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Researchers discover mutation that amplifies capabilities of tumor-suppressor protein

Cancer researchers have long hailed p53, a tumor-suppressor protein, for its ability to keep unruly cells from forming tumors. But for such a highly studied protein, p53 has hidden its tactics well.

9 Oct 2017

Study sheds new light on underlying genetic causes of congenital heart disease

Approximately one in every 100 babies is born with congenital heart disease (CHD), and CHD remains the leading cause of mortality from birth defects.

9 Oct 2017

Yale scientists unravel molecular mechanism of breast cancer risk gene

More than 20 years after scientists revealed that mutations in the BRCA1 gene predispose women to breast cancer, Yale scientists have pinpointed the molecular mechanism that allows those mutations to wreak their havoc.

9 Oct 2017

Study findings provide new insight into inflammatory bowel disease

Findings from a study into Crohn's disease, led by William G. Kerr, Ph.D., of SUNY Upstate Medical University, and his collaborators at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, provide the first evidence that patients with debilitating inflammatory bowel disease lack sufficient quantities of a protein that comes from the SHIP1 gene.

6 Oct 2017

Moms of children with rare genetic illness push for wider newborn screening

Kerri De Nies received the news this spring from her son's pediatrician: Her chubby-cheeked toddler had a rare brain disorder.

5 Oct 2017

Light-activated nanoparticles can provide crucial boost in effectiveness for antibiotics

Light-activated nanoparticles, also known as quantum dots, can provide a crucial boost in effectiveness for antibiotic treatments used to combat drug-resistant superbugs such as E. coli and Salmonella, new University of Colorado Boulder research shows.

4 Oct 2017

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have engineered a new way to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology inside cells and have demonstrated in mice that the technology can repair the mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle-wasting disease.

4 Oct 2017

Genital herpes was inherited from human ancestors

There are two main herpes simplex viruses that cause herpes in man – those that cause cold sores or HSV1 and those that cause genital herpes or HSV2. Humans and chimpanzees both were affected by HSV1 millions of years ago when their lineages split. HSV2 however did not leap on to humans until much later shows new research.

3 Oct 2017

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

A team of Chinese researchers have for the first time “mended” defective embryos using chemical surgery to free them of a faulty gene that leads to beta thalassemia. Until now this defect was found to be incorrigible caused due to a single misspelling in the DNA code. Beta thalassemia is a dreaded blood disorder wherein the child is unable to make healthy blood needing blood transfusions on a regular basis. The study was published this week in the journal Protein and Cell.

2 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

NIH awards $1.5 million grant to support education in Alzheimer's disease at RPI

We know Alzheimer's as a brutal disease that dismantles our loved ones and condemns them to death. But science and engineering researchers look inside the disease to identify early warning signs and develop the imaging techniques to see them, to unravel the biochemical puzzle that creates a toxic clump of misfolded proteins, and to develop and test new drugs and therapies that chip away at cognitive decline.

28 Sep 2017

Cancer vaccines need to target immune fighters that can withstand battle against malicious tumors

Cancer vaccines may need to better target T cells that can hold up to the long fight against cancer, scientists report.

27 Sep 2017

IMB researchers unveil mystery of aging process

Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have made a breakthrough in understanding the origin of the aging process. They have identified that genes belonging to a process called autophagy, which is one of the cells most critical survival processes, promote health and fitness in young worms but drive the process of aging later in life.

27 Sep 2017

Trial identifies genetic fault that affects treatment response in leukemia patients

A genetic fault has been identified in people with an aggressive type of leukemia that can significantly affect how they respond to treatment.

27 Sep 2017

Research reveals curious pattern of autism recurrence based on gender

Having one child with autism is a well-known risk factor for having another one with the same disorder, but whether and how a sibling's gender influences this risk has remained largely unknown.

26 Sep 2017

Rutgers scientists use genetic engineering technique to create brain cells for studying Tourette’s

Scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick used a genetic engineering technique for the first time to create brain cells from the blood cells of individuals in a three-generation family with Tourette syndrome to help determine what causes the disease.

25 Sep 2017

Study identifies two genes involved in invasive group A Streptococcus infections

Group A Streptococcus bacteria cause a variety of illnesses that range from mild nuisances like strep throat to life-threatening conditions including pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and the flesh-eating disease formally known as necrotizing fasciitis.

22 Sep 2017

Researchers use gene therapy to restore hearing and balance in mouse model of Usher syndrome

Hearing loss, sometimes associated with other disorders such as balance defects, is the most common sensory deficit, affecting more than 280 million people worldwide, according to WHO. In France, one child in 700 is born with severe or profound hearing loss, and one in every 1,000 will lose their sense of hearing before adulthood.

22 Sep 2017

New syndrome caused by biallelic mutations predisposes the body to tumors

A new syndrome caused by biallelic mutations - those produced in both gene copies inherited from the mother and father - in the FANCM gene predisposes the body to the appearance of tumours and causes rejection to chemotherapy treatments.

22 Sep 2017

Mutation News and Research

Researchers discover mutation that amplifies capabilities of tumor-suppressor protein

Study sheds new light on underlying genetic causes of congenital heart disease

Yale scientists unravel molecular mechanism of breast cancer risk gene

Study findings provide new insight into inflammatory bowel disease

Moms of children with rare genetic illness push for wider newborn screening

Light-activated nanoparticles can provide crucial boost in effectiveness for antibiotics

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Genital herpes was inherited from human ancestors

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

Benefits of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

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

NIH awards $1.5 million grant to support education in Alzheimer's disease at RPI

Cancer vaccines need to target immune fighters that can withstand battle against malicious tumors

IMB researchers unveil mystery of aging process

Trial identifies genetic fault that affects treatment response in leukemia patients

Research reveals curious pattern of autism recurrence based on gender

Rutgers scientists use genetic engineering technique to create brain cells for studying Tourette’s

Study identifies two genes involved in invasive group A Streptococcus infections

Researchers use gene therapy to restore hearing and balance in mouse model of Usher syndrome

New syndrome caused by biallelic mutations predisposes the body to tumors

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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