor-quality food choices. However, even within this environment, some people are able to maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI, defined as weight... click to read more
"Peeling back the onion": a multi-layered approach to understand the dynamics of sleep
We now know that a good night's sleep is essential for maintaining optimal brain functioning and health. Many will have experienced the acute detrimental effects of "pulling an all-nighter" on attention and performance, which are usually quickly remedied by sleep. Chronically curtailed or disrupted sleep... click to read more
Gene edited “superpigs” resist devastating disease
Genome editors are simple tools that allow scientists to make very precise changes to the genome of any organism by cutting the genome at a very precise location. If you imagine the genome as a single, continuous string of information containing the instructions to build... click to read more
Ancient Egyptian mummies give up the last of their secrets
Our group together with an international team of scientists successfully recovered and analyzed ancient DNA from Egyptian mummies dating from approximately 1400 BC to 400 AD, establishing ancient Egyptian mummies as a reliable source for genetic material to study the ancient past. The study, published... click to read more
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