A group of synthetic biologists report they've created an organism with a minimum number of genes required for survival and reproduction. Humans have about 20,000 genes, and this new single-celled organism has only 473 genes. That makes it the smallest genome of any known living thing that can reproduce. The goal is to be able to design cells that could produce new industrial products such as chemicals and fuels from raw materials. Listen to hear more about the potential of this new creation.
Story Length: 3:19
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June 11, 2015
5:21
A new scientific tool can edit or change genes. It can target genes that cause problems, like disease, and snip them out of the DNA, sort of like scissors at a molecular level. The potential to change the human genome has some scientists celebrating and others worrying about the ethical implications. Listen to learn more about this technique and the debate it has provoked.
Read MoreJanuary 16, 2015
4:21
Human diseases such as cancer impact human cells differently depending on the person. This makes it important for scientific researchers to have access to a variety of human cells - healthy and infected - to find medicines that fight or cure disease. A new technique of growing cells uses a layer of mouse cells to fuel human cell growth. It’s changed the game in cancer research. Listen to learn how this technique developed and how it lead to a breakthrough in cervical cancer research.
Read MoreNovember 25, 2014
7:47
In 2002, bats brought SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) to humans in China and killed 800 people. Now camels have brought MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) to people in the Middle East, sickening nearly 900 people already and killing one-third of those infected. Researchers in North Carolina have been studying MERS so they can better understand the virus. But this research has been shut down because the US government believes it's too dangerous. Listen to learn why this research is considered so dangerous, and yet so important.
Read MoreOctober 23, 2014
8:27
Illness can be caused by viruses and bacteria, but some very serious illnesses come from your actual genes, your DNA. Scientist have been able to identify genes that cause illness but until now they haven’t been able to fix them. A new discovery creates the framework for editing these problematic genes. This public radio story tells the unlikely story of this discovery and discusses its potential.
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