Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

  1. Science & Society

    Cool Jobs: New tools to solve crimes

    Future investigators may identify criminals by the microbes they leave behind or by using DNA-like evidence from strands of their hair.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  2. Genetics

    Scientists Say: Chromosome

    This threadlike structure is made of DNA wrapped around protein. It allows the 3 billion base pairs in human DNA to stay neatly packaged in a cell.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  3. Tech

    Tweaked germs glow to pinpoint buried landmines

    Finding landmines could become much safer with a new technology. It uses genetically modified bacteria that glow under laser light.

    By Dinsa Sachan
  4. Health & Medicine

    Analyze This: Zika and microcephaly

    Data from pregnant women with Zika in Colombia helped scientists probe whether Zika causes birth defects.

    By Lillian Steenblik Hwang
  5. Science & Society

    Fossils point to Neandertal diets — and medicine use

    Whether Neandertals were largely meat-eaters or vegans depended on their environment, fossils now suggest. Their teeth also indicate they used natural medicines.

    By Helen Thompson
  6. Life

    How to make a ‘three-parent’ baby

    Scientists combined an egg, sperm and some donor DNA: The end result: what appears to be healthy babies.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. Genetics

    Explainer: How PCR works

    The polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, is like a DNA-copying machine. It duplicates genetic material over and over. Here’s how.

    By Kathiann Kowalski
  8. Genetics

    Scientists find genes that make some kids’ hair uncombable

    Scientists have pinpointed three genes that cause ‘uncombable hair syndrome’ in some kids.

    By Dinsa Sachan
  9. Genetics

    World’s tallest corn towers nearly 14 meters

    Short nights and a genetic tweak helped novel corn reach record heights.

    By Ashley Yeager
  10. Health & Medicine

    Zika birth defects: Concerns spread from head to toe

    Zika infections may trigger problems well beyond babies born with small heads and brains. Scientists have begun linking a range of head-to-toe health ails to the virus.

    By Meghan Rosen
  11. Oceans

    Creative ways to help coral reefs recover

    Coral reefs are under siege from threats ranging from climate change to explosives. But scientists are developing ways to rebuild reefs before they disappear.

    By Amy McDermott
  12. Animals

    Tasmanian devils begin to resist infectious cancer

    A deadly contagious cancer is spreading among Tasmanian devils. But the animals are evolving resistance, a new study finds.

    By Tina Hesman Saey