Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they ...

Researchers have uncovered the enzyme behind chromothripsis, a chaotic chromosome-shattering event seen in about one in four cancers. The enzyme, N4BP2, breaks apart DNA trapped in tiny cellular ...

The human genetic blueprint is deceptively simple. Our genes are tightly wound into 46 X-shaped structures called chromosomes. Crafted by evolution, they carry DNA and replicate when cells divide, ...

Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago. Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between ...

Chromosomes are masters of organization. These long strings of DNA fold down into an ensemble of compact structures that keep needed parts of the genome accessible while tucking away those that aren’t ...

Haoyu Cheng, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical informatics and data science at Yale School of Medicine, has developed ...

Twenty years after the Human Genome Project was declared complete, the Y chromosome has been fully sequenced for the first time. Most people have 22 pairs of chromosomes plus two sex chromosomes – ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes, act much like the plastic tips of shoelaces, preventing our DNA ...

Human biological sex is determined by the sex chromosomes X and Y. In most cases, females possess two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. However, there is some evidence that the Y ...