A particular location in DNA, called the Dlk1-Gtl2 locus, plays a critical role in protecting hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells—a discovery revealing a critical role of metabolic control in adult stem cells, and providing insight for potentially diagnosing and treating cancer, according to researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
Variations in a gene that affect the body's responses to stress influence the risk of developing so-called post-concussive symptoms (PCS) after car crashes, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Among the 5 000 existing species of mammals, more than 100 have their genome sequenced, whereas the genomes of only 9 species of reptiles (among 10 000 species) are available to the scientific community. This is the reason why a team at the University of Geneva has produced a database including the newly-sequenced genome of the corn snake. Within the same laboratory, the researchers have discovered the exact mutation that causes albinism in that species.
Article Body 2010 Genetic variation within the endocannabinoid system may explain why some survivors of childhood adversity go on to become dependent on marijuana, while others are able to use marijuana without problems, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis. “We have long known that childhood adversity, and in particular sexual abuse, is associated with the development of cannabis dependence.
Champion of regeneration, Hydra is capable of reforming a complete individual from any fragment of its body. It is even able to remain alive when all its neurons have disappeared. Researcher of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered how: cells of the epithelial type modify their genetic program by overexpressing a series of genes, among which some are involved in diverse nervous functions. The results are published in Philosophical Transactions.
As new scientific discoveries deepen our understanding of how cancer develops in children, doctors and other healthcare providers face challenges in better using that knowledge to guide treatment and counsel families and patients. A CHOP oncologist offers expert commentary on a major study of cancer predisposition genes.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project completes the most comprehensive analysis yet of the role genes associated with cancer predisposition play in childhood cancer
In a “look-back” analysis of data stored on 130 patients with pancreatic cysts, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used gene-based tests and a fixed set of clinical criteria to more accurately distinguish precancerous cysts from those less likely to do harm.
Whether you're territorial, a girlfriend stealer, or a cross dresser - when it comes to finding a partner, scientists have discovered that for some birds it's all in the genes. Individual animals usually exhibit flexibility in their behaviour, but some behaviours are genetically determined.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Cancer Research and Isis Pharmaceuticals demonstrate a commercially feasible way to use RNA to turn the CRISPR-Cas9 system on and off as desired — permanently editing a gene, but only temporarily activating CRISPR-Cas9. The study is published November 16 by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists have found the "fourth strand" of European ancestry. This population, discovered in the Caucasus mountains of Western Georgia survived for thousands of years, isolated from the rest of Europe due to the Ice Age. A small but significant portion of Europe's genome is derived from this unique population of hunter-gatherers, who came out of hiding, and mixed with the Yamnaya culture, which swept into Western Europe about 5,000 years ago.
Taking genetic engineering to the next level, Colorado State University researchers are creating modular, programmable genetic circuits that control specific plant functions.
R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and longtime student of the regulation and ethics of biotechnology, was named co-chair of a study committee established Nov. 12 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to look into the implications of a faster, easier and more precise method for "editing" genes.
A recently published study from two Iowa State University scientists shows that a gene found only in a single plant species can increase protein content when introduced into staple crops.
A new report from Unckless et al. recently published in the journal GENETICS builds on recent experimental work being carried out in the field of gene drive by using mathematical models to estimate how quickly such gene replacement can spread through a population.
Deep within your DNA, a tiny parasite lurks, waiting to pounce from its perch and land in the middle of an unsuspecting healthy gene. If it succeeds, it can make you sick. Like a jungle cat, this parasite sports a long tail. But until now little was known about the role that tail plays in this dangerous jumping.
An international team of scientists led by UC San Francisco researchers has mapped out the genetic trajectories taken by melanoma as it evolves from early skin lesions, known as precursors, to malignant skin cancer, which can be lethal when it invades other tissues in the body.
Analysis results in greater understanding of important biological traits related to crop drought tolerance
There are four gene mutations (KRAS, TP53, STK11, and EGFR) that most commonly occur in lung cancer; however, there are limited effective therapies to target these mutations. With this in mind, Moffitt Cancer Center performed an extensive genetic analysis of lung cancer specimens to unravel how mutations in the two of those genes (TP53 and STK11) contribute to the biology of lung cancer and patient outcomes.
A new study by Berkeley Lab scientists has identified genetic factors that influence motor performance and body weight in a genetically diverse group of mice. The researchers also found the genes identified in the mice overlap significantly with genes related to neurological disorders and obesity in people.
Pediatric oncology researchers have pinpointed a crucial change in a single DNA base that both predisposes children to an aggressive form of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma and makes the disease progress once tumors form. The gene change results in a "super-enhancer" that drives the cancer.
New research from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is shedding important light on the DNA repair process and a protein newly discovered to have an essential role in preventing errors and mutations from occurring.
Results of a new laboratory study by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers suggests that some rare “missense” mutations in the HER2 gene are apparently not — on their own — capable of causing breast cancer growth or spread.
