Chromosome Y News and Research

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The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans (the other is the X chromosome). The sex chromosomes form one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome spans about 58 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents almost 2 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Each person normally has one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome is present in males, who have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. The Y chromosome likely contains between 70 and 200 genes. Because only males have the Y chromosome, the genes on this chromosome tend to be involved in male sex determination and development. Sex is determined by the SRY gene, which is responsible for the development of a fetus into a male. Other genes on the Y chromosome are important for male fertility.

Many genes are unique to the X or Y chromosome, but genes in an area known as the pseudoautosomal region are present on both chromosomes. As a result, men and women each have two functional copies of these genes. Many genes in the pseudoautosomal region are essential for normal development.

Genes on the Y chromosome are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Researchers discover how toxic proteins linked to neurological diseases impair membrane-less organelles

Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered the way toxic proteins linked to the most common forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) incapacitate membrane-less organelles inside cells.

21 Oct 2016

Researchers identify genomic regions linked to ulcerative colitis in African-Americans

In the first genome-wide association study of genetic risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease in African Americans, a research team has identified two regions of the genome (loci) associated with ulcerative colitis only in people of African descent.

20 Oct 2016

Gene variants linked to hot flashes in menopausal women

Most women experience hot flashes and night sweats either before or during menopause, but a significant minority don't have these symptoms. Could our genes be a factor in determining which women get hot flashes?

19 Oct 2016

Study shows how oxidative damage may contribute to ‘maternal age effect’

For women in their 30s and beyond, the probability of a pregnancy that results in a miscarriage or a Down syndrome pregnancy is staggering with the risk increasing to 1 in 3 by the time a woman reaches her early 40s due to the "maternal age effect," the high incidence of mistakes in chromosome segregation that occur during the cell division process of meiosis, which gives rise to the egg.

19 Oct 2016

Network of proteins linked to cancer may play vital role in male fertility

Researchers studying reproductive science identified a network of proteins often linked to cancer as also important to male fertility and the birth of healthy offspring, according to a study in the Oct. 18 online issue of Cell Reports.

19 Oct 2016

OGT announces expansion of Cytocell Aquarius Haematology FISH probe range

Oxford Gene Technology, The Molecular Genetics Company, has today announced a significant expansion of its existing catalogue of Cytocell Aquarius Haematology probes for fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) — underlining the company's position as the one-stop-shop for high-quality FISH probes.

13 Oct 2016

Researchers discover gene region that raises risk of middle ear infections in children

Researchers have discovered a gene region that raises the risk a child will have a middle ear infection, known to doctors as acute otitis media (AOM)—and known to parents as one reason for a screaming, unhappy preschooler.

4 Oct 2016

Researchers move one step closer to unraveling mechanism of multiple-gene disorder

Scientists at Johns Hopkins say they are one step closer to understanding the genetic mechanism of a rare, complex, multiple-gene disorder called Hirschsprung's disease.

30 Sep 2016

Researchers link RHOX gene mutations to infertility in men

The underlying cause of male infertility is unknown for 30 percent of cases. In a pair of new studies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine determined that the reproductive homeobox (RHOX) family of transcription factors — regulatory proteins that activate some genes and inactivate others — drive the development of stem cells in the testes in mice.

27 Sep 2016

New project clarifies molecular processes involved in hidden HIV reservoir

In spite of ever more effective therapies, HIV keeps managing to survive in the body. A comprehensive project conducted by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has clarified the molecular processes which contribute to this effect.

27 Sep 2016

Tumour suppressor gene has greater anti-cancer activity than previously thought

New insight into the function of a gene important in the suppression of cancer is published today. Researchers at the National University of Ireland Galway have shown that the TP53 gene has even greater anti-cancer activity than previously thought.

22 Sep 2016

Color-deficiency or color-blindness?

Color blindness could be considered a bit of a misleading term, because there are very few people who can't see color at all. Most people have what we call color deficiency or color confusion, which means that they're not blind to color; they just see a reduced number of colors.

From Vision Express 22 Sep 2016

Researchers identify genetic switch that may be potential target for Alzheimer's disease

A team at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, based at Imperial College London, has found an important part of the machinery that switches on a gene known to protect against Alzheimer's Disease.

20 Sep 2016

Gender matching key for corneal transplants? An interview with Professor Kaye

The cornea is a transparent tissue lining the front of the eye, that is invisible tissue to the naked eye. It is a delicate tissue and disease or injury may lead to a loss of transparency or a change in the shape of the cornea, resulting in severe visual impairment.

19 Sep 2016

Study identifies new gene that suppresses breast cancer in mice

In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing worldwide, and breast cancer is becoming a serious object of public concern.

13 Sep 2016

UAB researchers find microRNA as potential therapeutic target for MDD

A tiny RNA appears to play a role in producing major depression, the mental disorder that affects as many as 250 million people a year worldwide.

9 Sep 2016

Researchers describe how genetic mutations cause unnamed neurological disorder

In rare cases -- for instance, among siblings in two families from Pakistan and Oman described in a new study -- children have been born with an unnamed neurological disorder.

6 Sep 2016

Researchers identify new gene for type 2 diabetes at well-established genomic location

Gene researchers have used sophisticated scientific tools to reveal a new gene for type 2 diabetes at a well-established genomic location.

31 Aug 2016

Research findings could lead to new biomarker for early stages of tumor development

To treat or not to treat? That is the question researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory hope to answer with a new advance that could help doctors and their cancer patients decide if a particular therapy would be worth pursuing.

31 Aug 2016

New study shows variation in junk DNA can affect health

All humans are 99.9 percent identical, genetically speaking. But that tiny 0.1 percent variation has big consequences, influencing the color of your eyes, the span of your hips, your risk of getting sick and in some ways even your earning potential.

30 Aug 2016