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How do cells protect themselves from viruses?

Amid the coronavirus outbreak that is wreaking havoc across the globe, it is essential to know how the cells of the body evade infection from viruses. A team of scientists has explained the mechanism that takes place in case a virus penetrates the body.

4 Mar 2020

Two genome sequences of coronavirus (COVID-19) show possible internal transmission

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading around the globe. With the high infection rate and spread of the virus to more than 80 countries, scientists are racing to study the nature of the virus, in the hopes of finding new vaccines and therapeutics.

4 Mar 2020

Novel drug to arrest antibiotic resistance by preventing micro-evolution

Desperate times need desperate measures. Accordingly, scientists, today published a new study in the journal Cell Host and Microbe in March 2020, showing that drugs that prevent the acquisition of DNA-borne antibiotic resistance traits from their surroundings by bacteria can stop mice from becoming resistant to the action of the antibiotics.

3 Mar 2020

Researchers establish a gene expression profile associated with cachexia in cancer patients

It is estimated that as many as 80% of advanced-stage cancer patients may develop cachexia, a potentially fatal metabolic syndrome characterized by extreme weight loss and muscle wasting, but scientists do not yet fully understand why it is more frequently associated with certain kinds of tumor than others, or why not all cancer patients develop it.

3 Mar 2020

Two common Staph bacteria living on human skin exacerbate Netherton syndrome

Netherton syndrome, a rare skin disease caused by a single genetic mutation, is exacerbated by the presence of two common Staphylococcal bacteria living on human skin, one of which was previously thought to only offer protective properties, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

3 Mar 2020

SFU researchers help discover potential new drug to kill superbugs

Researchers in Simon Fraser University's Brinkman Laboratory are collaborating with U.S. researchers to test a new drug that can kill a wide range of superbugs - including some bacteria now resistant to all common antibiotics.

3 Mar 2020

The changing face of the COVID-19 epidemic

The SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) virus, which hit China with the disease now named COVID-19 in December 2019 and has since spread to over 70 countries, has caused over 90,000 cases, and 3,117 fatalities, with 95% or more of both being in China.

2 Mar 2020

Length of pregnancy related to chemical DNA changes in newborns

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have together with an international team mapped the relationship between length of pregnancy and chemical DNA changes in more than 6,000 newborn babies.

2 Mar 2020

New genetic tool developed to label specific genes in human organoids

Researchers from the group of Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute have developed a new genetic tool to label specific genes in human organoids, or mini organs.

2 Mar 2020

Drug for Ebola and MERS effective against COVID-19

A new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry has revealed that drug Remdesivir could be useful in treating the deadly COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus that is infecting tens of thousands of people across the world.

1 Mar 2020

New discovery may be useful for developing novel cancer treatments

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered that our cells replicate their DNA much more loosely than previously thought.

28 Feb 2020

Researchers show how investigational antiviral drug stops coronavirus

A team of academic and industry researchers is reporting new findings about how exactly an investigational antiviral drug stops coronaviruses.

28 Feb 2020

New approach to identify pathogenic genes in virus strains at a glance

When new viruses or bacteria spread to humans, it is essential to clarify their special characteristics as quickly as possible.

27 Feb 2020

Scientists reveal ability to reverse Huntington's disease-causing DNA repeat mutations in the lab

Neurodegenerative diseases, like Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy, are often referred to as DNA repeat diseases, named because of long repeated sequences in the DNA of patients. Increasing repeat expansion length in the affected tissues contribute to earlier age of disease onset and worsen the progression and severity of the disease over time.

27 Feb 2020

First human vaginal non-redundant gene catalog released

University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences researchers have created the first catalog of genes that comprise the community of microbes, which inhabit the human vagina.

26 Feb 2020

Study reveals the effects of pre-surgical chemotherapy on breast cancer genome

Results from one of the first studies to determine the effects of pre-surgical, or neoadjuvant, chemotherapy on the breast cancer genome offer up two key insights.

26 Feb 2020

New method to deliver an immune system 'uncloaking' device directly to cancer cells

Scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have designed and successfully tested an experimental, super small package able to deliver molecular signals that tag implanted human cancer cells in mice and make them visible for destruction by the animals' immune systems.

26 Feb 2020

New form of gene editing slows ALS progression in mice

With a new CRISPR gene-editing methodology, scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign inactivated one of the genes responsible for an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a debilitating and fatal neurological disease for which there is no cure.

26 Feb 2020

Study identifies novel anti-aging targets

A recent study published in Nature has reported two conserved epigenetic regulators as novel anti-aging targets.

26 Feb 2020

Biomarkers in blood samples can predict clinical response to immunotherapy in metastatic NSCLC

Non-small cell lung cancer patients with higher measures of tumor mutations that show up in a blood test generally have a better clinical response to PD-1-based immunotherapy treatments than patients with a lower measure of mutations.

26 Feb 2020