Genetics | featured news

The biggest study yet into genetics and mental health has come up with a stunning result: The five most common mental illnesses -- autism, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disease, schizophrenia and major depression -- all have a common genetic root.

Genes connected to the two disorders may only be active for a brief window of time. The study, while in mice, could provide clues about how the developmental disorders develop. Focusing on a region of the brain known as the subplate, where the first nerve cells develop, researchers at the University of Oxford, King’s College London and Imperial College London found that genes linked to autism and schizophrenia were only active in these regions during early stages of brain development.

Australian scientists have developed a genetic test to predict autism spectrum disorder in children, which could provide a long-sought way for early detection and intervention, according to a study published on Wednesday.

A comprehensive study of the genetics of a common lung cancer finds that more than half the tumors have mutations that might be treated by drugs that are already in the pipeline or that could be developed.

A Dutch woman who held the title of the world's oldest person when she died, aged 115, credited her longevity to a daily meal of herring, not smoking and limiting her alcohol intake. Six years later, however, scientists hope her genes may provide a better answer -- and as a result they have sequenced her complete genetic code, The Times of London reported Saturday.

A study on aging find links between certain genetic variations, people with a long lifespan.

The Food and Drug Administration is issuing regulatory letters to five genetic test makers, the first sign that the government is cracking down on companies that claim to use DNA samples to predict inheritable diseases.

One hour of moderate to vigorous exercise a day can help teens beat the effects of a common obesity-related gene with the nickname "fatso," according to a new European study.

The genomes of four Bushmen and one Bantu were sequenced or partially sequenced. 'If we really want to understand human diversity, we need ... to study those people,' lead author of the study says. By Thomas H. Maugh II Scientists have long known that ...

A tortoise hunted to extinction before Darwin ever arrived on the Galapagos could be brought back to life thanks to new genetic research.