Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Yet the striking diversity in centromere ...

Twenty years after the Human Genome Project was declared complete, the Y chromosome has been fully sequenced for the first time. Most people have 22 pairs of chromosomes plus two sex chromosomes – ...

The human genetic blueprint is deceptively simple. Our genes are tightly wound into 46 X-shaped structures called chromosomes. Crafted by evolution, they carry DNA and replicate when cells divide, ...

For palaeontologists, DNA is infuriatingly fragile. Its long chains begin to break apart shortly after death, destroying valuable information about the deceased parent organism. Unlike bones, ...

For decades, the Y chromosome — one of the two human sex chromosomes — has been notoriously challenging for the genomics community to sequence due to the complexity of its structure. Now, this elusive ...

Researchers have uncovered the enzyme behind chromothripsis, a chaotic chromosome-shattering event seen in about one in four cancers. The enzyme, N4BP2, breaks apart DNA trapped in tiny cellular ...

The Y chromosome is perhaps the most puzzling part of the human genome. Associated with male development, it is chock-full of repetitive and inverted stretches of DNA, a hurdle that makes it ...

Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they ...

New techniques to detect Y chromosome genes show frequent loss of the Y in tissues of older men. The increase with age is ...