Mutation News and Research

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Bacteria use viruses for self-recognition, study reveals

Bacterial cells that normally colonize our guts can distinguish themselves from other bacterial species using what's traditionally considered their enemy--a virus.

17 Apr 2019

Research sheds light on how leukemia cells become resistant to drugs

Three children Alejandro Gutierrez, MD, treated for leukemia during his fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital still haunt him more than a decade later.

17 Apr 2019

Cause of cancer is 'written' in our DNA as unique 'fingerprints'

Scientists have discovered that the cause of cancer is “written” within the DNA of tumors, a finding that could help doctors to decide on the best treatment for a patient.

16 Apr 2019

Filial cannibalism and offspring abandonment may be forms of parental care

As you bite into a chocolate bunny or egg this weekend, consider this: rabbits often eat their own young, and hens their own eggs.

16 Apr 2019

Initial gene analysis could result in more effective antipsychotic treatment

An initial gene analysis may yield better outcomes when patients are treated with the antipsychotic drugs risperidone and aripiprazole.

16 Apr 2019

Researchers identify cause of inherited metabolic disorder

A new study from BC Children's Hospital, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and an international team of researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first to identify a rarely-seen type of DNA mutation as the cause of an inherited metabolic disorder.

16 Apr 2019

New catalog of DNA mutation 'fingerprints' could help doctors pinpoint cancer culprits

Scientists in Cambridge and London have developed a catalog of DNA mutation 'fingerprints' that could help doctors pinpoint the environmental culprit responsible for a patient's tumor - including showing some of the fingerprints left in lung tumors by specific chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

16 Apr 2019

FDA approves new treatment for adults with metastatic bladder cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to Balversa (erdafitinib), a treatment for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer that has a type of susceptible genetic alteration known as FGFR3 or FGFR2, and that has progressed during or following prior platinum-containing chemotherapy.

12 Apr 2019

Johns Hopkins scientists design new cell model of aging-associated colon cancer risk

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say a new study of clusters of mouse cells known as "organoids" has significantly strengthened evidence that epigenetic changes, common to aging, play a essential role in colon cancer initiation.

12 Apr 2019

Study describes vulnerability shared by large subset of cancer cell lines

Cancer cells adapt to potentially fatal mutations and other molecular malfunctions by adjusting one or more other genes' activity, in the process becoming dependent on those genes for their survival and growth.

12 Apr 2019

New liquid biopsy technique used to assess melanoma progression

When the surgeon surgically removes a melanoma, some patients are said to be 'cancer-free' and they do not get additional treatment. However, should the fluid obtained in the drainage implanted after surgery be tested using the liquid biopsy technique rather than be disposed of as medical waste, the test might predict the high or low risk of cancer recurrence.

11 Apr 2019

Researchers discover pathway contributing to fatty liver disease

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have found a protein that is a critical regulator in the development of fatty liver disease in mice, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

11 Apr 2019

Biochemical switches could be triggered to treat pathology of IBM, ALS and FTD

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have found that the enzymes ULK1 and ULK2 play a key role in breaking down cell structures called stress granules, whose persistence leads to toxic buildup of proteins that kill muscle and brain cells.

11 Apr 2019

New strategy for editing and repairing genetic mutation associated with microduplications

Scientists at UMass Medical School have developed a strategy for editing and repairing a particular type of genetic mutation associated with microduplications using CRISPR/Cas9 and a seldom-used DNA repair pathway.

11 Apr 2019

Scientists solve mystery surrounding common genetic cause of ALS

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have cracked the mystery surrounding the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

11 Apr 2019

Researchers find presence of Aire gene in lymph nodes

The thymus is the organ in which T cells differentiate. T cells express various T cell receptors for reacting with various pathogenic microbes and viruses.

11 Apr 2019

Key gene involved in transmission of African sleeping sickness identified

Life scientists from UCLA and the University of Bern have identified a key gene in the transmission of African sleeping sickness -- a severe disease transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies, which are common in sub-Saharan Africa.

10 Apr 2019

Researchers map genetic mutation behind incurable disease

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped the genetic mutation behind the incurable disease systemic mastocytosis.

10 Apr 2019

Study demonstrates viability of gene editing strategy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

A group of researchers from the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz have led a study which demonstrates the viability of a gene editing strategy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (also known as butterfly chilidren) with the tool CRISPR/Cas9 in preclinical models with this disease.

8 Apr 2019

New study explains why heart failure patients have trouble with thinking and depression

Heart failure patients often have trouble with thinking and depression. A new study by University of Guelph researchers explains why and points to ways to prevent and treat both heart and brain maladies through the emerging field of circadian medicine.

5 Apr 2019