Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: genes Clear Filter

You can hold on to your butts thanks to DNA that evolved in fish

Evolution has adapted the digits of mammals for an enormous range of uses, from our opposable thumbs to the spindly digits that support bat wings to the robust bones that support the hoofs of horses. But how we got digits in the first place hasn't been entirely clear. The fish that limbed vertebrates evolved from don't have obvious digit equivalents, and the most common types of fish just have a large collection of rays supporting their fins. Despite this uncertainty, we have identified some ge

The FDA approves human trials for pig kidney transplants

Despite how it sounds, a xenotransplant isn't something from the latest Alien movie. It's an increasingly credible science: the transplantation of animal organs into humans. The field took one of its biggest leaps forward on Monday. The FDA approved the biotech company eGenesis to begin human trials of pig-to-human kidney transplants. eGenesis provides pigs with CRISPR-modified genes. These genetic changes reduce the chances of organ rejection in human recipients. The FDA approved the company f

This ultra-rare ’90s LaserDisc game console can finally be emulated on a PC

Here in the year 2025, it's not every day that a classic gaming console from the 20th century becomes playable via emulation for the first time. But that's just what happened last week with the release of Ares v146 and its first-of-its-kind support for Mega LD titles designed for the Pioneer LaserActive. Even retro console superfans would be forgiven for not knowing about the LaserActive, a pricey LaserDisc player released in 1994 alongside swappable hardware modules that could add support for

Over 30 years later, a rare LaserDisc game console gets its first PC emulator

Here in the year 2025, it's not every day that a classic gaming console from the 20th century becomes playable via emulation for the first time. But that's just what happened last week with the release of Ares v146 and its first-of-its-kind support for Mega LD titles designed for the Pioneer LaserActive. Even retro console superfans would be forgiven for not knowing about the LaserActive, a pricey LaserDisc player released in 1994 alongside swappable hardware modules that could add support for

Tiny microbe challenges the definition of cellular life

Scientists recently discovered a microbe with one of the tiniest genomes on Earth. More surprising, the creature is almost entirely dependent on its host: Its genes don’t support any of the functions of metabolism, one of the key processes of life. As such, it challenges fundamental notions of what it means to be a living organism. The discovery was “pure serendipity,” says Takuro Nakayama, an evolutionary microbiologist at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. Takayama wanted to study the many m

Some AI tools don’t understand biology yet

Underwhelming performance The task in this case is predicting how gene activity might change when genes are altered. When an individual gene is lost or activated, it's possible that the only messenger RNA that is altered is the one made by that gene. But some genes encode proteins that regulate a collection of other genes, in which case you might see changes in the activity of dozens of genes. In other cases, the loss or activation of a gene could affect a cell's metabolism, resulting in widesp

Hibernation’s Hidden Healing ‘Superpowers’ Could Be Locked in Our DNA

After spending months without eating, drinking, or moving, hibernating mammals must rebound from extreme physiological changes. Two new studies suggest that the genetic “superpowers” underlying this incredible resilience may also be present in the human genome. For these studies, published Thursday, July 31, in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Utah honed in on the specific DNA regions that help hibernators rapidly recover from muscle atrophy, insulin resistance, and brain d

New Research Debunks Myth That Brain Cells Stop Growing After Childhood

You’ve probably heard the old canard that new brain cells simply stop forming as we become adults. But research out today is the latest to show that this isn’t really true. Scientists in Sweden led the study, published Thursday in Science. They found abundant signs of neural stem cells growing in the hippocampus of adult brains. The findings reveal more about the human brain as we get older, the researchers say, and also hint at potential new ways to treat neurological disorders. “We’ve found

Serenading Cells with Audible Sound Alters Gene Activity

The cells in your ears aren’t the only ones listening: recent research suggests that crucial cells throughout the body may respond to audible sound. Experiments described in Communications Biology revealed more than 100 genes whose activity changed in response to these acoustic waves, pointing to possible medical applications. Extensive earlier research has shown that ultrasound—sound at frequencies higher than humans can hear—can affect biology in numerous ways; the new study expands this conc

Genesis AI launches with $105M seed funding from Eclipse, Khosla to build AI models for robots

Genesis AI, a startup that aims to build a foundational model for powering all kinds of robots, has emerged from stealth with a giant $105 million seed round co-led by Eclipse Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Founded last December by Zhou Xian (pictured above, left), a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, and Théophile Gervet, a former research scientist with the French AI lab Mistral, the startup wants to build a general-purpose model that will enable robots to automate a wide range

Genetic code enables zebrafish to mend damaged organs

Zebrafish have the remarkable and rare ability to regrow and repair their hearts after damage. New research from Caltech and UC Berkeley has identified the circuit of genes controlling this ability and offers clues about how a human heart might someday be repaired after damage, such as a heart attack or in cases of congenital heart defects. The research was a collaboration between the laboratories of Marianne Bronner, Caltech's Edward B. Lewis Professor of Biology and director of the Beckman In

Missing Heritability: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

The Story So Far The mid-20th century was the golden age of nurture. Psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and the spirit of the ‘60s convinced most experts that parents, peers, and propaganda were the most important causes of adult personality. Starting in the 1970s, the pendulum swung the other way. Twin studies shocked the world by demonstrating that most behavioral traits - including socially relevant traits like IQ - were substantially genetic. Typical estimates for adult IQ found it was about 60%

Virtual cells

Virtual cells Digital twins of biological cells—often referred to as virtual cells or whole-cell models (WCMs)–aim to recreate every relevant molecular process of a living cell in silico. This interdisciplinary endeavor marries systems biology, computational modeling, high-performance computing, and, increasingly, AI. All models are wrong, but some are alive. Somewhere in a data center right now, a virtual bacterium is dividing for the millionth time. Somewhere else, an AI-enhanced model is l

Virtual Cells

Virtual cells Digital twins of biological cells—often referred to as virtual cells or whole-cell models (WCMs)–aim to recreate every relevant molecular process of a living cell in silico. This interdisciplinary endeavor marries systems biology, computational modeling, high-performance computing, and, increasingly, AI. All models are wrong, but some are alive. Somewhere in a data center right now, a virtual bacterium is dividing for the millionth time. Somewhere else, an AI-enhanced model is l

Disney Pinnacle unveils Genesis Keys quest with Web3 support from Dapper Labs

Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs, the digital pin collecting and trading platform, has now announced its Genesis Keys quest. That means Disney fans worldwide can claim free Genesis Keys every four hours as part of the global quest for one-of-one Genesis Editions — the first digital pins ever minted on the platform. The Genesis Keys campaign marks the first phase of Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs’ rollout gearing up for more action throughout the summer. As the community collectively claims Keys