A growing body of research suggests that our ability to lose weight is shaped in large part by our genes. STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- Happy National DNA Day! April 25 marks the 60th anniversary of scientists' discovery of the double helix. It's also the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project, which set out to sequence the more than 3 billion letters in our genetic code. Biologist James Watson and physicist Francis Crick realized our DNA molecules form a three-dimensional double helix in 1953. But DNA research dates back to the late 1860s, according to Nature Education. Friedrich Miescher was the first to identify "nucleic acid" in our white blood cells; his 1869 finding was later named deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. Others later defined the components that make up DNA molecules, identified RNA (ribonucleic acid, the other type of nucleic acid found in all cells along with DNA) and determined that although DNA differs in each species, it always maintains certain properties. Those findings led to Watson and Crick's conclusion, which paved the way for decades of DNA discoveries. Today we use DNA tests to tell us about all kinds of things -- from Justin Bieber's baby … Continue reading →

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Cold Spring Harbor, New York (CNN) -- At 85, James Watson still plays tennis every week. His hips and knees haven't given out yet, he says, and he likes grass courts. "I try and play people who can hit the ball hard," he said Tuesday at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a Long Island, New York, research institution he directed for 25 years. Watson has always gone up against tough competition, especially in science. Most famously, in 1953, he and Francis Crick figured out that DNA, the molecule of life, has a double helix structure, beating their rival Linus Pauling to the answer. Solving the DNA structure set the stage for the foundation of much of modern biology, as scientists use insights about DNA to develop disease treatments, trace the inheritance of physical traits and explore how conditions can be passed down from generation to generation. Having shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery with Crick and Maurice Wilkins in 1962, who are now both deceased, Watson is aware that he perhaps has no competitor in the title of most famous living scientist. "That's really saying, there's not been another DNA," he said, clad in khaki Bermuda shorts, beige … Continue reading →

DNA contains genetic segments inherited from groups that interbred in the past. Scientists have mapped some of the intermixing. STORY HIGHLIGHTS CNN Labs explores the latest innovations around the world to showcase cutting-edge designs and groundbreaking research in science and technology. (CNN) -- Most people are carrying around historical records in their DNA, with clues to how people from genetically distinct groups intermingled over the last 4,000 years. That's the conclusion of a new study in the journal Science. Researchers set out to pinpoint which groups intermixed, and when, over thousands of years, using modern DNA. They thought this information could complement other historical records. "The results suggest DNA is indeed a powerful means of reconstructing history, which then might be used to identify the genetic legacies of historically well-attested events ... and highlight surprising events with a less clear historical context," authors Garrett Hellenthal and Simon Myers wrote in an e-mail. The scientists have created an interactive map showcasing their findings. You can explore the map in detail on the researchers' website, admixturemap.paintmychromosomes.com. The technical term for people from genetically different groups having babies together is "genetic admixture." This has happened throughout history when people migrated into a new … Continue reading →