Newborn screening is practiced nationwide to detect rare conditions that may be life-threatening or require medical attention. Shortly after birth, the baby’s heel is pricked and a few drops of blood are placed on a special filter-paper blood spot card, which is sent to the state gov... [More]

  Keeping track of what we reveal about ourselves each day—through email and text messages, Amazon purchases and Facebook "likes"—is hard enough. Imagine a future when Big Data has access not only to your shopping habits, but also to your DNA and other deeply personal data colle... [More]

2013 was a record-breaking year for exonerations in the United States, according to statistics compiled by the National Registry of Exonerations. At least 87 people were set free for crimes they did not commit last year, the highest number since researchers began keeping track more than 20 ye... [More]

After four empty beer cans and a chilled six-pack were discovered inside a Bronx police stationhouse, top NYPD brass called in a team of forensic experts to try to detect DNA and fingerprints, DNAinfo New York has learned. Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski’s Inspections Unit summoned the... [More]

  We leave our DNA everywhere — on the side of a wine glass or on a strand of hair left in a public restroom. An artist is proving that what you leave behind could be a lot more than you think. You may want to think twice before you spit out your gum or drop a cigarette butt in public... [More]

Poverty, it turns out, is etched into our DNA. That's not a metaphorical statement. Growing up poor leaves a permanent mark on our permanent genetic code, according to new research. Socioeconomic status during childhood correlates with shorter sections of DNA, known as telomeres, later in li... [More]

Two weeks ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report taking stock of the physical basis of climate change. It examines the data on increasing greenhouse gases, rising temperatures, shrinking polar ice sheets, and climbing sea levels—and attempts ... [More]

From biology class to “C.S.I.,” we are told again and again that our genome is at the heart of our identity. Read the sequences in the chromosomes of a single cell, and learn everything about a person’s genetic information — or, as 23andme, a prominent genetic testing c... [More]

You can ditch your computer and leave your cellphone at home, but you can't escape your DNA.   It belongs uniquely to you – and, increasingly, to the authorities. Countries around the world are collecting genetic material from millions of citizens in the name of fighting crime an... [More]