A crack in the cellular energy dam

Each day, the Hoover Powerplant produces enough energy to power one house for over a thousand years1. Such immense amounts of power are generated from the controlled flow of water through turbines at the base...

Will the woolly mammoth walk again?

“Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead.” – Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), The Princess Bride, 1987 Beneath our feet,...

Evolution is happening before our very eyes—just ask the peppered moths

In 1858, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. The ideas put forth by Darwin in this book...

How does your DNA affect your sleep?

Some people just seem to be able to roll out of bed at sunrise and jump right into the day. Others are slower to wake up, but are able to be productive well into the...

Helix, Salesforce.com, and the engineer’s craft

This is part of a blog series written by the Helix Engineering staff. To follow along with the team as they publish, keep tabs on the Helix Engineering blog category. There is a lot of...

Could your DNA make it harder to wake up early?

Brightening an otherwise dark room, the numbers on the alarm clock glow with a steady message: Time to wake up. The bed is cozy, though, and the day promises to be a busy one. It’s...

Remembering Dr. Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, a pioneer in population genetics

Learning about human history has a way of charming our imagination; there’s something captivating in finding out who your ancestors were and how their meandering stories all collide with you. The same is true at...