Genes News and Research

RSS

New DNA test improves diagnosis of rare genetic disorders

A new test provides a much more complete picture of DNA than current standard diagnostics and leads to a diagnosis more often.

13 Jun 2026

Noninvasive sequencing expands prenatal genetic screening capabilities

While non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has revolutionised prenatal diagnostics by allowing the detection of a number of genetic problems in a fetus, it is currently limited and thus misses many genetic causes of abnormalities.

12 Jun 2026

Cellular process discovery may lead to new cancer treatments

A molecular geneticist at Montana State University has discovered a cellular process once believed impossible by scientists – the creation of the amino acid cysteine within a living cell when the cell's primary systems to do so fail. The discovery may one day lead to new cancer treatments.

12 Jun 2026

Ancient unicellular organism offers clues to animal origins

A recent study by Ruibao Li and Jennah Dharamshi published in Nature may help us understand the beginnings of animal evolution billions of years ago.

12 Jun 2026

Engineered phages use molecular anchors to enter human cells

The study identified phage surface proteins acting as molecular anchors. These proteins confer phages ith the ability to attach to human cells.

12 Jun 2026

New genetic driver found for rare small intestinal cancers

A signaling system known as the Wnt pathway plays a central role in how cells in the intestine grow, divide, and renew themselves.

12 Jun 2026

Researchers urge one health approach to control raccoon-borne water contamination

The emerging infectious bacterium Escherichia albertii has caused outbreaks of severe food poisoning and hospitalized people through contaminated water and foods, such as salad ingredients. Now, a new study from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has gathered evidence from river, animal and genetic samples that suggest a pathway by which invasive raccoons (Procyon lotor) transmit infections to humans.

12 Jun 2026

Amsterdam UMC researchers overturn long-standing biological pacemaker dogma

Researchers from Amsterdam UMC have overturned a key assumption in the biological pacemaker field.

11 Jun 2026

Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor researcher joins ARIA IMPACT Network to advance autism therapies

Dr. Jimmy Holder, associate professor in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, and his team have received a grant for up to $17.25 million from Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) to become a part of the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network.

11 Jun 2026

Researchers discover 45 new toxins produced by Salmonella bacteria

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered 45 new toxins produced by Salmonella bacteria, some of which are associated with foodborne infections.

11 Jun 2026

Review uses evolutionary lens to examine modern human aging rates

A review article now published in "Nature Reviews Genetics" brings together evolutionary theory, comparative genomics and large-scale human genetics to explain why we age and why aging rates differ among individuals and species.

11 Jun 2026

Genetic study links liver enzyme to compulsive cocaine addiction

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have completed a massive genetic study that identifies key biological drivers of cocaine addiction, uncovering a potential new target for treatment that resides in the liver rather than the brain.

11 Jun 2026

Circadian clock protein BMAL1 enhances inflammatory responses in immune cells

Daily life is shaped by the solar day, influencing when we wake up, eat, work, and sleep. Inside the body, a similar internal timing system -present in nearly every cell- known as the circadian clock, synchronizes many biological functions such as sleep, metabolism, hormone release, and even the immune system's activity.

11 Jun 2026

Genetic screening of LOXHD1 variants guides early hearing loss intervention

Hearing loss is a common cause of disability worldwide, with anywhere between 30-60% of cases being caused by genetic factors. LOXHD1 is a gene integral to essential protein interactions responsible for maintaining normal hair cell function.

11 Jun 2026

Structure of the Argonaute maturation complex guides RNA therapeutic design

RNA therapeutics have emerged as one of the most promising new classes of medicines. Eight small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs have already been approved worldwide for the treatment of genetic diseases, yet scientists have not fully understood one of the most fundamental steps underlying their function: how Argonaute, the core protein responsible for gene silencing, becomes activated.

11 Jun 2026

A hidden immune pathway may help explain why Alzheimer’s inflammation persists

Researchers found that KAT7 promotes CMPK2-driven mitochondrial DNA release in microglia, activating inflammatory cGAS-STING and NLRP3 pathways linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

11 Jun 2026

Scientists reveal how cGAS-STING fuels brain inflammation and neurodegeneration

The cGAS-STING pathway is emerging as a key driver of chronic neuroinflammation through its effects on glial activation, neuronal stress, blood-brain barrier integrity, and type I interferon signaling. The review highlights why selective, context-dependent modulation of cGAS-STING could help treat neurodegenerative diseases, while preserving its essential roles in antiviral defense and tumor surveillance.

10 Jun 2026

Western diet weakens the gut’s nervous system through iron-dependent damage

A JCI study found that exposure to a Western diet in mice and to palmitic acid in murine and ex vivo human enteric nervous system models triggered ferroptosis, characterized by iron loading, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial stress, and enteric neuronal loss. Boosting Nrf2 signaling protected enteric neurons and prevented Western diet-induced delayed colonic transit in mice, pointing to a potential pathway linking dietary fat exposure to gut motility dysfunction.

10 Jun 2026

Low-methionine diet shows promise against aggressive brain tumors

An unexpected lab observation led a team of scientists to discover how diet can influence survival in animal models of glioma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer.

10 Jun 2026

Researchers identify genetic cause of severe childhood lung disease

A new report in the American Journal of Human Genetics describes a novel disorder caused by biallelic loss-of-function variants in the TMEM63B gene, which results in severe lung disease.

10 Jun 2026