Feature Channels: Genetics

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A team of researchers from UCLA, Cedars-Sinai and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has developed a first-of-its-kind molecular catalog of cells in healthy lungs and the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis.

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A gene called GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Scientists examining the remains of 36 bubonic plague victims from a 16th century mass grave in Germany have found the first evidence that evolutionary adaptive processes, driven by the disease, may have conferred immunity on later generations of people from the region.

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have developed a highly efficient method to address a major challenge in biology—identifying the genetic ‘switches’ that regulate gene expression.

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In their lab, CRCHUM scientists Emmanuelle Brochiero and Damien Adam are studying ways of better predicting the efficacy of medications and helping injured lungs repair and regenerate.

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Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore have found a major molecular “switch” that controls how cells turn their genes on and off. This process ensures the cell correctly and adequately performs its assigned tasks in the body. The research team’s discovery will likely improve the understanding of how normal stem cells function, and could possibly lead to insights into disease.

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A new mutation found in a gene associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation poses a significantly increased risk for heart failure in Black people.

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Despite decades of research and investment, the genetic underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease are still largely unknown, stymieing drug development and early diagnosis efforts. A new $10.7 million, five-year project aims to change that.

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Mutations in a protein called GEMIN5 cause developmental delay and loss of coordination in young children.

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A team of researchers from UCLA, Cedars-Sinai and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has developed a first-of-its-kind molecular catalog of cells in healthy lungs and the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. The findings could help scientists in their search for specific cell types that represent prime targets for genetic and cell therapies for cystic fibrosis.

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Researchers at UC San Diego have used gene therapy to prevent learning and memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, a key step toward eventually testing the approach in humans with the neurodegenerative disease.

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Small changes in the structure of DNA have been implicated in breast cancer and other diseases, but they've been extremely difficult to detect -- until now.

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New on-site laboratory called Key Genomics is a partnership between Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA) and Genomic Testing Cooperative (GTC), provides more precise testing to help improve cancer patient outcomes

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Research on biomarkers, carcinogenesis, regulatory science, and more is available in the latest issue of Toxicological Sciences.

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The 2021 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to scientists Lynne Maquat and Joan Steitz for seminal discoveries in the biology and function of RNA, the workhorse molecule of cells. Their discoveries have reshaped the understanding of RNA’s myriad roles in healthy cell function and in disease-causing dysfunction and have informed the conceptualization and design of RNA-based therapies in various stages of development.

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Hertz Fellow Ravi Sheth was awarded the 2020 Hertz Thesis Prize for developing new tools used in microbial research.

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DALLAS – April 30, 2021 – UT Southwestern scientists successfully employed a new type of gene therapy to treat mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), uniquely utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-based tools to restore a large section of the dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients. The approach, described online today in the journal Science Advances, could lead to a treatment for DMD and inform the treatment of other inherited diseases.

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Unprecedented novel discoveries have implications for characterizing biodiversity for all life, conservation and human health and disease.

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Researchers have identified a set of genes, called clock genes, that control circadian rhythms. But a more complicated network of genes than previously known appears related to these rhythms. In Applied Physics Reviews, scientists detail a statistical model they are using to help identify the genes involved in this network. With help from other disciplines, they hope to fully understand how these genes work together to make different people more productive at different times of day.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced efforts to advance its capabilities to seamlessly connect basic science, translational and clinical research data for the benefit of patients through a technology collaboration with Syntropy and the Foundry platform.

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Penn Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) will host a virtual event on May 6 and 7 that will bring together cell and gene therapy leaders from the two institutions and around the world to discuss the latest achievements in the field, novel strategies, and future developments and applications for chimeric antigen receptor, CAR, T cell therapy and more.

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Three Harvard Medical School researchers recognized for distinguished achievements in research

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An experimental treatment produced improvements in cognitive function and language in patients with fragile X syndrome, according to study results published on April 29 in Nature Medicine. Fragile X syndrome (known as FXS for short) is the most common known genetic cause of autism and the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability.

