“Inside the movement to take ‘control of human evolution.'”
genetics
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Sweet and Sticky History of the Date
“Throughout the Middle East, the versatile fruit has been revered since antiquity. How will it fare in a changing world?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Tree Sleuths
Lauren Markham examines the potential for tree DNA, and the work of experts like tree geneticist Richard Cronn, to help curb the illegal timber trade and poaching of valuable wood like big-leaf maple and black walnut. Could he help Huff’s team determine whether there was a genetic link between the felled trees in the Olympic […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
4 Dead Infants, a Convicted Mother, and a Genetic Mystery
“Kathleen Folbigg was found guilty of killing her babies. One scientist suspected the real culprit was mutant DNA—and went on a tireless quest to prove it.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Did a Legendary Trout Really Ride the Rails from California to Missouri?
“Scientists use DNA to solve genetic puzzles in waters around the world. But in Crane Creek, the mystery got deeper.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How Your Family Tree Could Catch a Killer
“Genetic genealogists like CeCe Moore are cracking cold cases and transforming policing. As DNA analysis redefines ancestry and anonymity, what knowledge should we be permitted to unlock?”
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Writing
The Sickness That Stole the Trees
The quest to save the American chestnut tree.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Last Children of Down Syndrome
In 2019, only 18 babies in Denmark were born with Down syndrome. Prenatal testing is changing who gets born and who doesn’t.
Posted inFeature, Featured, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Story, Technology
Research and Rescue: Saving Species from Ourselves
We’re developing high-tech genetic tools to pour new life into animals lost to human destruction. Deciding how — and whether — to use that power is as complex as the science behind it.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Featured, Nonfiction, Story
Breaking the Family Silence on Alcoholism
Alicia Lutes contemplates her family’s history of addiction, her mother’s failing liver, and the effect it’s all had on her generation.