Sperm cells attach to eggs with tiny 'harpoons'
Scientists have discovered that a protein in the head of sperm cells forms spiky filaments, which could act as tiny 'harpoons' that anchor the sperm to an egg...
Chris Baldacci
Chris Baldacci was previously a Volunteer Writer at Bionews.
BioNews Articles by Chris Baldacci
Time to confront genomics data problem, say scientists
Scientists have warned that the world of genomics is headed for a data bottleneck...
Most people harbour at least one lethal mutation
Geneticists have estimated that each of us carries an average of one or two lethal, but recessive, genes in our DNA...
Human cells have their clock put back
Scientists have developed a technique to lengthen telomeres - the 'caps' on the end of chromosomes that protect DNA - in human cells in the lab, increasing the cells' lifespan...
Google moves into genome data storage and analysis
Google has announced that it will offer storage and analysis of genome sequencing data...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
GCSE scores more nature than nurture, says study
Researchers may have finally settled the question of which matters more for a child's development - nature or nurture; and nature appears to be the winner, according to a study looking at GCSE scores...
Game Review: Spermania - The Race for Life
This little app for Android has been getting a bit of hype because (a) it’s kind of about sex (snigger like a seven-year-old) (b) it was designed by PinchPoint, based in Ramallah, Palestine (do concerned Guardian-reader face)...
Only eight percent of DNA is 'functional'
Researchers at the University of Oxford have estimated that only 8.2 percent of human DNA has been left unchanged as the species has evolved and is therefore likely to be functional...
DNA ages faster in disadvantaged boys
Children from poor backgrounds who have an unstable family life have shorter telomeres - the tips of chromosomes that prevent damage - according to a small study...
'Big data on steroids': IBM's Watson supercomputer to work on brain cancer genetics
IBM and the New York Genome Centre have teamed up to announce the latest weapon in the fight against cancer - Watson the supercomputer....