The most rigorous genetic sequencing ever carried out on a single tumor reveals far greater genetic diversity among cancer cells than anticipated, more than 100 million distinct mutations within the coding regions of its genes.
A group of researchers led by Mayo Clinic has discovered that disclosing genetic risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) results in lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), also known as bad cholesterol.
NYU Abu Dhabi researchers have developed a map of genetic changes across the genome of date palms. They have also established genetic differences between Middle Eastern and North African date palms, an important discovery that sheds light on that long elusive question.
A team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, report that a genetic biomarker called loss of heterozygosity or LOH is able to predict which patients with premalignant mouth lesions are at highest risk of developing oral cancer. The findings, published in the November 5, 2015 online issue of Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology, present a new tool that could be used to identify patients most likely to benefit from chemoprevention — and may be applicable to preventing other types of cancer.
A team of scientists, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center, report that a genetic biomarker called loss of heterozygosity or LOH is able to predict which patients with premalignant mouth lesions are at highest risk of developing oral cancer.
Findings published in national journal
Patients with unexplained low blood counts and abnormally mutated cells who do not fit the diagnostic criteria for recognized blood cancers should be described as having clonal cytopenias of undetermined significance (CCUS), suggest University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers in a recent paper published in the journal Blood. The researchers found the condition surprisingly common in older patients with low blood counts.
A new study by Kevin J. Emerson, PhD, assistant professor of biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and his international group of collaborators assessed the extent to which geographical barriers affected genetic variation among Anopheles darlingi populations. Such barriers may greatly influence the approaches used by scientists and physicians to control the spread of malaria throughout Brazil.
Researchers at the University of Indianapolis have found that secondary transfer of human DNA through intermediary contact is far more common than previously thought, a finding that could have serious repercussions for medical science and the criminal justice system. Interviews are available on request at (317) 371-5240 or [email protected].
Seven-hundred-million year-old DNA sequences from ancient animals have been unearthed by researchers at the Universities of Warwick and Leicester, shedding new light on our earliest animal ancestors and how they influenced modern species – including the sponge.
A blue-ribbon project group funded by the National Institutes of Health has published the first consensus guidelines on how researchers should share genomic findings in research on adults and children with other family members. The recommendations, published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, offer direction on sharing information before and after the death of an individual research participant.
UCLA is making a 35-year commitment to reducing the impact of depression
Research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital investigators found evidence that variations in the ETV6 gene may play a significant role in the inherited predisposition to pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
A new study suggests a potential new way to block Notch, one of the most common cancer-causing genes, without causing severe side effects.
University of Adelaide researchers have uncovered the role played by a family of genes, which can suppress hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection within the liver.
• Prof. Yardena Samuels and her team at the Weizmann Institute of Science have found a tumor suppressor gene, RASA2, that drives a particularly deadly form of melanoma as well as regulates a key protein, RAS, that is a major oncogene. The discovery is “highly likely to have direct clinical relevance.”
University of Utah scientists deciphered maternal genetic material from two babies buried together at an Alaskan campsite 11,500 years ago. They found the infants had different mothers and were the northernmost known kin to two lineages of Native Americans found farther south throughout North and South America. The study supports the theory that Native Americans descended from people who migrated from Asia to the Bering land bridge, then spent up to 10,000 years there before moving rapidly into the Americas beginning at least 15,000 years ago.
Research on the genetic factors contributing to neuropathic pain has been hindered by the lack of a standard approach to assessing its clinical characteristics or “phenotype.” Now, a report from an expert panel published in the journal PAIN® presents a consensus approach to assessing the phenotype of neuropathic pain. The journal is the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Muscular dystrophy, which affects approximately 250,000 people in the U.S., occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, fatty or bony tissue and loses function. For years, scientists have searched for a way to successfully treat the most common form of the disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which primarily affects boys. Now, a team of University of Missouri researchers have successfully treated dogs with DMD and say that human clinical trials are being planned in the next few years.
Rapid DNA, a newly commercialized technology developed by DHS S&T, addresses greatly expedites DNA testing to accurately verify family relationships.
Wake Forest University biology professors and students use tomatoes from campus garden to teach high schools students about genetic diversity.
According to a large study of dog DNA from around the world, the first domestic dog originated in Central Asia around 15,000 years ago.
SBP researchers combine publicly available cancer databases to identify new genes associated with cancer
New findings on juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) by researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and collaborators at other institutions were published online Oct. 12 by the medical journal Nature Genetics.
A new genetic discovery could help scientists understand exactly how one X chromosome in each cell of a female's body gets "silenced" – and perhaps lead to better treatment for X-linked diseases.
A new study by University at Buffalo researchers marks a step toward understanding the Huntingtin protein (Htt) is responsible for Huntington's disease. The research shows that Htt controls the movement of precious cargo traveling up and down neurons, the cells that form the core of the nervous system in animals.
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