The human genome keeps selected genes readily available for use while other genes are kept securely stored away for long periods of time, sometimes forever. Candidate genes for such long-term storage include those required only for early development and proliferation. Researchers have successfully determined the structure of a key two-molecule complex involved in long-term gene storage.
In animals, genes are passed from parents to offspring via sperm or eggs. In some single-celled organisms, such as yeast, genes can be passed on in spores. In both strategies, the genomic material becomes dramatically compacted during the process, reduced in volume to as little as five percent of its original volume. A new study identifies a single molecule required for genome compaction and speculates that compaction may be vital to sperm fertility and function.
Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute outline an innovative approach that could be used to create such a vaccine.
More than half of human cancers involve mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene, specifically in its DNA-binding core domain, pointing to this region of the p53 protein as being pivotal to its anti-cancer activity. Clearly, a detailed view of the p53 protein in direct contact with DNA could provide important insights into preventing and treating an array of human cancers. Now, a new study by researchers provides this view.
A new study shows that an enzyme involved in appropriately repressing sets of neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells is also a target for certain monoamine oxidase inhibitors used to treat depression. The findings suggest that these anti-depressive drugs may have additional applications in other medically relevant areas. Specifically, the anti-cancer possibilities of these drugs are currently being explored.
The winner of the 2006 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award is freelance science writer Bijal Trivedi. She won for her October 1, 2005, article in New Scientist magazine, "Slimming for Slackers," which explored a new area of science investigating the complex bacterial ecology of the gut.
Only about 10 percent of the roughly 25,000 genes in the human genome are activated, or "on," at any given time in a particular cell "“ the default setting for most genes is "off," or repressed. Reliable gene silencing is vital to the health of an organism. In a new study, researchers have identified an important new global mechanism for this essential gene silencing.
A novel approach to creating a vaccine to treat melanoma has demonstrated promising effectiveness in a new laboratory study led by researchers at The Wistar Institute. About a third of melanoma patients might benefit from such a vaccine.
In diverse ecosystems, packed with wildly different species, evolution whizzes along. As different species accumulate mutations, some adapt particularly well to their environment and prosper. It happens in marine sediments, mountain forests "“ and, as a new study illustrates, in precancerous tumors, too.
The FDA today announced the licensing of a new vaccine against rotavirus, a disease responsible for thousands of deaths around the world each year. The early research that underpins the new vaccine was conducted at The Wistar Institute and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Wistar Institute has licensed the seed stock for its rubella vaccine to Microgen of Russia for a modest fee in the interest of promoting global public health. The agreement was encouraged by the Vishnevskaya- Rostropovich Foundation, headed by Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich.
A team of scientists has detailed the convergence of RNA editing and microRNAs. MicroRNAs are involved in embryonic development, cell and tissue formation, and cancer formation. The study expands understanding of the role of RNA editing in gene control.
The cancer gene MYC is among the most commonly overexpressed oncogenes in human cancers. Scientists at The Wistar Institute have now shown that MYC activates a gene called MTA1, which has been demonstrated by other researchers to regulate metastasis in a variety of cancers.
A new study offers insights into the intricate biochemistry governing gene regulation, while simultaneously pointing to the importance of investigating the complex biology of life at different levels of organization.
Familiar preventive vaccines protect an individual from infections. Therapeutic vaccines, however, are designed for patients who have acquired chronic infections, such as HIV or hepatitis, or even cancers. Thus far, such vaccines have fallen short of expectations.
This study reports on how mutations in p53 lead to DNA replication stress. This stress leads to random errors in the DNA duplication process. Unless halted, this error-generating process leads to an accumulation of mutant genes in the cell and, eventually, cancer.
Genomic instability, particularly in the regions at the ends of the chromosomes known as telomeres, has been linked to aging and cancer. Now, researchers have shown that an enzyme known as Ubp10 plays a vital role in protecting the telomeric regions of the genome from potential destabilizing molecular events.
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