Scientists have shown that in one in every 4,000 births, some of the genetic code from our mitochondria—the 'batteries' that power our cells—inserts itself into our DNA, revealing a surprising new ...

Evolution is driven by changes in DNA that sometimes promote adaptation, altering traits like disease resistance or ...

A Neanderthal growth hormone receptor may be linked to slightly greater muscle mass in some people today. Here is what it ...

Scientists at the University of Vienna, Austria, have screened great ape specimens obtained from natural history museums to identify DNA viruses. This groundbreaking study provides unique insights ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A lost chapter in human evolution has been revealed after an analysis ...

More than two decades after scientists first sequenced the entire human genome—all 3 billion base pairs, of DNA code—the meaning of much of this code remains a mystery. Subscribe to our newsletter for ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A bizarre and ugly fish that has been around for hundreds of millions ...

Proteins sometimes bind to the wrong stretch of DNA, but these "imposter" DNA sequences are statistically rare in many genomes, suggesting that evolution works against them. Gene self-improvement.

Mitochondria are often called the powerhouse of the cell, and these organelles are well-known for their energy-generating abilities. They are also special among organelles because they carry a tiny ...

Researchers have analyzed ancient DNA from Borrelia recurrentis, a type of bacteria that causes relapsing fever, pinpointing when it evolved to spread through lice rather than ticks, and how it gained ...

Thousands of miles from home in the steamy Amazon rainforest in the mid-1800s, the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates had a problem. More than one, really: There were thumb-size biting insects, the ...