In human cells, there are about 20,000 genes on a two-meter DNA strand—finely coiled up in a nucleus about 10 micrometers in diameter. By comparison, this corresponds to a 40-kilometer thread packed ...

Every cell in a body contains the same genetic sequence, yet each cell expresses only a subset of those genes. These cell-specific gene expression patterns, which ensure that a brain cell is different ...

For stem cells to differentiate into the appropriate cell-type, transcription factors (TFs) must be tailored to highly specific expression patterns of lineage-specific genes. Abnormalities in the ...

Researchers have identified elusive DNA switches in brain support cells that influence genes tied to Alzheimer’s disease. When people think about DNA, they often picture genes that determine our ...

The human cell is a miserable thing to study. Tens of trillions of them exist in the body, forming an enormous and intricate network that governs every disease and metabolic process. Each cell in that ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A previously unknown type of DNA damage in the mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside our cells, could shed light on how our bodies sense and respond to stress. The findings ...

When most of us think of DNA, we have a vague idea it's made up of genes that give us our physical features, our behavioral ...

But only a tiny percentage of our DNA – around 2% – contains our 20,000-odd genes. The remaining 98% – long known as the non-coding genome, or so-called ‘junk’ DNA – includes many of the switches that ...