Rather watch TV than bike 50 miles? The thought of a hike sound like torture instead of fun? Well, according to two recent research papers you can stop berating yourself for being a couch potato (maybe). Researchers have identified 23 gene locations that control the activity levels of mice. “Can you be born a couch potato? In exercise physiology, we didn't used to think so, but now I would say most definitely you can," says J. Timothy Lightfoot, lead researcher on the project at the University of North Carolina.

Birth control may have revolutionized women’s lives, but it’s still a nuisance to take. The pill is 98 percent effective only if you (or your lady friend) takes it every day, at exactly the same time. Complete this task correctly, and the estrogen could give you nausea, headaches and moodiness. Thankfully, researchers at the University of Montreal and Louis Pasteur University may have found a more pleasant alternative.

Before Richard Dawkins became famous as an anti-religion crusader, he reshaped the theory of evolution with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. In the book, Dawkins proposed the idea that genes, rather than organisms, compete with each other for the chance to propagate themselves. While the theory has now been widely accepted for decades, a new study in the July issue of the journal Genetics claims to have isolated the first concrete proof of a selfish gene.

Wanderlust. Restlessness. Shpilkes. In our sedentary society, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) means disrupted classrooms and lost worker productivity. But for nomads, it might be the key to success. A new study in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology says that DRD4, the gene frequently associated with ADHD, behaves differently across environments, and might cause those who whither while sitting down to excel in a roaming lifestyle.

Though caffeine is always ripe for scientific inquiry; in recent months, researchers have grown seemingly obsessed with the drug. So, in the midst of stories about coffee reducing the risk of diabetes and the proper way to optimize your caffeine intake, a study analyzing the role of that beloved aroma was bound to appear sooner or later. And lo and behold, an international team of scientists has done just that by exposing sleep-deprived rats to the sweet smell of java and recording the results.

An international team of scientists today published the first analysis of the genome sequence of Glennie, a female duck-billed platypus from Australia. Because the platypus occupies a unique branch on the tree of life, Glennie's genome could provide important clues about how humans and other mammalian species evolved.

Like all mammals, the platypus nourishes its young with milk. But platypus babies hatch from eggs, a characteristic usually associated with birds and reptiles.

By comparing the platypus genome with the genomes of other animals—including the human, mouse, dog, chicken and green anole lizard—the scientists hope to pinpoint which genes are common to all mammals, and when various traits have appeared or disappeared in the mammalian lineage.

Just as CD players, personal computers, and HDTVs were prohibitively expensive when they were first released, so too was the cost of sequencing the entire genome of an individual. In 2003 that feat was accomplished for the staggering amount of $437,000,000 after 13 years of work. Today, CD players are ubiquitous and cheap; HDTVs are steadily entering the realm of affordability; and so, too, has the cost of sequencing a genome fallen precipitously. It will still set you back $1,000,000 and two months of time, but that is a tremendous savings over just five years ago.