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New way to chart human genome with CRISPR/nanopore sequencing technique

In search of new ways to sequence human genomes and read critical alterations in DNA, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully used the gene cutting tool CRISPR to make cuts in DNA around lengthy tumor genes, which can be used to collect sequence information.

24 Feb 2020

Inflammation caused by radiation can promote survival of triple-negative breast cancer cells

While radiation is successfully used to treat breast cancer by killing cancer cells, inflammation caused as a side-effect of radiation can have a contrary effect by promoting the survival of triple-negative breast cancer cells, according to research published online in the International Journal of Radiation Biology by Jennifer Sims-Mourtada, Ph.D., director of Translational Breast Cancer Research at ChristianaCare's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

24 Feb 2020

Specific gut bacteria may predict development of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Researchers have identified a distinct collection of bacteria found in the gut that may contribute to and predict the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension.

24 Feb 2020

Discovery may open up new avenues into improving cancer immunotherapy

New cancer immunotherapy approaches are revolutionizing treatment options for breast cancer patients. However, many lead to insufficient immune responses rendering the therapies incapable of completely eradicating tumors.

23 Feb 2020

Polygenic risk score not useful in predicting heart disease risk, study finds

A Polygenic Risk Score -- a genetic assessment that doctors have hoped could predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients -- has been found not to be a useful predictive biomarker for disease risk, according to a Vanderbilt study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Feb 2020

Researchers study why colon cancer is more lethal in pediatric and young adult patients

Colon cancer is more likely to be lethal in children and young adults than middle-aged adults. In a single-institution study, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tex., found that differences in mortality rates persist regardless of whether pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients (aged 24 and younger) were born with a predisposition for colon abnormalities or disease and for the first time conclude that young people are more likely to have metastases outside the colon, into the abdominal cavity, when they are diagnosed.

23 Feb 2020

Coriell researchers find new genetic indicator of obesity risk

Obesity is among the most common complex diseases in the United States and has been a stubborn public health challenge for decades. Its causes are wide ranging, but genetic heritability is increasingly understood to be an influential factor in determining a person's risk for the disease.

23 Feb 2020

UCI makes tremendous strides in prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer

Like most people, John Gifford wasn't looking forward to a colonoscopy when he arrived on the UCI Medical Center campus in Orange in 2018.

23 Feb 2020

Novel discovery about enzymes ensures efficient DNA repair

DNA is the hereditary material in humans, a unique cookbook of who we are. This is where you'll find the answer as to why you have your specific eye and hair color, or perhaps why you sunburn easily.

23 Feb 2020

A step towards precision medicine for the management of monogenic diabetes

Diabetes affects more than 400 million people worldwide and is a major public health problem. Although commonly referred to as a single disease, it actually constitutes a group of metabolic disorders with hyperglycemia as a common feature. Of all its forms, monogenic diabetes - due to a mutation in one of the genes involved in the management of blood sugar levels - affects 1% to 4% of all cases of diabetes.

22 Feb 2020

Researchers discover new mechanism involved in the expression of Down syndrome

Researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal have discovered a new mechanism involved in the expression of Down syndrome, one of the main causes of intellectual disability and congenital heart defects in children.

21 Feb 2020

HCI at University of Utah to host 7th annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Conference

The 7th annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Conference will be hosted by Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and Theresa's Research Foundation on September 10 and 11, 2020.

21 Feb 2020

Using a simple model to study how serotonin modulates behavior

In popular experience the story of how serotonin modulates the brain might seem simple: pop an antidepressant, serotonin levels go up, mood improves. But neuroscientists acknowledge how little they know about how the neurotransmitter affects circuits and behavior in the incredibly complex human brain.

20 Feb 2020

Macrolide, penicillin antibiotics in pregnancy could affect children’s health

A new study published in the journal BMJ in February 2020 reports that macrolide or penicillin antibiotic consumption in pregnancy could be linked to several adverse health outcomes in children. These include major malformations, cerebral palsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.

20 Feb 2020

Scientists think they've found the earliest interbreeding event

A new study published in the journal Science Advances in February 2020 reports that it has found the earliest interbreeding event between different human populations ever, where the "super-archaics" of Eurasia interbred with another group known as the Neanderthal-Denisovan population long ago.

20 Feb 2020

'Stranger Things' increased public awareness of cleidocranial dysplasia

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery shows that using mainstream media to depict rare diseases in a realistic manner can prompt greater public awareness and support for such conditions.

20 Feb 2020

Targeted combinatorial drug treatment restores beta cell function in mice

The loss of the identity of insulin-secreting beta cells in the islet of Langerhans, a process also called beta cell dedifferentiation, has been proposed to be a main reason for the development of diabetes.

20 Feb 2020

New breakthrough offers hope for potential treatment of rare childhood epilepsy

Seizure disorders in babies are frightening and heartbreaking. A new basic science breakthrough offers hope for a potential treatment for rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathies resulting from a single genetic mutation.

20 Feb 2020

New biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer identified

Applying bioinformatics to resolve biological problems. This is the objective of the research group of the University of Malaga "BI4NEXT", which, in one of its latest studies, developed in the Supercomputing and Bioinnovation Center based on biobank samples, has identified new biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and even treatment of lung cancer.

20 Feb 2020

Plant-based relatives of cholesterol could boost gene-infused nanoparticle delivery

Gene-infused nanoparticles used for combating disease work better when they include plant-based relatives of cholesterol because their shape and structure help the genes get where they need to be inside cells.

20 Feb 2020