Genetics

Genetics is the study of genes and heredity. Heredity is the passing of genetic information and traits (such as eye color and an increased chance of getting a certain disease) from parents to offspring.

How Do Genetic Mutations Cause Disease?

Mutations in genes can lead to genetic disorders, impacting health. Understand the types, causes, and implications of genetic mutations and disease.

Genetic Change

Genotype Versus Phenotype

Genetics Research and Technology

Genetic Regulation of Fingers and Toes Development

Genetics and Gene Expression

What is Genetic Anticipation?

The Importance of Genetic Counseling In Healthcare And Medicine

Applications of the Expanded Genetic Code

Von Recklinghausen Disease Expressivity

The Role of Alternative Splicing in Disease

History of Genetics

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What is the Expanded Genetic Code?

What is Cytogenetics?

Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Genetic Risk Associated with Social Anxiety

Genetic Inheritance

START and STOP Codons

Latest Genetics News and Research

Study proposes overlooked genetic mechanism behind schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder run in families with a stubbornness that twin studies put at 81 percent heritability.

10 Nov 2026

$32 million grant extends landmark Alzheimer's research through 2031

When Leonard Berg, MD, then a neurologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, noticed memory problems among his older patients in the 1970s, he refused to dismiss the problems as part of "normal aging" or senility but instead set out to understand what was happening in their brains.

10 Nov 2026

New $46M grant allows the University of Oxford and Boston Children’s Hospital to lead Genetic Medicines Hub within ARIA ecosystem

The University of Oxford and Boston Children’s Hospital, with collaboration from The Jackson Laboratory and N=1 Collaborative, have been selected to establish a new Genetic Medicines Hub, one of six research hubs within the Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) ecosystem.

10 Nov 2026

Frequent anxiety may reflect worsening cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease

Ask the family of someone with Alzheimer's disease what the hardest part is, and the answer is not always the forgetting. Sometimes it is the pacing.

6 Nov 2026

AI tool uncovers hidden interactions among human mitochondrial proteins

Artificial intelligence is helping Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists fast-track answers to a long-standing question in human biology: What do hundreds of mystery proteins in the mitochondria actually do?

6 Nov 2026

Advanced tumor profiling uncovers hidden hereditary cancer-predisposition syndrome

Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to profile tumor cells from patients with solid tumors, researchers at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS identified genetic alterations associated with cancer predisposition in 10% of the subjects examined.

6 Nov 2026

New genomic tools improve detection of rare DNA changes

WashU Medicine researchers have verified the accuracy of genetics tools to correctly identify all the rare DNA changes that make up an individual's genomic mosaic, paving the way to understanding these variants' impact on health and disease.

5 Nov 2026

Hidden genetic differences in gut bacteria may hold clues to aging

Researchers analyzed approximately 12.8 million gut microbial genetic variants in 10,781 individuals across six cohorts, identifying 940 independent associations with 69 human health characteristics and environmental exposures. Nearly two-thirds of these associations were not accompanied by significant differences in bacterial species abundance, suggesting that microbial genetics can reveal relationships overlooked by conventional microbiome analyses, although causality remains unproven.

5 Nov 2026

Tau spreads more rapidly in early-onset Alzheimer's disease

Patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, whose symptoms start before age 65, have more extensive deposits of tau, a hallmark protein of the condition, compared with patients whose symptoms start at 65-plus, a new study found.

5 Nov 2026

Brain scans reveal clues to Alzheimer's risk years before memory loss begins

Inside the brains of some cognitively normal adults, firing patterns were able to foretell Alzheimer's disease years before the onset of memory loss or the accumulation of plaques and tangles, according to new Stanford Medicine-led research.

5 Nov 2026

Workplace exposure to petroleum-based lubricants linked to higher MS risk

Exposure to petroleum-derived lubricants at work, including engine oil, hydraulic oil and cutting fluids used to cool or lubricate metal during metalworking, is associated with higher odds of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published November 4, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Nov 2026

Modern lifestyles may be changing our gut bacteria in unexpected ways

A global study of 1,015 adults across 12 countries found that industrialized lifestyles were associated with lower gut bacterial diversity, reduced microbial community stability, and increased markers of intestinal stress and immune activity. The researchers also found that a microbiome-based health index developed using industrialized populations performed poorly in less-industrialized communities, raising concerns about its applicability across diverse populations.

4 Nov 2026

Researchers identify specific gene linked to female protection from autism

In many cases all it takes is one mutated gene to orchestrate changes across a whole network of genes linked to autism, according to new results published today in Nature by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital.

4 Nov 2026

Genetic variant tied to liver injury from blood pressure drugs

This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B discusses the clinical features and genetic associations of rare liver injury caused by antihypertensive medications.

4 Nov 2026

Genetic family mapping uncovers hidden links across ALS and FTD

Researchers at the Macquarie University Brain Institute and Clinic have helped accelerate the search for disease-causing genes by building new genetic 'families'.

3 Nov 2026

Nanoparticle structural design improves disease biomarker detection sensitivity

A nanoparticle's performance depends on more than what it is made of-it can also depend on how its building blocks are arranged.

3 Nov 2026

Eating sugary foods more than twice a week was linked to 28% higher breast cancer risk

In a prospective study of 71,264 Korean women followed for an average of 9.2 years, researchers identified 713 breast cancer cases and examined how different dietary sugar sources related to cancer risk. Women consuming high-sugar foods more than twice weekly had a 28% higher breast cancer risk than those consuming them no more than once a month, while total sugar intake and fruit consumption showed no significant association.

2 Nov 2026

Scientists may have underestimated how much genes contribute to Alzheimer's risk

A large multi-ancestry genetic analysis identified 127 genomic loci associated with Alzheimer's disease, including 48 previously unreported loci, and implicated microglial and neuronal gene-expression patterns in disease susceptibility. The researchers estimated that common genetic variants account for 16% of Alzheimer's disease liability in European-ancestry populations, substantially higher than previous estimates, while demonstrating improved polygenic risk prediction that remained less reliable in non-European populations.

2 Nov 2026

New computational tool simulates evolution of jumping genes

A genome contains all of the DNA of every living organism, but its contents don't stop there – most of these structures also contain snippets of DNA that can copy and paste themselves to "infect" a genome, expanding its size.

2 Nov 2026

New strategy exploits a hidden genetic vulnerability in multiple cancers

Researchers have found a surprisingly common vulnerability in a broad variety of cancers and have begun designing drug compounds to exploit it, in a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine.

2 Nov 2026