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TSRI scientists tackle decades-old challenge by re-creating primordial RNA world

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have taken a big step toward the laboratory re-creation of the “RNA world,” which is generally believed to have preceded modern life forms based on DNA and proteins.

17 Aug 2016

ICR researchers identify how genetic variant linked to leukaemia helps cancer cells survive

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, have identified how an inherited genetic variant, associated with an increased risk of developing the most common type of leukaemia, helps cancer cells survive. The findings could lead to new ways to target the disease.

12 Aug 2016

Study uses computer-based approaches to characterize Zika virus genome

The sudden emergence of the Zika virus epidemic in Latin America in 2015-16 has caught the scientific world unawares.

5 Aug 2016

Scientists uncover novel sites of expression in the brain for gene linked to ALS and FTD

For the first time novel expression sites in the brain have been identified for a gene which is associated with Motor Neuron Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia.

1 Aug 2016

UAB researchers uncover vital mechanism for L-DOPA-induced-dyskinesia

Though the drug levodopa can dramatically improve Parkinson's disease symptoms, within five years one-half of the patients using L-DOPA develop an irreversible condition -- involuntary repetitive, rapid and jerky movements.

29 Jul 2016

Study finds risk markers for Parkinson's disease hiding in unusual spots

Clues that point toward new risk mechanisms for developing Parkinson's disease are hiding in some unusual spots, according to a study published today in Scientific Reports

28 Jul 2016

Researchers identify genetic variants linked to radiotherapy side-effects in prostate cancer patients

A new study involving researchers from The University of Manchester looked at the genetic information of more than 1,500 prostate cancer patients and identified two variants linked to increased risk of radiotherapy side-effects.

26 Jul 2016

Researchers demonstrate important functional role of lincRNA in immune system

A long non-coding RNA (lincRNA) - called lincRNA-EPS - responsible for regulating innate immunity has been identified by a team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

14 Jul 2016

Researchers develop new detection systems for genotyping DNA and RNA with naked eye

DNA polymerases are the “Xerox machines” that replicate our DNA. They must work with great precision to keep errors from creeping into our genes.

14 Jul 2016

Researchers investigate role of OXTR gene in binge eating

A study by York University researcher Caroline Davis and her colleagues at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is the first to demonstrate that variants of the Oxytocin Receptor gene contribute to why some of us overeat or engage in episodes of binge eating.

13 Jul 2016

Scientists discover new genetic variations linked to increased myeloma risk

Researchers have identified eight new genetic variations in the human genome that could be linked to an increased risk of developing myeloma. The findings provide additional evidence and build on existing research that suggests myeloma can run in families.

5 Jul 2016

Study shows how genetic variants control immune cell response to pathogens

A study that is first in its kind and published in Nature Medicine today has looked at how far genetic factors control the immune cell response to pathogens in healthy individuals.

4 Jul 2016

Race impacts adverse outcomes in atrial fibrillation

Black individuals with atrial fibrillation have markedly higher rates of stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease and mortality than their White counterparts, data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study show.

24 Jun 2016

Study shows many people may have potential to develop Huntington's disease

More people may have the potential to develop Huntington's disease than previously thought, according to a study published in the June 22, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Jun 2016

Researchers find link between specific genetic pathway and development of mouth ulcers in lupus patients

The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress showed for the first time an association between a specific genetic pathway and the development of mouth ulcers in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

13 Jun 2016

Whole-exome sequencing can help characterize genetic alterations for commonly used bladder cancer cell lines

Much of basic cancer research is based on studies with cultured cancer cells. However, the usefulness of these studies greatly depends on how accurately these cancer cells grown in a dish represent human tumors.

9 Jun 2016

Rare DNA alteration may increase rsk of multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health have proven that multiple sclerosis (MS) can be caused by a single genetic mutation - a rare alteration in DNA that makes it very likely a person will develop the more devastating form of the neurological disease.

6 Jun 2016

New research pinpoints specific lncRNA that regulates neural development

Compared to other mammals, humans have the largest cerebral cortex. A sheet of brain cells that folds in on itself multiple times in order to fit inside the skull, the cortex is the seat of higher functions. It is what enables us to process everything we see and hear and think.

4 Jun 2016

TSRI scientists develop first drug candidate that neutralizes disease-causing RNA repeats

In an important new study with implications for the treatment of dozens of incurable diseases, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time created a drug candidate that attacks and neutralizes the RNA structure that causes an incurable progressive, inherited disease involving a gradual loss of control over body movement.

1 Jun 2016

Novel method for designing geometric structures created from DNA

Among the valuable holdings in London's Wellcome Library is a rough pencil sketch made in 1953 by Francis Crick. The drawing is one of the first to show the double-helix structure of DNA--Nature's blueprint for the design of sea snails, human beings, and every other living form on earth.

27 May 2016