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Early gut bacteria may help protect babies from respiratory infections

A baby's makeup of gut bacteria - their microbiome - which starts to form as soon as they are born, could help protect against viral infections later in childhood, a new study suggests.

5 Jun 2025

Mass treatment with the antibiotic azithromycin may lead to increased drug resistance

Efforts to reduce child mortality in Africa via mass treatment with the antibiotic azithromycin (AZM) may lead to increased drug resistance in bacteria that frequently cause pneumonia and meningitis, highlighting the need for careful monitoring, finds a new study led by UCL.

4 Jun 2025

Understanding how base editing tools work at the molecular level

You may have seen it in the news recently: a baby in Pennsylvania with a rare genetic disorder was healed with a personalized treatment that repaired his specific genetic mutation.

4 Jun 2025

Researchers map DNA regions that activate liver regeneration

The mammalian liver has an extraordinary regenerative capacity, capable of fully restoring its mass and function after injury or partial resection.

4 Jun 2025

Study traces longstanding presence of African swine fever in Europe

A new study in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the African Swine Fever virus, currently circulating in Europe, is not the result of a recent introduction.

4 Jun 2025

Individual immune variation shapes the evolution of influenza strains

A new study has shown that person-to-person variation in antibody immunity plays a key role in shaping which influenza (flu) strains dominate in a population.

3 Jun 2025

Study uncovers how HSV-1 disables the brain's antiviral defense

Infections caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) can lead to HSV-1 encephalitis-a rare but deadly condition that inflames the brain.

3 Jun 2025

Canine DNA study uncovers new genes linked to gastric cancer

Dogs share our homes, our habits and sometimes, our diseases. Gastric cancer is rare in dogs, but when it does strike, it closely resembles gastric cancer in humans: subtle clinical signs, comparable tumor subtypes, late-stage diagnosis and poor outcomes.

2 Jun 2025

Researchers show cannabis dependence drives links to psychiatric disorders

Research uncovers genetic connections between cannabis addiction and psychiatric disorders, urging a reevaluation of cannabis legalization and treatment.

2 Jun 2025

Genome doubling identified as common event in metastatic cancer evolution

When cancer spreads from a primary tumor to new sites throughout the body, it undergoes changes that increase its genetic complexity.

2 Jun 2025

US funding freeze halts malaria prevention and genomic research

The “catastrophic” freeze on US funding for malaria has halted prevention programmes across Africa and also threatens to stall advances in genomic research, says Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

1 Jun 2025

Ancient genomes reveal deep roots of East Asian populations

Newly sequenced ancient genomes from Yunnan, China, have shed new light on human prehistory in East Asia.

29 May 2025

New discovery reveals how cohesin complex alters gene expression

Cohesin is a protein that forms a ring-shaped complex which wraps and alters the DNA molecule shape. It moves through the DNA and creates specific loops in the genetic material which determine the architecture of the genome and gene expression.

29 May 2025

Genetic evolution of plague bacterium may have prolonged historic pandemics

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur and McMaster University have discovered that the evolution of a gene in the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis, may have prolonged the duration of two major pandemics.

29 May 2025

Salk researchers create detailed genetic atlas of cannabis to date

Cannabis has been a globally important crop for millennia. While best known today as marijuana for its psychoactive cannabinoid THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), historically, cannabis has been a cornerstone of human civilization, providing seed oil, textiles, and food for more than 10,000 years.

29 May 2025

Wilms tumor found to contain millions of genetic changes

Researchers have uncovered that some childhood cancers have a substantially higher number of DNA changes than previously thought, changing the way we view children's tumours and possibly opening up new or repurposed treatment options.

29 May 2025

Breakthrough study finds genes behind calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease

In a first-of-its-kind genome-wide association study (GWAS) researchers have discovered two genes, RNF144B and ENPP1, that cause calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease in Americans of European and African descent.

28 May 2025

Yeast cells offer promising alternative for manufacturing DNase1

The protein DNase1 is one of the oldest biological agents in history: It has been on the market since 1958 and is now used, among other things, to treat cystic fibrosis.

28 May 2025

How bed bugs evolved alongside humans over thousands of years

Ever since a few enterprising bed bugs hopped off a bat and attached themselves to a Neanderthal walking out of a cave 60,000 years ago, bed bugs have enjoyed a thriving relationship with their human hosts.

28 May 2025

Genomic analysis reveals how bird flu jumped from wild birds to poultry and people

Researchers identified a novel genotype (D1.1) of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 spreading among wild birds, poultry, and a human in British Columbia, Canada, during fall 2024. Genomic analysis reveals the virus arose from reassortment between Eurasian and North American strains, with implications for surveillance and control.

27 May 2025