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Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 is safe and effective

A new systematic review available on medRxiv preprint server shows that using convalescent plasma in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is well-tolerated and may prompt the clearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as decrease disease severity; however, these effects are more pronounced in younger patients.

9 Jun 2020

Exposure to flame retardant impacts paternal reproduction

A new study from the University of Georgia has shown that exposure to a now-banned flame retardant can alter the genetic code in sperm, leading to major health defects in children of exposed parents.

9 Jun 2020

New technique to identify genes implicated in the development of malignant brain tumor

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a method for identifying functional mutations and their effect on genes relevant to the development of glioblastoma - a malignant brain tumor with a very poor prognosis. The study is published in Genome Biology.

9 Jun 2020

Santen Pharmaceutical and jCyte conclude an exclusive licensing contract in Japan, Asia and Europe for the jCell therapy programme for retinitis pigmentosa

Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and jCyte Inc. announced the conclusion of an exclusive licensing contract covering the development, registration and commercialisation rights in Japan, Asia and Europe to jCell, a first-in-class investigational therapy, currently in clinical development for retinitis pigmentosa.

From Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 9 Jun 2020

New evidence supports long-debated mode of evolution

A team working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) found evidence to support a long-debated mode of evolution, revealing how evolution captures environmental variation to teach old genes new tricks: Sweat bees switch from solitary to social behavior, repurposing ancient sets of genes that originally evolved to regulate the development of other traits.

9 Jun 2020

Metabolic diseases alter ACE2 expression and increase COVID-19 severity

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 reports that one mechanism for this variable severity is the differential expression of the ACE2 receptor in various metabolic conditions, thereby facilitating viral entry into the host cells.

9 Jun 2020

New Canadian study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to overcome therapies

Knowing what cancer will do next could lessen the likelihood of it becoming resistant to treatment. A new Canadian study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to potentially overcome therapies still in development.

8 Jun 2020

Indirect viral infection of the kidneys by SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory reaction

SARS-CoV-2-associated acute kidney injury is not uncommon. Many hospitalized COVID-19 patients - as many as 80% of critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a current study - develop acute kidney injury, but without requiring dialysis in most cases. Proteinuria and hematuria are present in about half the cases.

8 Jun 2020

Health disparities negatively impact various groups of people

Certain illnesses and diseases have the ability to affect various groups of people in detrimental ways.

8 Jun 2020

Researchers confirm new therapeutic target for myelodysplastic syndrome

A research group from Kumamoto University, Japan analyzed the pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a blood cancer that presents often in the elderly, and found the presence of the transcription factor RUNX3, thereby revealing a cancer growth function for what had been considered a tumor suppressor.

8 Jun 2020

Study uncovers link between psoriasis and joint disease

A team led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers has made two major discoveries involving psoriasis, a chronic and debilitating skin disease with no known cure.

8 Jun 2020

Researchers discover important molecular mechanism of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most common form of inherited neuropathies. A genetic mutation causes the insulating myelin layer of peripheral nerves to become progressively damaged, resulting in severe disabilities in the case of CMT type 4B, for instance.

8 Jun 2020

Genetic studies analyze genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) analyze a genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals to see if any are associated with a trait or disease.

8 Jun 2020

Study: Surfaces play a key role in viral transmission

Virus DNA left on a hospital bed rail was found in nearly half of all sites sampled across award within 10 hours and persisted for at least five days, according to a new study by UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

8 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 genome variants in India

A new study published online on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 surveys the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 strains in India.

7 Jun 2020

Zinc-finger antiviral protein makes SARS-CoV-2 highly susceptible to interferons

By looking into zinc-finger antiviral proteins (ZAP), a new study from Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) and available on the preprint server bioRxiv suggests that zoonotic transmission of a coronavirus with a specific genetic make-up facilitated the pandemic spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but also its sensitivity to interferons.

7 Jun 2020

Study investigates combined effects of cancer therapy and inherited genetics

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are studying the combined effect of cancer treatments and inherited mutations in DNA-repair genes.

5 Jun 2020

UTHSC researchers receive NIH award for opioid addiction studies

A team of University of Tennessee Health Science Center researchers in the College of Medicine recently received a National Institutes of Health award to study how genetic differences may explain why some people are more susceptible to opioid addiction than others.

5 Jun 2020

DNA sequencing and analysis of drug-resistant bacteria set up in the Philippines

Antibiotic resistance surveillance in the Philippines has moved into the genomic era, enabling better tracking of dangerous bacteria. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (CGPS housed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and The Big Data Institute, University of Oxford), and the Philippine Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, set up local DNA sequencing and analysis of drug resistant bacteria in the Philippines.

5 Jun 2020

Study: Eggs can be used as low-cost coating to protect fruits and vegetables

Eggs that would otherwise be wasted can be used as the base of an inexpensive coating to protect fruits and vegetables, according to Rice University researchers.

5 Jun 2020

Genetic News and Research

Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 is safe and effective

Exposure to flame retardant impacts paternal reproduction

New technique to identify genes implicated in the development of malignant brain tumor

Santen Pharmaceutical and jCyte conclude an exclusive licensing contract in Japan, Asia and Europe for the jCell therapy programme for retinitis pigmentosa

New evidence supports long-debated mode of evolution

Metabolic diseases alter ACE2 expression and increase COVID-19 severity

New Canadian study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to overcome therapies

Indirect viral infection of the kidneys by SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory reaction

Health disparities negatively impact various groups of people

Researchers confirm new therapeutic target for myelodysplastic syndrome

Study uncovers link between psoriasis and joint disease

Researchers discover important molecular mechanism of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Genetic studies analyze genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals

Study: Surfaces play a key role in viral transmission

SARS-CoV-2 genome variants in India

Zinc-finger antiviral protein makes SARS-CoV-2 highly susceptible to interferons

Study investigates combined effects of cancer therapy and inherited genetics

UTHSC researchers receive NIH award for opioid addiction studies

DNA sequencing and analysis of drug-resistant bacteria set up in the Philippines

Study: Eggs can be used as low-cost coating to protect fruits and vegetables

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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