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During the last 30 years, medical and dental research has attracted a large number of scientists and practitioners working on aspects of high medical relevance that involve a combination of genetic and tissue regeneration approaches.

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A University of Minnesota team has developed a first-of-its-kind method that cryopreserves fruit fly embryos so they can be successfully recovered and developed into adult insects. Cryopreservation of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is crucial to genetics research and critical to scientific breakthroughs benefiting human health.

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A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, has identified both the genetic abnormalities that drive pre-cancer cells into becoming an invasive type of head and neck cancer and patients who are least likely to respond to immunotherapy.

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A study led by researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm shows that the last remaining populations of the Sumatran rhinoceros display surprisingly low levels of inbreeding.

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Whether you hanker for a hard hit of caffeine or favour the frothiness of a milky cappuccino, your regular coffee order could be telling you more about your cardio health than you think. In a world first study of 390,435 people, University of South Australia researchers found causal genetic evidence that cardio health – as reflected in blood pressure and heart rate – influences coffee consumption.

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Researchers argue that advanced tech, especially CRISPR, demands more robust and thoughtful public engagement if it is to be harnessed to benefit the public without crossing ethical lines.

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University of Kentucky announces the establishment of the world’s largest repository of American white oak as part of a groundbreaking effort with Maker’s Mark to conserve, explore and secure the future of American white oak. The repository hopes to transform conservation of a species critical to many American industries.

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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, mutations of SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – have spread to the U.S. and a host of other countries worldwide. Recent studies suggest that current COVID-19 variants are up to 70% more contagious than the pandemic’s original strains. A multidisciplinary team of scientists at Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University used genomic sequencing to track SARS-CoV-2 as it mutated in Northeast Ohio from March 11 to April 22, 2020.

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To fulfill its function, a gene must first be “transcribed” into an RNA molecule that is in turn “translated” into a protein that controls cells. Bacteria use a type of transcription that scientists previously believed was extremely rare in eukaryotes—animals, plants, fungi, and green algae. A new study finds that hundreds of proteins in many species of green algae use the same type of transcription as bacteria.

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A new study is the first-ever to identify the genes for creativity in Homo sapiens that distinguish modern humans from chimpanzees and Neanderthals.

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Women at high risk of breast cancer face cost-associated barriers to care even when they have health insurance, a new study has found. The findings suggest the need for more transparency in pricing of health care and policies to eliminate financial obstacles to catching cancer early.

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The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) is excited to announce some of the sessions for the upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting.

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Using a widely known field of mathematics designed mainly to study how digital and other forms of information are measured, stored and shared, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have uncovered a likely key genetic culprit in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

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A new study at Tel Aviv University found that the British variant (termed: B.1.1.7) of Covid-19 is 45% more contagious than the original virus.

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You can probably guess that losing a job late in life affects your finances and your mental health. But did you know that it can also affect your weight?

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Charcot Marie Tooth and Dejerine-Sottas syndrome are groups of diseases that involve the breakdown of the myelin sheath covering nerve axons.

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CUR's Health Sciences Division announces the 2021 recipients of its NCUR Presentation Awards. The awards cover the cost of registration for undergraduates presenting original research at the 2021 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

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Results from a new cell study suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can bring about long-term gene expression changes. The findings could help explain why some COVID-19 patients — referred to as COVID long-haulers — experience symptoms such as shortness of breath and dizziness long after clearing the infection.

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New research has shed light on how autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) manifests in the brains of girls, prompting the scientists to warn that conclusions drawn from studies conducted primarily in boys should not be assumed to hold true for girls.

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Researchers at Penn Medicine have identified more genetic mutations that strongly predispose younger, otherwise healthy women to peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a rare condition characterized by weakness of the heart muscle that begins sometime during the final month of pregnancy through five months after delivery. PPCM can cause severe heart failure and often leads to lifelong heart failure and even death.

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A new Mayo Clinic study bolsters evidence that colorectal cancer is often imprinted in family genes and passed on from one generation to the next.