WASHINGTON -- The book of genetic instructions for the human body is complete to an accuracy of 99.99 percent, a scientific achievement once deemed impossible but now considered the foundation for a ...

Chimpanzees, along with bonobos, are humans' closest living relatives. In fact, you may have heard that humans and chimps ...

Scientific terminology is intentionally precise: One would not confuse a peptide with a peptidase, or DNA with RNA. Unfortunately, the public has been slow to embrace the word "genome" because of a ...

Around 45 percent of human DNA is made up of transposable elements, or TEs—genetic leftovers from now-extinct viruses that scientists once believed to be “junk DNA.” But that view is changing, and a ...

Wanted: the code that makes people tick. Wait, make that ... Wanted: the code that makes people sick. Spelling matters. A letter can change the meaning of a sentence. And a few letters – in the ...

A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys. A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

Tail loss in gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans is believed to have occurred about 25 million years ago, when the group evolved away from Old World monkeys. A genetic change in our ancient ancestors ...