Feature Channels: Genetics

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UC San Diego researchers describe how circular extrachromosomal DNA in cancer cells boosts aggressiveness and resistance to therapies.

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Plants get stressed too. Environmental factors such as drought or a high concentration of salt in the soil disrupt their physiology.

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Researchers from Penn State College of Medicine identified a new gene mutation that may cause a type of familial thyroid cancer.

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New Approach Will Lead to a Better Understanding of Most Cases

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The cost of genetic testing has steadily declined since the human genome was first mapped in 2003, allowing large employers, healthcare systems, and pension funds to adopt an upstream approach to preventative care by offering genetic testing and precision medicine as proactive wellness benefits.

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Researchers from McMaster University have discovered striking variation in the underlying genetic machinery that orchestrates sexual differentiation in frogs, demonstrating that evolution of this crucial biological system has moved at a dramatic pace.

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Sequencing a genome doesn't necessarily reveal the functions of individual genes. An Iowa State University scientist helps to organize a competition to evaluate the accuracy of software programs that predict gene function. The recently published results of the latest competition included 144 entries from 68 teams.

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Intermittent exposure to high levels of alcohol in adolescent animals leads to increased levels of microRNA-137 in the brains of adults; blocking the molecule helps to reverse or reduce the lasting effects of youth drinking, such as increased alcohol use and anxiety.

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Researchers from the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City have identified new mutations in a gene commonly associated with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDC), a disease that weakens the heart muscle, making it more difficult to adequately circulate blood to meet the body’s needs.

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Researchers at the University of Delaware, using the revolutionary new genetic technology known as CRISPR/Cas9 have found a way to improve the efficiency and precision of the way enzymes work together to produce certain biochemical reactions in cells. Their new application essentially creates a dynamic assembly line that can lead to advances in pharmaceuticals, agriculture and biofuels.

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You've probably seen a lichen, even if you didn't realize it. If you've ever meandered through the forest and wondered what the crusty stuff on trees or rocks was, they're lichens

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Scientists at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam have uncovered a possible explanation for the mental sluggishness that often accompanies illness.

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A new genetic study carried out at the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku demonstrates that, at the end of the Iron Age, Finland was inhabited by separate and differing populations

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In a surprising finding using the standard animal model of Down syndrome (DS), scientists were able to correct the learning and memory deficits associated with the condition

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A gene called apolipoprotein E (APOE), long implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, has two variants that act differently among Caribbean Hispanics depending on the ancestral origin, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Researchers identified non-coding regions of the human genome that control the development and function of four brain cell types and mapped genetic risk variants for psychiatric diseases. They found that risk variants for Alzheimer’s disease were enriched in microglia-specific regulatory elements.

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Geneticist Faith Walker, a researcher at Northern Arizona University, tested whether other questions could be answered by her Species from Feces assay beyond just species. Her answer? Yes, quite a few more questions can be answered.

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Natural genetic engineering allowed plants to move from water to land, according to a new study by an international group of scientists from Canada, China, France, Germany, and Russia.

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Augustana University and the Center for Western Studies announced Drs. Robert Green and Jamie Metzl as keynote speakers for the 24th Boe Forum on Public Affairs to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, in the Elmen Center.This year’s forum, “Are We Ready? The Science, Ethics, and Geopolitics of Genetic Engineering and Preventive Genomics,” will examine the relationship between genetics and health, the ability to predict and thereby prevent disease, and the geopolitics of genetic engineering and genomics.

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Parents spend hours planning to talk with their children about the “birds and bees.” But moms and dads often ignore an equally important conversation—discussing their family’s overall health history.