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New test could prove to be quicker, cheaper way to diagnose respiratory viral illnesses

A new test that measures RNA or protein molecules in human cells can accurately identify viral infection as a cause of respiratory symptoms, according to a Yale study.

21 Dec 2017

Researchers discover gene that influences how sleep-deprived people perform mental tasks

Washington State University researchers have discovered a genetic variation that predicts how well people perform certain mental tasks when they are sleep deprived.

21 Dec 2017

Silky webs of spiders may hold secrets to repairing our skeletons

Some secrets to repairing our skeletons might be found in the silky webs of spiders, according to recent experiments guided by supercomputers. Scientists involved say their results will help understand the details of osteoregeneration, or how bones repair themselves.

20 Dec 2017

Gene editing shows promise to help people at risk of hearing loss

Gene editing could someday help people at risk of hearing loss from genetic mutations, according to research by a new Rice University faculty member.

20 Dec 2017

Epigenetics: A New Tool for Forensic Detectives

Developing analytical methods can help the triers of fact, judges and juries, better understand the events surrounding the circumstances of a crime. In forensic analysis, we are talking about determining the identity of unknown individuals through DNA and using DNA and other chemical signatures to determine and clarify the circumstances of the crime.

From Pittcon 20 Dec 2017

UCLA researchers reveal reversibility of Friedreich's ataxia in mouse models

In children and adults with Friedreich's ataxia, an inherited disease that causes damage to the nervous system, a loss of coordination typically progresses to muscle weakness and can involve vision, diabetes, and other problems over the course of several years.

20 Dec 2017

Scientists develop test to predict treatment outcomes in patients with childhood leukemia

UC San Francisco physician-scientists have developed a test that can predict how patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) will respond to treatment, and may also be able to identify patients who are likely to recover spontaneously with little to no treatment.

19 Dec 2017

Scientists identify new genes that influence how the body regulates blood pressure

Researchers at the University of Georgia have identified several new genes that influence how the body regulates blood pressure. This may help scientists develop novel blood pressure treatments or even allow them to tailor prevention strategies for individuals based on their genes.

19 Dec 2017

FDA approves new gene therapy targeting rare form of inherited vision loss

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), a new gene therapy, to treat children and adult patients with an inherited form of vision loss that may result in blindness.

19 Dec 2017

Study finds combination therapy as effective strategy to treat ovarian cancers

Researchers at The Wistar Institute have found that combining PARP inhibitors, recently approved for the treatment of BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer, with another small molecule inhibitor was effective to treat ovarian cancers without BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

19 Dec 2017

Researchers link stress-related genetic changes to suicide risk and psychiatric illness

Researchers have linked genetic changes in the so-called CRH gene, which affects the regulation of the body's stress system, to suicide risk and psychiatric illness.

19 Dec 2017

Gene that could be associated with reduced pain response found

Researchers found an Italian family, the Marsilis that have six individuals who respond significantly differently to pain than others. This includes a 78-year-old lady and her two daughters and their three children.

18 Dec 2017

One in two older adults has suboptimal vitamin D levels, study finds

One in two persons aged 65 and above has suboptimal levels of vitamin D in the blood. This is the conclusion of an investigation conducted by researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, as part of the population-based KORA-Age study in the region of Augsburg.

18 Dec 2017

Prostate cancer researchers find significant disparities between two liquid biopsy providers

Two Johns Hopkins prostate cancer researchers found significant disparities when they submitted identical patient samples to two different commercial liquid biopsy providers.

15 Dec 2017

New genetic analysis of candidiasis reveals surprising fungal sex secrets

Working together with researchers in the Université Paris-Sud in France and University Medical Centre Göttingen in Germany, ICREA Research Professor Toni Gabaldón and his team at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona read the genetic code of 33 separate strains of the yeast Candida glabrata, the second most common cause of candidiasis.

15 Dec 2017

Long-term U-M study yields framework that could be useful for studying bipolar disorder

Nearly 6 million Americans have bipolar disorder, and most have probably wondered why. After more than a decade of studying over 1,100 of them in-depth, a University of Michigan team has an answer – or rather, seven answers.

15 Dec 2017

Researchers uncover THOR gene involved in cancer development

It turns out Thor, the Norse god of thunder and the Marvel superhero, has special powers when it comes to cancer too.

15 Dec 2017

Researchers examine human mutations' impact on therapeutic effect of medicine

Every person has a unique DNA sequence in their genome. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge have tried to quantify what these differences in the genome mean in the context of the genes targeted by drugs.

15 Dec 2017

Cancer immunotherapy’s effectiveness may depend on patient’s genetic makeup

Cancer cells arise when DNA is mutated, and these cells should be recognized as "foreign" by the immune system. However, cancer cells have found ways to evade detection by the immune system.

15 Dec 2017

Rare gene mutation gives rise to low sensitivity to pain

Researchers at University College London have identified a rare gene mutation in an Italian family who have little sensitivity to some forms of pain. Chronic pain caused by conditions such as lower back pain and osteoarthritis is one of the most prominent causes of disability worldwide, as assessed by the Global Burden of Disease reviews.

15 Dec 2017