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Genetic family mapping uncovers hidden links across ALS and FTD

Researchers at the Macquarie University Brain Institute and Clinic have helped accelerate the search for disease-causing genes by building new genetic 'families'.

3 Nov 2026

Scientists may have underestimated how much genes contribute to Alzheimer's risk

A large multi-ancestry genetic analysis identified 127 genomic loci associated with Alzheimer's disease, including 48 previously unreported loci, and implicated microglial and neuronal gene-expression patterns in disease susceptibility. The researchers estimated that common genetic variants account for 16% of Alzheimer's disease liability in European-ancestry populations, substantially higher than previous estimates, while demonstrating improved polygenic risk prediction that remained less reliable in non-European populations.

2 Nov 2026

Study identifies priority genes for safer prescribing in older Chinese patients

A research team has identified three genes that could help prioritize pharmacogenomic testing for older adults in China who receive multiple medications.

15 Oct 2026

Coffee, citrus and genetics: What scientists found inside human breast milk

In a bioRxiv preprint, researchers analyzed 458 metabolites in breast milk samples from 349 mothers to investigate how maternal diet, genetics, clinical characteristics, and milk-cell gene expression relate to milk composition. Maternal diet explained the greatest share of metabolite variation among the measured maternal factors, while specific genetic variants and gene-expression patterns were associated with individual metabolites, although the study did not establish effects on infant health.

14 Oct 2026

Study uncovers a protective role for microglia in Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the University of Oxford have uncovered a previously unrecognized protective role for microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, in Parkinson's disease.

7 Oct 2026

Cold plunges may boost your mood, but the evidence is still on thin ice

A Molecular Psychiatry review examined evidence linking cold exposure with mood and mental health outcomes, alongside proposed roles for catecholamines, the HPA axis, and immune-inflammatory pathways. Early studies report short-term mood improvements and physiological changes, but clinical evidence remains limited, and the proposed mechanisms have not been established as drivers of lasting psychiatric benefits.

16 Sep 2026

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease research

Marcel Nelen discusses his team’s early evaluation of a new workflow for rare disease genomics.

From Illumina, Inc. 10 Sep 2026

Spleen imaging features may reveal coronary artery disease risk

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham reveals that certain features in the spleen hidden within imaging scans may signal a person's risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), suggesting targets for prevention and treatment.

9 Sep 2026

Maternal obesity alters fetal liver metabolism via placental molecular signals

A mother's obesity during pregnancy may send molecular signals across the placenta that permanently alter her son's liver metabolism, according to a new study in mice published in Nature Communications.

26 Aug 2026

New studies reveal hidden control hub for MYC-driven cancers

In a rare pair of papers published back-to-back in the journal Genes & Development, research teams led by senior author Anindya Bagchi, PhD, associate professor in the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, establish a unified framework that governs one of cancer's most powerful master regulators.

19 Aug 2026

Nocturnal micro-awakenings linked to genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease

What if certain signs of the disease were to manifest themselves subtly during sleep, long before the first memory problems appear? This is the line of inquiry being explored by a team of researchers at ULiège, with the support of the Stop Alzheimer's Foundation.

11 Aug 2026

Early-life stress rewires brain epigenetics to heighten sensitivity to future stress

. Early-life stress increased SETD7 and H3K4me1 in the ventral tegmental area of mice, creating an epigenetically primed state that heightened later transcriptional, neuronal, and behavioral responses to stress. Reducing Setd7 during development lowered H3K4me1 and weakened these stress-sensitizing effects, identifying a mechanism that may help explain how early adversity leaves lasting biological effects.

11 Aug 2026

Harnessing neuroplasticity to improve cochlear implant adaptation

Cochlear implants have transformed what is possible for people with profound hearing loss. But the next major advance may depend less on the device itself than on the brain's ability to learn how to use it.

10 Aug 2026

Scientists discover why bats survive deadly viruses without getting sick

It is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for years. How can the world's only winged mammals carry viruses that cause severe disease while rarely becoming seriously ill themselves?

29 Jul 2026

We underestimate how much personality changes with age, study finds

Researchers compared beliefs from 887 US adults with modeled lifespan trajectories from 166,971 participants across eight longitudinal studies. Population-average Big Five traits changed as much as or more than many health, financial, psychological, and social measures, despite people perceiving personality as unusually stable.

29 Jul 2026

CRISPR directs layered immune response against invading bacteriophages

The main function of CRISPR-Cas systems, the revolutionary tool scientists now employ to edit genes, is to defend bacteria against threats such as viruses called bacteriophages.

24 Jul 2026

Mitochondrial DNA mutations link to cardiometabolic parameters in metabolic syndrome

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variability, especially heteroplasmy, is believed to affect cellular immunobiogenesis, particularly in monocytes in metabolic syndrome (MetS).

14 Jul 2026

MSU researchers develop tool to observe complex molecular choreography in real time

A lot of things need to go right on a molecular level for immune cells to launch an adaptive response to an infection.

23 Jun 2026

Plague emerged earlier than thought and hit hunter-gatherers hard

Ancient DNA from 46 Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers revealed two early plague outbreak phases about 5,500 years ago, with Yersinia pestis detected in 18 individuals. The findings suggest these basal plague strains caused lethal, child-heavy outbreaks long before dense farming societies, cities, or classical flea-borne bubonic plague emerged.

21 Jun 2026

New SMArT platform improves safety of CRISPR gene editing

A team of researchers led by Luigi Naldini at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) has developed a new strategy to significantly improve the precision and safety of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human blood stem cells, potentially overcoming one of the major barriers limiting broader clinical application of genome editing therapies.

1 Jun 2026