Leuven, Belgium - VIB researchers linked to K.U.Leuven and Harvard University show that stretches of DNA previously believed to be useless 'junk' DNA play a vital role in the evolution of our genome.

Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, ...

Ancient viruses left a legacy in your DNA. And it turns out, that legacy may be helping shape who you are. A recent international study has shown that certain bits of ancient viral DNA, long dismissed ...

Around 45 percent of human DNA is made up of transposable elements, or TEs—genetic leftovers from now-extinct viruses that scientists once believed to be “junk DNA.” But that view is changing, and a ...

Imagine the human genome as a string stretching out for the length of a football field, with all the genes that encode proteins clustered at the end near your feet. Take two big steps forward; all the ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

DNA that humans acquired from ancient viruses plays a key role in switching parts of our genetic code on and off, a new study has found. Nearly half of the human genome consists of segments called ...

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover exciting new 'living robots' called xenobots — made from frog cells with the help of a supercomputer — and what they might be used for down the road.