A team of scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls how genes are switched ‘on’ and ‘off’ during embryonic development.

Transposable elements are stretches of DNA that can move around the genome. Many of these DNA sequences originate from long ago, when viruses inserted their genetic material into our ancestors' ...

In the earliest hours after fertilization, an embryo takes its first steps toward becoming a living organism by shedding maternal control and activating its own genetic program. This critical process, ...

Researchers have gained new insights into the mechanism behind the spatial organization of DNA within the cells of early embryos. When an embryo is first formed after fertilization, each cell has the ...

Biologists have provided new insights on a longstanding puzzle in biology: How complex organisms arise from a single fertilized cell. Producing a new 'gene atlas' with 4-D imaging, the researchers ...

All cells contain the same DNA but must turn specific genes ‘on’ and ‘off’ – a process known as gene expression – to create different body parts. The cells in your eyes and arms harbour the same genes ...

Ancient viruses are embedded everywhere in the human genome. Estimates range, but it's thought that about eight percent of the human genome could be made up of these ancient retroviruses, which are ...

Scientists have long observed that embryos of different species within a phylum look quite distinct at early and late ...