MicroRNA News and Research

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In genetics, microRNAs (miRNA) are single-stranded RNA molecules of 21-23 nucleotides in length, which regulate gene expression. miRNAs are encoded by genes from whose DNA they are transcribed but miRNAs are not translated into protein (i.e. they are non-coding RNAs); instead each primary transcript (a pri-miRNA) is processed into a short stem-loop structure called a pre-miRNA and finally into a functional miRNA. Mature miRNA molecules are partially complementary to one or more messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, and their main function is to down-regulate gene expression.

Researchers discover new class of fusion genes that affect development of cancer

Cancer researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new class of fusion genes with properties that affect and may drive the development of cancer.

5 Oct 2017

Researchers test new strategy to increase effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry

Researchers from Brazil and Texas have started testing on humans a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry, used by dentists to reduce patient discomfort during the application of injected anesthesia - required for more invasive procedures such as fillings, tooth extraction or surgery.

4 Oct 2017

Benefits of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Biomarkers fall into different categories: diagnostic biomarkers, are used to identify a disease; prognostic biomarkers, help clinicians to determine, for example, whether you're more likely to die or have problems with a disease; and there are some that can be used to inform treatment, to determine whether one therapy would be more successful than another.

2 Oct 2017

Gene editing technique helps uncover potential new drug targets for KRAS-driven cancers

Cancers driven by mutations in the KRAS gene are among the most deadly. For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to directly target mutant KRAS proteins as a means to treat tumors.

28 Sep 2017

Researchers identify exosomes as missing link to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

Chronic tissue inflammation resulting from obesity is an underlying cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. But the mechanism by which this occurs has remained cloaked, until now.

21 Sep 2017

Salk study shows how fast-growing tumors evade immune system

The immune system automatically destroys dysfunctional cells such as cancer cells, but cancerous tumors often survive nonetheless. A new study by Salk scientists shows one method by which fast-growing tumors evade anti-tumor immunity.

18 Sep 2017

Mother’s breast milk may provide metabolic boost to premature babies

The breast milk of mothers with premature babies has different amounts of microRNA than that of mothers with babies born at term, which may help premature babies catch up in growth and development, according to researchers.

14 Sep 2017

Researchers identify connections between toxoplasmosis and several brain disorders

More than 2 billion people – nearly one out of every three humans on earth, including about 60 million people in the United States – have a lifelong infection with the brain-dwelling parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

14 Sep 2017

Veterans affected with combat-related PTSD show changes in blood-based microRNA, study finds

Individuals affected with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) demonstrate changes in microRNA (miRNA) molecules associated with gene regulation.

4 Sep 2017

PTSD screening using genetic markers could be a reality soon

A new study from researchers in the Netherlands, shows that persons who are affected with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) can show changes in microRNA (miRNA) molecules that are linked to genetic regulation.

3 Sep 2017

CSHLP publishes new book on The Biology of Exercise

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press today announced the release of The Biology of Exercise, available on its website in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

1 Sep 2017

Biologists unlock key elements behind animal kinship attachments

A baby lamb is separated from its family. Somehow, in vast herds of sheep that look virtually identical, the lost youngling locates its kin. Salmon swim out to the vast expanses of the sea and migrate back home to their precise spawning grounds with bewildering accuracy.

1 Sep 2017

Study findings could one day help doctors better predict survival of liver cancer patients

A new study of a molecule that regulates liver-cell metabolism and suppresses liver-cancer development shows that the molecule interacts with thousands of genes in liver cells, and that when levels of the molecule go down, which often happens during liver-cancer development, the activity of certain cancer-promoting genes goes up.

23 Aug 2017

Quanterix announces launch of new SR-Plex benchtop instrument for high sensitivity biomarker analysis

Quanterix Corporation, a company dedicated to digitizing biomarker analysis with the goal of advancing the science of precision health, today announced it will be expanding its single molecule array, or Simoa, technology platform portfolio to include the new Quanterix SR-Plex benchtop instrument.

23 Aug 2017

Id genes found to play crucial role in heart development

Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University and other institutions were surprised to discover that the four genes in the Id family play a crucial role in heart development, telling undifferentiated stem cells to form heart tubes and eventually muscle.

22 Aug 2017

MUSC researchers show how non-coding RNA promotes tumor formation

A mechanism that pushes a certain gene to produce a non-coding form of RNA instead of its protein-coding alternative can promote the growth of cancer, report researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in an article published online ahead of print on August 21, 2017 by Nature Cell Biology.

22 Aug 2017

Mirnagreen develops technology to use plant microRNAs for protecting people’s health

Fruit and vegetables are good for health, and everybody knows it. Unfortunately, the world average consumption is well below the WHO recommended daily intake of 400 g and in Europe, according to Eurostat, over 34% of the population aged 15 or over does not eat them on a daily basis.

16 Aug 2017

Stem cells in the brain found to influence aging in mice

A study conducted by a team of researchers led by Dongsheng Cai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, finds that injecting extra stem cells into the hypothalamus in the brain of mice slows down the aging process.

27 Jul 2017

Stem cells in the brain found to regulate aging

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the brain's hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body.

26 Jul 2017

BWH researchers use specific microRNA to identify, alter makeup of glioblastoma subtypes

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an extremely aggressive brain cancer, is a very complex disease. It is characterized by a fast-growing tumor in the brain composed of many subpopulations of cells, including glioblastoma stem cells, which play a crucial role in glioblastoma initiation, expansion and therapy-resistance.

14 Jul 2017