9 d. ago Cold sore virus takes over human DNA within just one hour, study finds

Study is first to prove that herpes virus reshapes human genome deliberately

Politics

1 week ago UK scientists to synthesise human genome to learn more about how DNA works

Five-year SynHG project aims to pave way for next generation of medical therapies and treatment of diseasesResearchers are embarking on an ambitious project to construct human genetic material from scratch to learn more about how DNA works and pave the way for the next generation of medical therapies.Scientists on the Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) project will spend the next five years developing the tools and knowhow to build long sections of human genetic code in the lab. These will be inserted into living cells to understand how the code operates. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Super humans’ fears as scientists aim to create first human genome in a lab

Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) project sparks fears that rogue scientists could create enhanced ‘super humans’ in decades to come

Politics

1 week ago ‘Huge advances in cancer and rare diseases’: 25 years of the human genome – podcast

It has been 25 years since Bill Clinton announced one of humanity’s most important scientific achievements: the first draft of the human genome. At the time, there was a great deal of excitement about the benefits that this new knowledge would bring, with predictions about curing genetic diseases and even cancer. To find out which of them came to pass, and what could be in store over the next two-and-a-half decades, Madeleine Finlay is joined by science editor Ian Sample, and hears from Prof Matthew Hurles, director of the Wellcome Sanger InstituteSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Deadly fungus behind 'pharaoh's curse' in King Tutankhamun's tomb now cancer

In a remarkable twist of science, scientists have transformed a fungus – once feared for its deadly spores – into a potent cancer fighter

Events

1 week ago ‘A timebomb’: could a French mine full of waste poison the drinking water of millions?

Scientists fear thousands of tonnes of chemicals dumped in mining tunnels in Alsace may seep into an aquifer, with devastating consequences for people and wildlifeEight police officers linger with their backs to the two-hectare (five-acre) site known as Stocamine. The place is nondescript in the morning drizzle: two mine shafts, some modern-looking office buildings, a staff car park, lines of landscaped trees. The reason for the police presence, however, is what lies beneath: 42,000 tonnes of toxic waste stored under our feet.Stocamine, which lies in the old industrial town of Wittelsheim, Alsace, once held an old potash mine. Now, the mine shafts are closed, storing poisonous waste from elsewhere. Above the mine shafts is one of Europe’s largest aquifers. Continue reading...

Events