Scientists at the Sloan Kettering Institute have solved the puzzle of how small chromosomes ensure that they aren’t skipped over during meiosis, the process that makes sperm and egg. From avocado ...

You may have learned in school that humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 “autosomes” and their partners, which contain pretty much the same genes and in the same order, plus one pair of sex ...

Genes are segments of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that are located inside every human cell. The DNA inside each cell is tightly coiled in structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome contains a ...

Human egg cells are often prone to chromosomal errors. As women age, the error rate increases sharply — and can contribute to infertility, pregnancy loss, and ...

An international research team has achieved the first complete sequencing of the human Y chromosome, which is closely linked to male development. This is the last of the human chromosomes to be fully ...

Scientists have finally uncovered the exact DNA sequence where human chromosomes fuse to form Robertsonian chromosomes, a mystery that has puzzled researchers for over a century. Using advanced genome ...

In the 1960s, doctors counting the number of chromosomes in human white blood cells noticed a strange phenomenon. Frequently—and more frequently with age—the cells would be missing the Y chromosome.

Human biological sex is determined by the sex chromosomes X and Y. In most cases, females possess two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. However, there is some evidence that the Y ...

For any mammal, the loss of the Y chromosome should mean the loss of males and the demise of the species. So how the Amami spiny rat manages without a Y chromosome has puzzled biologists for decades.

Abnormalities in the structure of chromosomes within someone’s genetic makeup are called structural chromosomal abnormalities. Robertsonian translocations are very rare structural chromosomal ...