It was named the language gene before we really understood what it did. Now mice given the human version of the FOXP2 gene are shedding light on how speech evolved in early humans. Mice with the gene seem to be better at learning to do a task automatically or unconsciously – something we do when we

We know a lot about the world around us. We know a lot about ourselves and how we work. We even know where babies come from, and this is no mean feat. Imagine it's 350BC, and you're trying to work it out, with no textbooks, and no microscopes. If you're clever, you'll suspect that it has something

In June 2013, the US supreme court held that mutant BRCA 1 human DNA, isolated from the human physique, is not a patentable topic matter under US patent law. Final Friday, an Australian complete federal court held that it is patentable subject matter below Australian patent law. It would have been

An international team of researchers on Thursday unveiled the newly sequenced genome of the coffee plant. They pinpointed genetic attributes that could help in the development of new coffee varieties better able to endure drought, disease and pests, with the added benefit of enhancing flavor and

Take a really close look at your face and you’ll probably find that two microscopic relatives of spiders and ticks dwell there. The usually benign mites, Demodex folliculorum and D. brevis, wriggle into skin pores and hair follicles, including eyelashes. And every adult may harbor these