Genes News and Research

RSS

University of Delaware researchers identify prime suspects in cataract formation

When cataracts encroach on the eyes, the only effective remedy is to surgically replace the eyes' lenses with synthetic substitutes. But what if scientists found a way to delay or prevent cataracts from forming in the first place? Researchers at the University of Delaware may have found such an opportunity by identifying the prime suspects in the formation of cataracts - deficiency of two genes that encode regulatory proteins.

19 Jun 2015

Nucleoporin proteins play significant role in maintaining embryonic stem cells

What if you found out that pieces of your front door were occasionally flying off the door frame to carry out chores around the house? That's the kind of surprise scientists at the Salk Institute experienced with their recent discovery that nucleoporins -- proteins that act as cellular 'doorways' to help manage what goes in and out of a cell's nucleus -- are actually much bigger players in expressing genes than previously thought.

19 Jun 2015

HUJI professor honored with Helmholtz International Fellow Award for epigenetics research

The Israeli immunologist and cancer researcher Professor Yehudit Bergman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, has been honored with the Helmholtz International Fellow Award for her excellent research. In a prize ceremony at the MDC Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association in Berlin, Germany, MDC's interim director Professor Thomas Sommer presented the certificate to her on Thursday, June 18th, 2015.

19 Jun 2015

Study demonstrates potential of new approach for sorting out BRCA1 gene variants

Patients seeking certainty in genetic tests often receive a perplexing result. Many learn they carry a 'variant of unknown significance' of a disease-linked gene. Such variants might -- or equally might not -- increase disease risk.

19 Jun 2015

UB study sheds light on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered a previously unknown neural pathway that can regulate changes made in the brain due to cocaine use, providing new insight into the molecular basis of cocaine addiction.

19 Jun 2015

EPFL scientists show how a major effector protein binds chromatin and regulates gene expression

Inside the cell, DNA is tightly coiled and packed with several proteins into a structure called "chromatin", which allows DNA to fit in the cell while also preventing genes from being expressed at the wrong time. Guided by a chemical "barcode", specialized effector proteins can bind chromatin and either unwind it or compact further to activate or silence genes.

18 Jun 2015

Vinculin protein levels increase with age to alter shape, performance of cardiac muscle cells

The human heart makes precious few new cells but manages to generate billions of life-sustaining beats as it grows old.

18 Jun 2015

IDIBELL and IDIPAZ scientists identify epigenetic alterations in CVID

Researchers of the Chromatin and Disease Group from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute and La Paz Hospital have identified epigenetic alterations in Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID), the most common primary immunodeficiency, using as a starting point genetically identical monozygotic twins discordant for the disease.

18 Jun 2015

High fructose consumption can lead to uncontrolled growth of cardiomyocytes, heart attack

'Walk through any supermarket and take a look at the labels on food products, and you'll see that many of them contain fructose, often in the form of sucrose (table sugar)' -- that's how Wilhelm Krek, professor for cell biology at ETH Zurich's Institute for Molecular Health Sciences, summarises the problem with today's nutrition.

18 Jun 2015

NIH-funded study identifies DOCK2 deficiency

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a new immune disorder--DOCK2 deficiency--named after the mutated gene responsible for the disease.

18 Jun 2015

Melanoma patients with high levels of H2A.Z.2 protein less likely to survive

Melanoma patients with high levels of a protein that controls the expression of pro-growth genes are less likely to survive, according to a study led by researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online in the journal Molecular Cell.

18 Jun 2015

Genes could help physicians make informed treatment decisions for metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Metastatic colorectal cancer patients tend to live longer when they respond to the first line of chemotherapy their doctors recommend. To better predict how patients will respond to chemotherapy drugs before they begin treatment, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine conducted a proof-of-principle study with a small group of metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

18 Jun 2015

Simple test could help identify genetically inherited risk for prostate cancer

Men with an elevated, genetically inherited risk for prostate cancer could be routinely identified with a simple blood or urine test, scientists at UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Northern California have concluded, potentially paving the way to better or earlier diagnosis.

18 Jun 2015

New article shows taxonomic classification of rare genetic bone disorders based on metabolic phenotypes

An International Osteoporosis Foundation Working Group on Skeletal Rare Diseases has published a new classification of rare genetic metabolic bone disorders (RGMBDs) according to their metabolic pathogenesis.

18 Jun 2015

Rare form of autoimmune syndrome may be tied to mutations in AIRE gene

A hereditary autoimmune disease that was thought to be exceedingly rare may have a less severe form that affects one in 1,000 people or even more, according to new research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Israel, and the University of Bergen, in Norway.

18 Jun 2015

Australian researchers discover gene involved in muscular dystrophy

Australian researchers have made a critical discovery about a gene involved in muscular dystrophy that could lead to future therapies for the currently untreatable disease.

18 Jun 2015

La Jolla Institute researchers identify molecular pathway that maintains Treg cells' function

Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are part of the system of checks and balances that prevents the immune response from going overboard and causing autoimmune disease. Although critically important for shaping the immune response and maintaining self-tolerance, how they hold on to their immune-suppressive powers had remained unclear.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers reveal that Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to gastric cancer

Around half of the global population is chronically infected with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, almost 1 percent of whom go on to develop gastric adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Usually it takes many decades for the cancer to develop, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly how it is linked to an infection.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers create cell lines to study gene expression in precursor brown fat and white fat cells

Since the 2009 discovery that energy-burning brown fat can be active in adults, research has raced ahead to understand this tissue and exploit it to treat the epidemic of obesity. Active brown fat also may assist in directly easing the burden of diabetes and related metabolic diseases by lowering the levels of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream. But progress in studying human brown fat often has been slowed by difficulties in obtaining and studying samples of the human cells that develop into brown fat.

17 Jun 2015

Fruit flies helping FAU researchers to discover novel genes responsible for neuroprotection

They're pesky and annoying when they get into your fruit, but Drosophila melanogaster, more affectionately known as the "fruit fly," are helping researchers at Florida Atlantic University to discover novel genes that are responsible for neuroprotection.

17 Jun 2015

Genes News and Research

University of Delaware researchers identify prime suspects in cataract formation

Nucleoporin proteins play significant role in maintaining embryonic stem cells

HUJI professor honored with Helmholtz International Fellow Award for epigenetics research

Study demonstrates potential of new approach for sorting out BRCA1 gene variants

UB study sheds light on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction

EPFL scientists show how a major effector protein binds chromatin and regulates gene expression

Vinculin protein levels increase with age to alter shape, performance of cardiac muscle cells

IDIBELL and IDIPAZ scientists identify epigenetic alterations in CVID

High fructose consumption can lead to uncontrolled growth of cardiomyocytes, heart attack

NIH-funded study identifies DOCK2 deficiency

Melanoma patients with high levels of H2A.Z.2 protein less likely to survive

Genes could help physicians make informed treatment decisions for metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Simple test could help identify genetically inherited risk for prostate cancer

New article shows taxonomic classification of rare genetic bone disorders based on metabolic phenotypes

Rare form of autoimmune syndrome may be tied to mutations in AIRE gene

Australian researchers discover gene involved in muscular dystrophy

La Jolla Institute researchers identify molecular pathway that maintains Treg cells' function

Researchers reveal that Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to gastric cancer

Researchers create cell lines to study gene expression in precursor brown fat and white fat cells

Fruit flies helping FAU researchers to discover novel genes responsible for neuroprotection

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics