Genetic News and Research

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Cholera pathogen can acquire large stretches of genetic material from neighboring bacteria

In 2015, EPFL researchers led by Melanie Blokesch published a seminal paper in Science showing that the bacterium responsible for cholera, Vibrio cholerae, uses a spring-loaded spear to literally stab neighboring bacteria and steal their DNA.

8 Oct 2019

Differences at the single-cell level can predict responses to BRAF inhibitor therapy

Patients with advanced melanoma have been able to live longer because of several newly approved targeted treatment options, including BRAF and MEK inhibitors. However, patients will often have different responses to the same treatment due to genetic variability.

8 Oct 2019

Scientists make genetic data available for bacteria linked to Crohn's disease

Scientists have made genetic data publicly available for bacteria that might be lurking inside the gut walls of patients chronically affected with severe Crohn's disease.

8 Oct 2019

New grants support research on mechanics of tumor cells

At the cellular level, cancer can be viewed as a mechanical engineering challenge. The disease alters the structure and function of cells and tissues, which are meant to perform very specific tasks.

8 Oct 2019

Study reveals link between alterations in RNA splicing and Alzheimer's disease

A collaborative study published today in the journal Cell Reports provides evidence for a new molecular cause for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

8 Oct 2019

The Ehlers-Danlos Society Center opens at IU Health to advance research and patient care

The Ehlers-Danlos Society is pleased to announce the opening of The Ehlers-Danlos Society Center at IU Health, committed to advancing research, education and patient care for those living with the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and associated symptoms and conditions.

8 Oct 2019

New study advances understanding about what shapes human gut microbiome

A new Northwestern University study finds that despite human's close genetic relationship to apes, the human gut microbiome is more similar to that of Old World monkeys like baboons than to that of apes like chimpanzees.

8 Oct 2019

Cholera-causing bacteria steal large stretches of intact DNA to become more efficient

A new paper shows that the cholera germ is an inveterate and rapacious gene stealer, robbing other competing bacteria of up to 150 genes (over 150,000 base pairs) in a single attack. To put this in perspective, the cholera pathogen carries only about 4,000 genes altogether.

8 Oct 2019

New way to prevent malaria bugs from breeding

A new international collaboration reports that the compound called TCMDC-135051 is capable of preventing the synthesis of a protein that is required for growth in Plasmodium falciparum, one of the species of the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. The study, reported in the journal Science, could lead to the development of a new antimalarial drug.

8 Oct 2019

Patients' blood samples and biopsies reveal secrets of lung cancer spread

Early signs that a patient’s lung cancer may spread and become untreatable can be picked up in samples of their blood and tumor, according to a trio of papers published in Nature Medicine today (Monday).

8 Oct 2019

New insight into meningioma - possibility of targeted therapy

A new study published in the journal Oncotarget shows that certain mutations in the brain tumor called meningioma may help identify patients who have a better chance of recovery. This could help physicians make better clinical decisions based on more accurate diagnoses. It has also unveiled some of the genes that go wrong in meningiomas, as well as showing how targeted therapy could one day help fight this tumor.

7 Oct 2019

Carnegie Mellon and Yale win NIH grant to advance gene editing technique

A research team from Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University will advance their innovative, synthetic nucleic acid-based gene editing technique under a new grant from the National Institutes of Health's Somatic Cell Genome Editing Program.

7 Oct 2019

New genome-wide association study shines light on genetic risk factors for gout

Researchers, using a method called genome-wide association study, have illuminated the genetic underpinnings of high serum urate, the blood condition that brings on gout.

7 Oct 2019

Researchers study how allergens get on our nerves to drive inflammation in atopic dermatitis

Dry skin, pain, and itching... Atopic dermatitis affects the everyday lives of nearly 20% of children, and up to 5% of adults. The condition can have a significant impact on the quality of life of these patients.

7 Oct 2019

Study identifies genetic marker which could personalize treatment for Crohn's disease

The largest study ever to look at why an expensive and commonly used group of drugs fails some patients with Crohn's disease has identified a genetic marker which could individualize drug treatment.

7 Oct 2019

UCI researcher given NIH Director's New Innovator Award to study learning and memory

University of California, Irvine researcher Kevin Beier, PhD, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics in the School of Medicine, received a 2019 NIH Director's New Innovator Award to study learning and memory in an effort to discover new treatments for behavioral symptoms of chronic stress and depression.

7 Oct 2019

Common genetic variant explains why immunotherapy often fails in Crohn's disease

The reason why a commonly used range of immunotherapy drugs is not effective in some patients with Crohn’s disease has so far not been identified, until now.

7 Oct 2019

Chinese activists criticize the use of traditional treatments, defend modern medical science

In the West, the number of people challenging scientific authority has been growing in past decades. This has, among other things, led to a decline in the support for mass vaccination programs and to an increase in alternative forms of treatment.

4 Oct 2019

Stanford study finds genetic similarities among species that use sound waves to navigate

Insect-eating bats navigate effortlessly in the dark and dolphins and killer whales gobble up prey in murky waters thanks in part to specific changes in a set of 18 genes involved in the development of the cochlear ganglion -- a group of nerves that transmit sound from the ear to the brain, according to a study by researchers at Stanford University.

4 Oct 2019

Researchers develop 3D tissue models of brain tumors in a brain-mimicking microenvironment

A team of Tufts University-led researchers has developed three-dimensional human tissue culture models of pediatric and adult brain cancers in a brain-mimicking microenvironment, a significant advancement for the study of brain tumor biology and pharmacological response.

4 Oct 2019

Genetic News and Research

Cholera pathogen can acquire large stretches of genetic material from neighboring bacteria

Differences at the single-cell level can predict responses to BRAF inhibitor therapy

Scientists make genetic data available for bacteria linked to Crohn's disease

New grants support research on mechanics of tumor cells

Study reveals link between alterations in RNA splicing and Alzheimer's disease

The Ehlers-Danlos Society Center opens at IU Health to advance research and patient care

New study advances understanding about what shapes human gut microbiome

Cholera-causing bacteria steal large stretches of intact DNA to become more efficient

New way to prevent malaria bugs from breeding

Patients' blood samples and biopsies reveal secrets of lung cancer spread

New insight into meningioma - possibility of targeted therapy

Carnegie Mellon and Yale win NIH grant to advance gene editing technique

New genome-wide association study shines light on genetic risk factors for gout

Researchers study how allergens get on our nerves to drive inflammation in atopic dermatitis

Study identifies genetic marker which could personalize treatment for Crohn's disease

UCI researcher given NIH Director's New Innovator Award to study learning and memory

Common genetic variant explains why immunotherapy often fails in Crohn's disease

Chinese activists criticize the use of traditional treatments, defend modern medical science

Stanford study finds genetic similarities among species that use sound waves to navigate

Researchers develop 3D tissue models of brain tumors in a brain-mimicking microenvironment

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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