Exercise changes your genes without changing your DNA

Exercise causes diet-independent changes in the gut microbiome

Cardiovascular exercise has been found to boost the gut's population of beneficial bacteria, and exercise overall decreases the likelihood of developing a "leaky gut," a condition in which a porous gut lining allows bacteria to leak into the bloodstream and cause inflammation.

Exercise improves brain blood flow, stimulates neural growth, and more

Exercise has dramatic effects on human biology, including reducing some of the long-term harms associated with chronic stress. Its effects are also pronounced in the brain, including improved memory retention, sleep, cognitive functioning, and more.

Move over gene editing, scientists can edit your epigenome

Instead of deleting genes, epigenetic editing modulates their activity. A new paper tests if it’s able to undo a genetic effect of early alcohol exposure.

The reason some people love exercise may be because of their microbiome

Certain gut microbes in mice trigger dopamine release and drive motivation to exercise more. Scientists are investigating whether humans carry similar microbial patterns that influence our natural inclination towards movement, exploring how unseen microbial ecosystems may shape mammalian fitness behavior and reinforce innate reward pathways. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Heatstroke can reprogram your DNA, putting survivors at risk of future health problems

Severe illness from extreme heat exposure can alter DNA through epigenetics—turning genes "on" or "off" to shape disease risk. These changes can place an organism at greater risk of future health complications—unlike the epigenetic changes produced by moderate, repeated heat exposures.

Epigenetic clock: DNA alterations on cells that predict biological age

Epigenetics refers to a biological process that controls whether certain genes are expressed or not. With a rising interest in the concept of biological age, researchers have discovered a cellular change known as DNA methylation that leaves a fingerprint on our genome as we age.

Optimal human functioning requires movement

There is now ample evidence to back the centuries-old hypothesis that exercise is critical to human health. This review article explores the latest discoveries in exercise science, including how exercise is intrinsic to maintaining our organ systems throughout life.

One minute of exercise correlates to five extra minutes of life (on average)

Doctors increasingly view exercise as the single most powerful medical intervention available. Observational studies suggest one minute of exercise correlates to an additional five minutes of life as humans age. Stanford researcher Euan Ashley discusses our current understanding of how exercise provides benefits at the cellular level.

Exercise releases chemicals that enhance cognitive function

Neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, along with increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, enhance a wide range of brain functions. New research demonstrates a direct link between movement and numerous cognitive benefits, including memory, learning, and stress resilience.

Exercise helps make your arteries more elastic

Regular aerobic exercise releases nitric oxide, a key molecule that relaxes blood vessel walls and improves vascular function. These exercise-induced adaptations make the heart work more efficiently and blood vessels become more elastic, leading to improved circulation and lowered cardiovascular risk.

Myokines are molecules that facilitate some of the benefits of exercise

When muscles contract, they release ‘hope molecules’ (myokines) such as IL-6 and irisin. These proteins then travel through the bloodstream to reduce inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and even support brain repair. This piece illustrates how movement triggers a systemic healing cascade throughout the human body.

Changing a single letter in DNA can permanently alter an organism

Genetic mutations occur when cells replicate, which requires a copy of DNA to be created, and involve substituting, deleting, or inserting letters in a cell's genetic code. Mutations can be caused by normal cellular processes, chemical exposure (e.g., carcinogens), or radiation and may result in genetic disorders or genetic variations that drive evolution.

How burnout alters your brain

Stress is a normal part of everyday life, and it’s not necessarily all bad. But chronic stress—the kind that leads to burnout—can change the size and functioning of parts of your brain. It can alter the ability to make new brain cells and memories and even potentially modify your DNA.

Can we speed up our metabolisms?

Listen to this 31-minute podcast to better understand what science knows and doesn't know about metabolism, as well as the only thing that seems capable of changing it. Scientists understand that the difference between a so-called “fast” and “slow” metabolism does not affect one’s ability to lose weight.

Can humans delay or reverse old age?

We're not sure yet. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco are studying why some conditions and behaviors, such as low-oxygen environments and exercise, benefit the aging process, hoping to reveal potential health applications. Some of this research focuses on klotho, a naturally occurring age-regulating hormone named after the Greek Fate Clotho. Animal studies on klotho brain injections found subjects had improved memory recall and age-related degeneration resistance.

Even if you have some ASD-linked gene variations you may not develop ASD

Individual environment and life experiences affect how genes perform in the body, potentially adding methyl groups to DNA that affect their function and turning genes on and off—which may heighten or reduce disease risk.

'Endoevolution' refers to the Darwinian selection happening continually inside us

The term, coined by Roxanne Khamsi in her 2026 book "Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health" describes the idea that evolution does not just occur across generations of humans. Instead, mutated cells continuously compete with healthy ones in our bodies, with implications for our tissues and health. Khamsi says these autocorrections are essentially natural gene therapy. 

At-home genetic testing results commonly led users to healthier lifestyles

Italian research that aimed to investigate what people do longer-term after receiving direct-to-consumer genetic test results indicated that whether the results were positive or negative, people tended to adopt a healthier diet after receiving the results, and they'd still maintained it a year after receiving their results. Some users also reported an overall reduction in stress over their health concerns. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Addressing lifestyle factors, which influence inflammation, can cure some chronic diseases

In this video, a physician claims that he reversed a patient's Type 2 diabetes in six weeks by addressing inflammation drivers such as diet. More broadly, he argues that society needs to better consider and address numerous disease factors that are modulated by inflammation, such as stress, sleep, diet, and movement.

Microtears in muscles from exercise cause fibers to grow back larger

Placing muscle under increased load or stress causes damage that requires rest to repair, leading to stronger, more enduring muscle over time. Muscles adapt to such increasing demands by improving their efficiency with approaches that include increasing the number of mitochondria housed in hundreds of thousands of muscle cells.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

The history of the gene: an interactive timeline

Humans didn’t need modern technology to figure out that kids tend to look like their parents. But what did humans believe about genetics before we knew about DNA or cells in general? Explore this interactive timeline to see how philosophers and scientists throughout the ages tried to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.

Explore the differences between healthy and cancerous cells using a DNA microarray

In this simulation, you will learn how scientists use microarrays to experiment on thousands of genes at the same time. By determining which genes are on or off, users can identify those that contribute to cancer formation.

Continual sitting harms your health in a variety of ways

Prolonged inactivity, like sitting for long periods, slows metabolism, weakens muscles and bones, and impairs insulin function. When these negative changes persist over time, the cumulative result is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many cancers.

There is a template for how to live a better, healthier day, and it includes a digital sunset

Science suggests that early-morning exercise, later-morning peak work or social time, consistent exercise, and a "digital sunset"—starting to turn down the lights in the evening and avoid screens—are important for circadian health.

Cells translate genetic information into proteins using RNA messengers

Genes are segments of DNA, each composed of a sequence of nitrogenous bases. Within the nucleus, these sequences are copied into a single strand of ribonucleic acid during transcription. This strand leaves the nucleus and is translated by ribosomes into a chain of amino acids that folds into a functional protein.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years