Gene Silencing News and Research

RSS

New strategies can help increase the efficiency of artificial cell reprogramming

Maria-Elena: Can you imagine being able to artificially generate cells that can develop into any cell type? That would be really fantastic! We call this ability 'totipotency' and it is the highest level of cellular plasticity.

6 Jul 2020

Novel antisense drug shows promise to improve health of people with NAFLD

Using a first-of-its-class drug in a clinical trial, an international research effort headed by a scientist at University of California San Diego School of Medicine reports that inhibition of a key enzyme safely and effectively improved the health of persons with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a chronic metabolic disorder that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

16 Jun 2020

Drug offers hope for patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder that begins in childhood and adolescence.

8 Jun 2020

AFFiRiS announces preclinical results of monoclonal antibody mAB C6-17 in Huntington's

AFFiRiS, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel disease-modifying specific active immunotherapies, today announced that detailed preclinical results with its monoclonal antibody mAB C6-17 to treat Huntington's Disease were published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurobiology of Disease.

3 Jun 2020

UMD professor outlines new theoretical framework for heredity

The common view of heredity is that all information passed down from one generation to the next is stored in an organism's DNA. But Antony Jose, associate professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, disagrees.

23 Apr 2020

Research provides new insights into molecular basis of X-chromosome inactivation

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and Institut Curie in Paris have shown that the protein SPEN plays a crucial role in the process of X-chromosome inactivation, whereby female mammalian embryos silence gene expression on one of their two X chromosomes.

7 Feb 2020

Research findings may one day help keep ALS at bay

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine on December 23, 2019, shows how to silence a defective gene responsible for the degeneration of the motor neurons in Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in adult mice. This could help prevent disease progression if the condition is already symptomatic, and even suppress the illness if it has not yet started.

23 Dec 2019

Scientists uncover new link between pathways involved in RNA degradation

A recent study by a team of scientists in Korea reveals new findings about how various systems involved in cellular surveillance interact. This research is the first to identify a "cross-talk" molecule between these systems. Because these pathways are involved in fighting toxic cellular or foreign substances, the study has various potential applications in antiviral development, gene therapy, and agriculture.

6 Dec 2019

Discovery enables strategies to be developed for preventing malaria transmission

The bacteria that form the gut microbiota influence important processes of the human body, such as digestion, nutrient absorption, and defense against pathogens. The same type of relationship is present in most animals, including in the Anhopheles darlingi mosquito, the main vector of malaria in Brazil.

22 Nov 2019

Reactivating ‘tumor suppressor’ genes could offer new therapeutic approach for cancer

Scientists have developed a method which is able to switch ‘tumor suppressor’ genes back on after they have been silenced by cancer cells.

25 Sep 2019

Love hormone oxytocin linked to hypersexuality

Sex addiction or hypersexual disorder is a behavior characterized by an excessive preoccupation with sexual fantasies, behaviors, or urges that are hard to control, causing negative effects on one’s health and relationships.

25 Sep 2019

Scientists to present new findings on gene therapy at Neuroscience 2019

Gene therapy shows promise as a way to treat and cure presently incurable neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

24 Sep 2019

Scientists develop method to reactivate tumor suppressor genes 'silenced' by cancer

Scientists at UCL have developed a method to reactivate 'tumor suppressor' genes, which are switched off by cancer cells - a finding which could lead to new targeted biotherapies for cancer.

23 Sep 2019

Study reveals possible role of hormone oxytocin in hypersexual disorder

A new study of men and women with hypersexual disorder has revealed a possible role of the hormone oxytocin, according to results published in the journal Epigenetics.

23 Sep 2019

CRISPR-Cas9 successfully reverses type 2 diabetes in mice

Researchers have used CRISPR-Cas9 to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes in mice, a development that could eventually benefit humans.

3 Sep 2019

Protein implicated in neuron growth and cell adhesion appears crucial for pain sensitization

Researchers from Japan's Osaka University have made an important leap in our understanding of how chronic pain conditions develop.

20 Aug 2019

Astrocytic MORs in the hippocampus responsible for conditioned place preference

If somebody asks me "are you a coffee addict?" I may say, "Yeah it seems like, but on the one condition, only in my office." I don't have that much craving for coffee at home, but just being in the office, where I used to drink coffee all the time seeking to get caffeine jitters, seems to trigger my caffeine-addicted brain.

31 Jul 2019

Researchers develop a more precise version of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system

A gene defect in humans causes progressive hearing loss in humans, resulting in deafness by their mid-20s. The same genetic mutation causes deafness in the Beethoven-mouse model.

18 Jul 2019

International research collaboration uses FDA-approved drugs to slow aging in nematodes

An international research collaboration that includes the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has discovered that aging in nematodes (worms) can be slowed and even reversed by a number of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, findings that have the potential to extend human lifespan.

30 May 2019

Study explores why people at risk for Huntington's disease choose not to undergo genetic testing

As many as 90 percent of individuals who have a parent with Huntington's disease (HD) choose not to take a gene test that reveals if they will also develop the fatal disorder -- and a new study details the reasons why.

17 May 2019