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Common cold virus could infect fetus via placenta

According to researchers, the common cold viruses are capable of infecting human placental cells and may thus transmit the infection to the fetus in the womb during pregnancy. The new study was published in the journal PLOS ONE, and provides the first concrete proof that this type of carriage is possible.

3 Dec 2019

Using genomics to identify promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis

Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat.

3 Dec 2019

Zebrafish study supports accuracy of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool

Along with the promise that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology can offer new human therapies is the need to ensure its safety. A recent study showed that CRISPR-Cas9 did not produce off-target gene mutations in zebrafish. These results, published in Frontiers in Genetics, confirm previous data in animal models that the risk to the rest of the genome from gene editing is minimal.

3 Dec 2019

Discovery could offer insight into different risk of diseases in African Americans

The percentage of African ancestry in a person's genome determines the level that certain genes are expressed, called mRNA, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

3 Dec 2019

New model for late-onset sepsis explores potential treatments for neonatal infection

Extremely premature infants are at risk for life-threatening infections that spread into their bodies from the intestine. Infections after the first three days of life are called late-onset sepsis, or LOS.

3 Dec 2019

Researchers identify key protein required for therapeutic resistance in aggressive breast cancer

Researchers at the Lady Davis Institute have identified a key protein that is required for resistance to chemotherapy in the most aggressive form of breast cancer. This holds the promise of opening the door to new therapies for overcoming drug resistance.

2 Dec 2019

Blood proteins could help provide a comprehensive 'liquid health check' in future

Proteins in our blood could in future help provide a comprehensive 'liquid health check', assessing our health and predicting the likelihood that we will we will develop a range of diseases, according to research published today in Nature Medicine.

2 Dec 2019

75-year old blood-stained microscope slide reveals historical spread of malaria

DNA from 75-year old eradicated European malaria parasites uncovers the historical spread of one of the two most common forms of the disease, Plasmodium vivax, from Europe to the Americas during the colonial period, finds a new study co-led by UCL.

2 Dec 2019

Link found between the gut microbiome, host genome, and RA in Japanese population

One of the most astounding discoveries of recent times is just how much influence gut bacteria have on our health and well-being.

2 Dec 2019

“Liquid health check” could predict disease risk in the future

Measuring proteins in the blood could serve as a “liquid health check” that could predict people’s risk of developing diseases.

2 Dec 2019

Gene discovery in fruit flies could provide clues to counteract mitochondrial diseases

Scientists have identified a protein in fruit flies that can be targeted to reverse the effects of disease-causing mutations in mitochondrial genes. The discovery could provide clues about how to counteract human mitochondrial diseases, for which there is currently no cure.

28 Nov 2019

Medicinal plants: from genes to drugs

We eat plants, wear their products, burn them for fuel, and use them to build our houses. Plants are the very basis of the food chain on earth. They are also the source of oxygen in the atmosphere, and a treasure house containing a host of compounds that have biological effects on the body. Some of these chemicals are produced as self-defence, to guard against pests and diseases.

27 Nov 2019

Mystery surrounds gene edited babies one year on

A year back Chinese scientist He Jiankui was in the news for all the wrong reasons. He had helped create the world’s first genetically edited human babies. After a year the world is still in dark about the whereabouts and health of the babies he had created and he himself has been not seen since January this year.

27 Nov 2019

Potential new treatment for mitochondrial diseases discovered from fruit fly genes

Researchers have discovered a way to reverse the impact of disease-causing mitochondrial mutations by targeting fruit fly gene.

27 Nov 2019

Hibernators reveal genetic clues to better understand and treat obesity, metabolic disorders

Hibernation is one of nature's strangest quirks, inducing bears and other mammals to pack on massive weight- amounts that would be unhealthy for humans - so they can survive months of slumber. Yet when these animals reemerge, they are as fit as ever.

27 Nov 2019

Study points to two types of motion that keeps cells in shape

The health of cells is maintained, in part, by two types of movement of their nucleoli, a team of scientists has found. This dual motion within surrounding fluid, it reports, adds to our understanding of what contributes to healthy cellular function and points to how its disruption could affect human health.

26 Nov 2019

Studying the genomes of hibernating mammals could improve understanding and treatment of obesity

A discovery about mammalian genomes and hibernation could aid understanding and treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders.

26 Nov 2019

Diabetes curriculum may help empower students to make healthy choices

For Lola McPherren, learning about diabetes is personal. The Juanita High School ninth-grader had a grandfather with diabetes. She recalled that he gave himself a shot of insulin before a meal, and that he also never really changed his diet to help control the disease. He died in February.

25 Nov 2019

New antiviral drug drives treatment resistance in influenza viruses

On January 31, 2019, an 11-year old boy in Japan went to a medical clinic with a fever. The providers there diagnosed him with influenza, a strain called H3N2, and sent him home with a new medication called baloxavir.

25 Nov 2019

Discovery in C. difficile biology opens new window to developing treatments for dangerous infections

A process called sporulation that helps the dangerous bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) to survive inhospitable conditions and spread is regulated by epigenetics, factors that affect gene expression beyond the DNA genetic code, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

25 Nov 2019

Genome News and Research

Common cold virus could infect fetus via placenta

Using genomics to identify promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis

Zebrafish study supports accuracy of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool

Discovery could offer insight into different risk of diseases in African Americans

New model for late-onset sepsis explores potential treatments for neonatal infection

Researchers identify key protein required for therapeutic resistance in aggressive breast cancer

Blood proteins could help provide a comprehensive 'liquid health check' in future

75-year old blood-stained microscope slide reveals historical spread of malaria

Link found between the gut microbiome, host genome, and RA in Japanese population

“Liquid health check” could predict disease risk in the future

Gene discovery in fruit flies could provide clues to counteract mitochondrial diseases

Medicinal plants: from genes to drugs

Mystery surrounds gene edited babies one year on

Potential new treatment for mitochondrial diseases discovered from fruit fly genes

Hibernators reveal genetic clues to better understand and treat obesity, metabolic disorders

Study points to two types of motion that keeps cells in shape

Studying the genomes of hibernating mammals could improve understanding and treatment of obesity

Diabetes curriculum may help empower students to make healthy choices

New antiviral drug drives treatment resistance in influenza viruses

Discovery in C. difficile biology opens new window to developing treatments for dangerous infections

The art of CRISPR: The power and promise of gene editing 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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