Tag - genetics

 
 

GENETICS

ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jul 23, 2016
Chinese plan first human test with CRISPR gene-editing tool
Chinese scientists apparently are embarking on the first human trials with the CRISPR gene-editing tool, the latest effort by the country's researchers to master a technology that might someday be a potent tool in developing therapies worldwide.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 6, 2016
Primate fate: Chinese fossils illuminate key evolutionary period
A treasure trove of fossils of six furry critters that inhabited the trees of southern China 34 million years ago is providing a deeper understanding of a pivotal moment in the evolution of primates, the group that eventually gave rise to people.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2016
Medical facilities to launch ovarian tissue bank for female cancer patients
A Tokyo fertility clinic plans Japan's first ovary bank to help women conceive by freezing their tissue before cancer treatment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2016
Massive whole-genome study finds six types of liver cancer
In the largest genomic study ever targeting single-organ cancers, Japanese researchers have completed a whole-genome analysis of 300 liver cancer patients, discovering that liver cancer among Japanese can be broken down into six types.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2016
Ohio zoo's gorilla provides window into genome similarities between humans, great apes
A gorilla named Susie is helping provide fresh insight into the genetic similarities and differences between people and these endangered apes that are among our closest living relatives.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2016
Now scientists can keep complicated life simple
The origin of life on Earth remains unexplained, but last week we saw the notion of a simpler version of life go from theory to reality.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2016
China throws down the gauntlet in gene-editing race with U.S.
U.S. companies racing to develop a promising gene editing technology are up against a formidable competitor — the Chinese government.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 11, 2016
Genome offers clues on thwarting disease-carrying ticks
Scientists have unlocked the genetic secrets of one of the least-loved creatures around, the tick species that spreads Lyme disease. The research may lead to new methods to control these diminutive arachnids that dine on blood.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 3, 2016
From a rare Florida tree, cuttings are taken to regrow forest of ancient giants
An experiment in regrowing forests of the world's oldest trees led environmentalists last week to climb a nine-story tall, 2,000-year-old cypress in central Florida known as Lady Liberty.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2015
Gene-drive technology carries promise, peril
Most powerful new technologies are double-edged, but gene drives can change or even wipe out entire species.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 6, 2015
Under Japanese law, there's more to paternity than DNA
A reader asks: Is a DNA test mandatory in order to prove the biological parent-child relationship in paternity cases in Japan?
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2015
Many children with cancer born at risk: U.S. study
Gene sequencing of more than 1,000 children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer found that as many as 8.5 percent were born with genes that increase their risk of developing cancer, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2015
Alarming new 'superbug' gene found in animals and people in China
A new gene that makes bacteria highly resistant to a last-resort class of antibiotics has been found in people and pigs in China — including in samples of bacteria with epidemic potential, researchers said this week.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 11, 2015
Drug genes transferred from plant to plant
Researchers on Thursday said they have identified the genes that enable an endangered Himalayan plant to produce a chemical vital to making a widely used chemotherapy drug, and inserted them into an easily grown laboratory plant that then produced the same chemical.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 23, 2015
Drug companies study why some people are 'superhuman' and how the rest of us can benefit
Steven Pete can put his hand on a hot stove or step on a piece of glass and not feel a thing, all because of a quirk in his genes. Only a few dozen people in the world share Pete's congenital insensitivity to pain. Drug companies see riches in his rare mutation. They also have their eye on people like...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2015
Genome study reveals how the woolly mammoth thrived in the cold
Woolly mammoths spent their lives enduring extreme Arctic conditions including frigid temperatures, an arid environment and the relentless cycle of dark winters and bright summers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 1, 2015
Minor genetic changes turned Black Death germ from mild to murderous
The bacterium Yersinia pestis has inflicted almost unimaginable misery upon humankind over the centuries, killing an estimated 200 million or more people and triggering horrific plagues in the 6th and 14th centuries.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 26, 2015
Scientists crack gene secret that lets poppies make morphine
Scientists have identified a key gene used by poppies to make morphine, paving the way for better methods of producing the medically important drug, potentially without the need for cultivating poppy fields.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2015
Former brain-eating tribe offers genetic clues to dementia and deadly diseases
Research involving a former brain-eating tribe from Papua New Guinea is helping scientists better understand mad cow disease and other so-called prion conditions and may also offer insights into Parkinson's and dementia.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 10, 2015
China's big biotech bet starts to pay off
Years of pouring money into its laboratories, wooing scientists home from overseas and urging researchers to publish and patent is starting to give China a competitive edge in biotechnology, a strategic field it sees as ripe for "indigenous innovation."

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’