The Y chromosome is among the smallest in the human body and carries the fewest genes. Researchers are paying renewed attention to its role in cancer—specifically, what happens when it vanishes.

Thin stretches of the human X chromosome look oddly empty when you scan for Neanderthal DNA. Geneticists even have a name for the gaps: “Neanderthal deserts.

Having extra chromosomes is typically an issue for an organism and can disrupt development or cause disease. But some cells benefit instead: For example, cancer cells or pathogenic yeasts can use ...

Intersex is an umbrella term for people who are born with one or more traits in their chromosomes, genitals, hormones, or internal reproductive organs that don’t fit the typical male or female ...

This important study demonstrates that a peri-nuclear actomyosin network, present in some types of human cells, facilitates kinetochore-spindle attachment of chromosomes in unfavorable locations - ...

Basic biology has it that girls are girls because they have two X chromosomes — the things inside cells that carry our genes. Boys are boys because they have one X and one Y. Recently, though, there's ...

Women can be colorblind, but it’s much less common than in men. Red-green color blindness, the most common type, is inherited through the X chromosome. Since males have only one X, they need just one ...