Geneticists looking inside the nuclear genome for mutations that contribute to disease have long relied on a principal known as constraint modeling, which allows researchers to assess the degree of ...

Scientists have shown that in one in every 4,000 births, some of the genetic code from our mitochondria—the 'batteries' that power our cells—inserts itself into our DNA, revealing a surprising new ...

Some of your most important life partners are the mitochondria that power all your cells. You and these little cellular powerhouses are in a 1.5-billion-year-old evolutionary relationship—but ...

EPFL scientists have discovered that a simple shape change in mitochondria helps cells evenly distribute their mitochondrial DNA, solving a long-standing puzzle. To generate energy for cells, ...

Mutations accumulated in mitochondrial DNA associated with aging were earlier believed to cause aging by decreasing the energy-producing function (mitochondrial respiratory function). In this study, ...

A new study finds that mitochondria in our brain cells frequently fling their DNA into the cells' nucleus, where the mitochondrial DNA integrates into chromosomes, possibly causing harm. As direct ...

Organelles in cells perform many specialized functions, but the mitochondrion is unique among them. This crucial organelle, often known as the powerhouse of the cell, also carries its own little ...

For decades, the dream of fixing harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA felt out of reach. Scientists have long known these mutations cause serious diseases that pass down only through mothers. They ...

Scientists have found DNA in the nucleus of brain cells, where it shouldn’t be. Bits of genes that typically reside in mitochondria insert themselves at unexpectedly high rates into brain cells’ ...

Mitochondria are often described as the cell’s power plants, because they generate energy. To help them achieve this, mitochondria carry their own small genome called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Each ...