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Ancient Brazilian skeleton discovered to be descendant of First Americans

An article to be published on July 31 in Nature Ecology & Evolution reveals that Luzio, the oldest human skeleton found in São Paulo state (Brazil), was a descendant of the ancestral population that settled the Americas at least 16,000 years ago and gave rise to all present-day Indigenous peoples, such as the Tupi.

31 Jul 2023

Low levels of 'memory strengthening protein' may serve as early predictor of mild cognitive impairment

Results of a long-term, federally funded study of cognitively healthy adults — most with a family history of Alzheimer's disease — have added to evidence that low spinal fluid levels of a protein linked to learning and memory in mice may serve as an early predictor of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) years before symptoms appear.

31 Jul 2023

Rockefeller researchers reveal the mechanisms behind malignant turn of events in cancer

Early on, every stem cell faces a fateful choice. During skin development, for instance, the embryonic epidermis begins as a single layer of epidermal progenitor cells.

31 Jul 2023

Genetics may explain why some people are more likely to participate in genetic studies

Why do some people take part in genetic studies while others do not? The answer may lie within our genetic makeup.

31 Jul 2023

Study offers new insight into how antimicrobial resistance emerges in patients with bacterial infections

A research study led by the University of Oxford provides a transformational new insight into how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) emerges in patients with bacterial infections.

31 Jul 2023

To protect a mother’s health: How abortion ban exemptions play out in a post-‘Roe’ world

This pregnancy felt different. After the heartache of more than a dozen miscarriages, Anya Cook was 16 weeks along. She and husband Derick Cook spent a Sunday last December sharing the news with his parents and looking at cribs

31 Jul 2023

Mutational accessibility: A key driver of viral evolution

The influenza (flu) virus is constantly undergoing a process of evolution and adaptation through acquiring new mutations.

29 Jul 2023

Blood test may help identify patients at risk for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy

A new multi-center study led by doctors at Boston Medical Center and Columbia University found that having a genetic variant in the prealbumin gene alone is not sufficient for diagnosis of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy in older Black patients.

28 Jul 2023

Micronutrient in breast milk boosts brain development in newborns

A new study by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University suggests that a micronutrient in human breast milk provides significant benefit to the developing brains of newborns, a finding that further illuminates the link between nutrition and brain health and could help improve infant formulas used in circumstances when breastfeeding isn't possible.

28 Jul 2023

Drosophila study pinpoints a genetic cause for virgin birth for the first time

Scientists have pinpointed a genetic cause for virgin birth for the first time, and once switched on the ability is passed down through generations of females.

28 Jul 2023

Study unravels how mitochondria call for help when under stress

Originally, the powerhouses of higher cells, the mitochondria, were independent organisms. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have investigated to what extent their metabolism has blended with that of their host cells in the course of evolution, using the example of a mitochondrial stress response.

28 Jul 2023

In Wisconsin, women’s health care is constricted by an 1849 law. These doctors are aghast.

The three women sitting around a table at a busy lunch spot share a grim camaraderie. It's been more than a year since an 1849 law came back into force to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin.

28 Jul 2023

New reference database Greengenes2 improves reproducibility of microbiome studies

Two leading sequencing techniques are no longer at odds, thanks to an international effort led by scientists at University of California San Diego.

27 Jul 2023

New gene therapy shows promise in reversing chronic pain

Researchers at NYU College of Dentistry's Pain Research Center have developed a gene therapy that treats chronic pain by indirectly regulating a specific sodium ion channel, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jul 2023

Two new compounds can block cancer cell’s escape route

Cancer cells are capable of escaping chemotherapy and radiotherapy by activating a signaling pathway that prevents them from dying.

27 Jul 2023

Human-swine influenza A transmission and evolution of variants

A new study of the strain of influenza A responsible for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic - pdm09 - shows that the virus has passed from humans to swine about 370 times since 2009, and subsequent circulation in swine has resulted in the evolution of pdm09 variants that then jumped from swine to humans.

27 Jul 2023

New gene editing approach could revolutionize the treatment of blood disorders

In a step forward in the development of genetic medicines, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a proof-of-concept model for delivering gene editing tools to treat blood disorders, allowing for the modification of diseased blood cells directly within the body.

27 Jul 2023

Transcription factors may drive development of different colorectal cancer subtypes

New research in colorectal cancers directed by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center suggests that expression of transcription factors — proteins that help turn specific genes on or off by binding to nearby DNA — may play a central role in the degree of DNA methylation across the genome, contributing to the development of different subtypes of these cancers.

27 Jul 2023

Diagnosis of rare inherited metabolic condition in a Sumatran orangutan

Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine have diagnosed a Sumatran Orangutan at the Indianapolis Zoo with a rare genetic disease called Alkaptonuria.

27 Jul 2023

Study finds high rates of illicit drug use in young adults who experienced sudden cardiac death

Approximately one-third of young adults in Victoria, Australia, who experienced sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) outside of a hospital setting from April 2019 to April 2021 used illegal drugs prior to their fatal events, reports a new study in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, published by Elsevier.

27 Jul 2023

Genetic News and Research

Ancient Brazilian skeleton discovered to be descendant of First Americans

Low levels of 'memory strengthening protein' may serve as early predictor of mild cognitive impairment

Rockefeller researchers reveal the mechanisms behind malignant turn of events in cancer

Genetics may explain why some people are more likely to participate in genetic studies

Study offers new insight into how antimicrobial resistance emerges in patients with bacterial infections

To protect a mother’s health: How abortion ban exemptions play out in a post-‘Roe’ world

Mutational accessibility: A key driver of viral evolution

Blood test may help identify patients at risk for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy

Micronutrient in breast milk boosts brain development in newborns

Drosophila study pinpoints a genetic cause for virgin birth for the first time

Study unravels how mitochondria call for help when under stress

In Wisconsin, women’s health care is constricted by an 1849 law. These doctors are aghast.

New reference database Greengenes2 improves reproducibility of microbiome studies

New gene therapy shows promise in reversing chronic pain

Two new compounds can block cancer cell’s escape route

Human-swine influenza A transmission and evolution of variants

New gene editing approach could revolutionize the treatment of blood disorders

Transcription factors may drive development of different colorectal cancer subtypes

Diagnosis of rare inherited metabolic condition in a Sumatran orangutan

Study finds high rates of illicit drug use in young adults who experienced sudden cardiac death

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

Lab Matters host Harriet Gould on building a more connected lab community

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

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