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Study tracks milestones in the history of human disease genetics

Genetic discoveries over the past 25 years have substantially advanced understanding of both rare and common diseases, furthering the development of treatment and prevention for ailments ranging from inflammatory bowel diseases to diabetes, according to a study published in Nature Research in January.

27 Jan 2020

Algae improves human gastrointestinal issues, study shows

A widespread, fast-growing plant called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is famous in scientific laboratories due to its position as the world's most exhaustively studied algae.

27 Jan 2020

Determining Microsatellite Instability Status Using Multiplex PCR-Based Methods

Determining microsatellite instability status using multiplex PCR-based methods used to screen for Lynch Syndrome, a dominant hereditary cancer propensity.

From Promega Corporation 24 Jan 2020

Jumping genes play surprising role in stabilizing DNA folding patterns

"Jumping genes" -- bits of DNA that can move from one spot in the genome to another -- are well-known for increasing genetic diversity over the long course of evolution.

24 Jan 2020

Healing and hope for families affected by fragile X in Eastern Europe

Mothers and fathers and their young children crowded into an old, government-run children's hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, colorful, cartoonish drawings covering its hallway walls. Parents struggled to soothe their anxious, wriggly boys and girls. But they were patient, polite. It was, after all, a day unlike any other. A day for hope.

23 Jan 2020

Transcriptional scanning in the sperm may regulate rate of human evolution

Maturing sperm cells turn on most of their genes, not to follow their genetic instructions like normal, but instead to repair DNA before passing it to the next generation, a new study finds.

23 Jan 2020

New study gives hope for potentially developing a cure for HIV

HIV latency is considered one of the biggest challenges to developing a cure for the virus.

23 Jan 2020

New method reveals how giant viruses infect amoeba

Host cells infected with giant viruses behave in a unique manner. To gain deeper insight into the infection mechanism of giant viruses, scientists at Tokyo University of Science developed a specialized algorithm that can track the movement of host cells.

23 Jan 2020

Molecular biologists identify gene that puts brakes on tissue growth

The planarian flatworm is a simple animal with a mighty and highly unusual ability: it can regenerate itself from nearly every imaginable injury, including decapitation. These tiny worms can regrow any missing cell or tissue -- muscle, neurons, epidermis, eyes, even a new brain.

22 Jan 2020

Patient-specific tumor organoids may one day be used to personalize cancer treatment

A patient-specific tumor organoid platform developed by Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine researchers and their cancer center colleagues could someday take the guessing game out of immunotherapy treatments.

21 Jan 2020

Irregularity in eating schedules during weekend linked to obesity

A new study by the University of Barcelona concluded that irregularity in eating schedules during the weekend, named by the authors as eating jet lag, could be related to the increase of body mass index (BMI), a formula that measures weight and height to determine whether someone's weight is healthy.

21 Jan 2020

Study helps explain how human social structures emerge

What rules shaped humanity's original social networks? Researchers in Japan developed new mathematical models to understand what conditions produced traditional community structures and conventions around the world, including taboos about incest.

21 Jan 2020

Researchers discover how bacterial pathogens switch into attack mode

Many bacterial pathogens excrete toxins as soon as they have entered the host in order to suppress its immune response.

21 Jan 2020

Novel drug inhibits liver damage, obesity and glucose intolerance in mice fed with high-fat diet

Mice given a new drug targeting a key gene involved in lipid and glucose metabolism could tolerate a high-fat diet regimen (composed of 60% fat from lard) without developing significant liver damage, becoming obese, or disrupting their body's glucose balance.

20 Jan 2020

Microbiomes may have considerable impact on animal fertility and reproduction

It is an awkward idea, but a couple's ability to have kids may partly depend on who else is present. The reproductive tracts of males and females contain whole communities of micro-organisms.

17 Jan 2020

Research: Firms’ strategic decisions affect evolution of activism and emergence of mobilization

According to received wisdom, local activism against the establishment of industrial plants follows a cycle, with its highest intensity a short time after mobilization.

17 Jan 2020

New study to examine connections between chronic fatigue syndrome and mono in college students

Pathophysiological underpinnings of the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are still poorly understood, according to Leonard A. Jason, a DePaul University psychology professor who has studied chronic fatigue syndrome primarily in adults for the past 30 years.

16 Jan 2020

Study shows how extracellular vesicles help melanoma cells to spread

A new study from Finland sheds fresh light on how melanoma cells interact with other cells via extracellular vesicles they secrete.

16 Jan 2020

Immune system contribution to tumor heterogeneity may influence liver cancer growth

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine say the immune system might contribute to the tumor heterogeneity seen in liver cancer that can affect the rate of cancer growth.

15 Jan 2020

KU Leuven researchers develop new antibacterial strategy that weakens bacteria

Bioscience engineers from KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a new antibacterial strategy that weakens bacteria by preventing them from cooperating. Unlike with antibiotics, there is no resistance to this strategy, because the non-resistant bacteria outnumber resistant ones.

14 Jan 2020