Polymerase News and Research

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Potential of liquid biopsy in cancer biomarker detection and prenatal testing

The promise and challenges of liquid biopsy, an emerging, noninvasive method for targeted disease diagnosis and detection of cancer biomarkers to enable improved and personalized therapy, is the focus of a new special issue of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

22 Apr 2019

A gene regulatory multi-tool plays key role in unjamming the genome after DNA damage

A protein complex that is involved in nearly every step in the regulatory control of gene expression in cells has now been shown also to play a key role in clearing potential traffic jams in the production of RNA.

5 Apr 2019

Study finds cellular protein as a 'gas pump attendant' of cancer development

The cells which make up our body vary significantly. A liver cell does not look like a muscle cell and each has a unique function. This is because liver cells produce the proteins that characterize them, and muscle cells do the same.

1 Apr 2019

Higher levels of sex hormones in older men related to lower biological age

Older men tend to have lower biological age if they have higher levels of sex hormones, particularly the estradiol form of estrogen, a large new study from Australia finds.

26 Mar 2019

Immune system errors linked to development of childhood leukemia

Genetic mutations that drive the development of a common type of childhood leukemia can be traced back to errors by the immune system during the production of antibodies.

25 Mar 2019

Researchers find evidence of Cryptosporidium parasite in Minnesota’s public water systems

When consumed in contaminated water, the microscopic parasite Cryptosporidium can cause symptoms of stomach cramps, diarrhea and fever.

22 Mar 2019

New case study describes adolescent patient with rapid-onset schizophrenia and Bartonella infection

In a new case study, researchers at North Carolina State University describe an adolescent human patient diagnosed with rapid onset schizophrenia who was found instead to have a Bartonella henselae infection.

19 Mar 2019

USP15 enzyme could potentially lead to new treatments for breast, pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the George Washington University Cancer Center found that the enzyme USP15 could potentially lead to new treatments for breast and pancreatic cancer. Their findings were published in Nature Communications.

15 Mar 2019

Scientists introduce a simple, reliable method for universal isothermal DNA amplification

Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable.

13 Mar 2019

Universal pan-filovirus T-cell vaccine could offer protection against Ebola and Marburg

Vaccines that induce protective T-cell responses could protect against members across the filovirus family, according to a study published February 28 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Tomáš Hanke of the University of Oxford, Bette Korber of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and colleagues.

4 Mar 2019

Novel mechanism behind DNA damage control uncovered

DNA damage is occurring in our cells all the time due to external agents, such as exposure to sun, or internal agents, like reactive oxygen species.

26 Feb 2019

Study quantifies hepatic and intestinal mRNA expression of Ugt isoforms in rats

In pharmaceutical companies, rats are used commonly in nonclinical studies to investigate the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profiles of drug candidates before they are entered into clinical studies. Most compounds administered via the oral route are metabolized in the liver and intestine, so the metabolism is a key determinant of pharmacokinetics.

20 Feb 2019

Researchers identify regulatory mechanism underlying obesity

Obesity − as research in the past decade has shown − is first and foremost a brain disease. Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München, partners in the German Center for Diabetes Research, have now discovered a molecular switch that controls the function of satiety neurons and therefore body weight. The findings were published in the journal 'Nature Metabolism'.

31 Jan 2019

Scientists pinpoint mechanism that leads to steroid diabetes

Patients undergoing long-term treatment with steroids may suffer from metabolic side effects. Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, partners in the German Center for Diabetes Research, have now pinpointed a mechanism that leads to so-called steroid diabetes

25 Jan 2019

Researchers uncover new role of heterochromatin in maintaining chromosomal integrity

Although many people are aware that chromosomal damage and shortening contribute to the aging process, understanding how chromosomal defects occur is about more than just finding a way to turn back the clock. Large changes in the structure of chromosomes, known as gross chromosomal rearrangements, can result in cell death or genetic diseases such as cancer.

24 Jan 2019

DZIF scientists reveal problems with available diagnostics for Zika and chikungunya virus

Millions of people have contracted Zika and chikungunya virus infections since the outbreaks that have been striking Latin America since 2013. Particularly Zika-related malformations in newborns warrant reliable diagnostics.

18 Jan 2019

New mechanism of gene regulation involved in tumor progression discovered

Genes contain all the information needed for the functioning of cells, tissues, and organs in our body. Gene expression, meaning when and how are the genes being read and executed, is thoroughly regulated like an assembly line with several things happening one after another.

9 Jan 2019

Study offers new insight on mechanism underlying control of gene expression

Researchers have provided new insight on the mechanism underlying the control of gene expression in all living organisms, according to a study published today in eLife.

8 Jan 2019

New molecular engineering method improves precision of biomarker analysis

Researchers from the University of Helsinki in cooperation with the University of Tartu, Competence Centre on Health Technologies from Estonia, and the Karolinska Institute, published an article in Nature's partner journal Genomic Medicine in which they present Targeted Allele Counting by sequencing along with several of its potential applications.