Gene

A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It normally resides on a stretch of DNA that codes for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. All living things depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains.

What are Genes?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the chemical information database that carries the complete set of instructions for the cell as to the nature of the proteins produced by it, its life span, maturity, function and death. Genes are the working subunits of DNA. Each gene contains a particular set of instructions, usually coding for a particular protein or for a particular function.

What are Homeobox Genes?

Genes that Control Pluripotency

Conditional Gene Knockout Techniques

Tumor Suppressor Genes

Horizontal Gene Transfer

Horizontal Gene Transfer and Antibiotic Resistance

Gene Knockout versus Knockdown

Functions of BRCA1/2 Gene Products

Gene History

What are Homeobox Genes?

Genetic Inheritance

See more featured articles »

Genetics and Gene Expression

What is SATI Gene Editing?

Gene Knockin

The Latest Advances in Cell and Gene Therapy

Ras Genes and Cancer

Gene Editing Techniques: ZFNs, TALENs or CRISPR?

Latest Gene News and Research

New method can help better assess precision genome editing technology

Scientists and physicians can better assess precision genome editing technology using a new method made public today by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Significant amounts of time and resources spent improving CRISPR gene editing technology focus on identifying small off-target sites that pose a safety risk, which is also technically challenging.

2 Jan 2026

A mathematical solution for precise control of cellular “noise”

Why does cancer sometimes recur after chemotherapy? Why do some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment? In many cases, the answer appears to lie not in genetic differences, but in biological noise - random fluctuations in molecular activity that occur even among genetically identical cells.

2 Jan 2026

Newly identified rare genetic variant reduces the risk of leukemia

A newly identified and rare genetic variant slows the growth of mutated blood stem cells, researchers report, and it reduces the risk of leukemia.

2 Jan 2026

How modern diets are driving rapid evolution in gut bacteria

A novel iLDS statistic uncovers adaptive gene sweeps in gut bacteria, highlighting evolutionary responses to modern diets and enhancing microbiome studies.

2 Jan 2026

Study uncovers how aggressive breast cancer cells escape immune defenses

With a new study in the journal Science Bulletin, researchers at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University have discovered a new way that aggressive breast cancer cells escape the immune defenses.

1 Jan 2026

Plasmid-borne resistance drives global expansion of dangerous Klebsiella strains

A recent study published in Engineering has shed light on the transmission and epidemiological trends of tmexCD1-toprJ1-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae across various ecological niches, highlighting the potential threat this antibiotic-resistant bacterium poses to global public health.

31 Dec 2025

Viruses on plastic waste pose new antibiotic resistance risks

Plastic pollution does more than litter landscapes and oceans. According to a new perspective article published in Biocontaminant, viruses living on plastic surfaces may play an underrecognized role in spreading antibiotic resistance, raising concerns for environmental and public health worldwide.

31 Dec 2025

New computational method reconstructs how cells decide their fate

Researchers from Kyushu University have developed an innovative computational method, called ddHodge, that can reconstruct the complex dynamics of how cells decide their fate.

30 Dec 2025

Silica nanomatrix enhances immunotherapy for solid tumors

Cancer has long remained a leading cause of death worldwide and in Hong Kong, accounting for 30% of all disease-related deaths in the city in 2025. While chemotherapy remains a major treatment modality, its side effects and the risk of relapse challenges for patients.

30 Dec 2025

Epigenetic clocks accurately predict age from human skeletal muscle

A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 11 of Aging-US on November 26, 2025, titled "Epigenetic aging signatures and age prediction in human skeletal muscle."

30 Dec 2025

Dihydrotanshinone I induces autophagic cell death in ovarian cancer

A recent study published in Engineering has shed light on the potential therapeutic effects of dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), a compound derived from the traditional Chinese herb Salvia miltiorrhiza, on ovarian cancer.

30 Dec 2025

Imaging-enhanced knowledge graphs reveal new targets for heart disease treatment

Knowledge graphs are a powerful tool for bringing together information from biological databases and linking what is already known about genes, diseases, treatments, molecular pathways and symptoms in a structured network.

30 Dec 2025

Minimal residual disease monitoring can transform breast cancer care

Despite major therapeutic advances, breast cancer remains prone to recurrence, particularly in patients with early-stage disease who appear disease-free after treatment.

30 Dec 2025

Epigenetic plasticity in germinal center B cells may help explain lymphoma origins

Immune cells called B cells make antibodies that fight off invading bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances. During their preparation for this battle, B cells transiently revert to a more flexible, or plastic, stem-cell-like state in the lymph nodes, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

30 Dec 2025

Researchers explore why Alzheimer's affects men and women differently

More than seven million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and two-thirds of them are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The O'Banion Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has long been studying this disease and is looking more closely at the differences between male and female brains.

30 Dec 2025

Calcium signaling helps maintain protein quality in the endoplasmic reticulum

Calcium (Ca2+) drives many cellular functions, though the way it controls quality of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a cellular organelle that synthesizes and transports proteins, is widely unknown.

26 Dec 2025

Study reveals a therapeutic vulnerability in aggressive subtype of triple-negative breast cancer

A new study published today in Science Translational Medicine by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center details a therapeutic vulnerability in patients with an aggressive subtype of triple-negative breast cancer.

26 Dec 2025

Paternal microplastic exposure alters metabolic health in offspring

A study led by biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has shown for the first time that a father's exposure to microplastics (MPs) can trigger metabolic dysfunctions in his offspring.

23 Dec 2025

Study validates OVCAR3 as a model for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

A new research paper was published in Volume 12 of Oncoscience on October 14, 2025, titled "Bridging clinical insight and laboratory model in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) using DNA sequencing-based profiling of TP53."

23 Dec 2025

Researchers create the most detailed 3D maps of the human genome

In a landmark effort to understand how the physical structure of our DNA influences human biology, Northwestern investigators and the 4D Nucleome Project have unveiled the most detailed maps to date of the genome's three‑dimensional organization across time and space, according to a new study published in Nature.

22 Dec 2025