Nature never ceases to amaze. Found in Canada, this toad had a mutation that caused its eyes to grow in the roof of its mouth, which means it had to open its mouth to see.

This week in Science, researchers led by genome sequencing pioneer Craig Venter report engineering a bacterium to have the smallest genome - and the fewest genes - of any freely living organism. Known as Syn 3.0, the new organism has a genome whittled down to the bare essentials needed to survive and reproduce, just 473 genes. However, the function of 149 of Syn 3.0's 473 genes remain unknown.

As Syn 3.0's name suggests, it’s not the first synthetic life made by Venter. In 2010, Venter's team reported that they had synthesized the sole chromosome of Mycoplasma mycoides - a bacterium with a relatively small genome - and transplanted it into a separate mycoplasma called M. capricolum, from which they had previously extracted the DNA. After s ...

Scientists have discovered that the extraordinary ability for Sherpas and Tibetans to reach 4,000 m without experiencing altitude sickness is due to a gene inherited from Denisovans, a species of humans that went extinct about 40,000 years ago.

On 24 December 2012, an amazing double helix cloud was spotted just outside Moscow in Russia. While it's still up for debate, a pilot's perfectly timed barrel roll could have been the cause.

We've been genetically modifying crops since the dawn of agriculture.