Genetic Engineering News and Research

RSS

Heroin could could help patients with narcolepsy

A new study has found that users of heroin have high levels of a brain chemical called hypocretin. This hypocretin leads to “wakefulness” among the users and understanding this could help patients with narcolepsy.

29 Jun 2018

Study provides insight into development of autism in the human brain

In a study published in Stem Cell Reports, a McGill team of scientists led by Dr. Carl Ernst, researcher at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, revealed a molecular mechanism that may play a role in the development of autism.

27 Jun 2018

Research provides new target to help treat chemotherapy-induced diarrhea

Some 50 to 80 percent of cancer patients taking powerful chemotherapy drugs develop diarrhea, which can be severe and in some cases life-threatening.

27 Jun 2018

Polio virus could help brain cancer patients

According to researchers genetically altered poliovirus strains could help some patients of brain cancer. A team of researchers from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, used modified polio virus strains in small groups of patients who had glioblastoma – a particularly deadly form of brain cancer. In these patients standard treatments have failed say the researchers and this novel therapy could help.

27 Jun 2018

Phase 1 clinical trial of poliovirus therapy shows long-term survival benefit for recurrent glioblastoma

A genetically modified poliovirus therapy developed at Duke Cancer Institute shows significantly improved long-term survival for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, with a three-year survival rate of 21 percent in a phase 1 clinical trial.

26 Jun 2018

Friendly mosquito could be the next big step in malaria eradication

Oxitec, a company based in the UK, have developed what they call “Friendly mosquitoes”. These are bio-engineered male mosquitoes that would mate with the female to result in baby mosquitoes that die before they reach adulthood. This death before adulthood would be only for the female offspring.

25 Jun 2018

Study: Broken shuttle protein may hinder learning in patients with brain disorders

Unable to carry signals based on sights and sounds to the genes that record memories, a broken shuttle protein may hinder learning in patients with intellectual disability, schizophrenia, and autism.

22 Jun 2018

Study sheds light on new function of neural plasticity and confirms presence of neural reservoirs

A recent study has shed light on a new function of neural plasticity and confirms the presence of a 'reservoir' of neurons which are added to the networks during adult life and not during the developmental stage, as is normally the case.

22 Jun 2018

Increasing biodefense risks posed by synthetic biology

A US Department of Defense commissioned study has found that there are several genetic-engineering tools that could be used to devise biological weapons in a short amount of time.

19 Jun 2018

Study shows how moderate consumption of alcohol can protect the heart

For at least 20 years, research has shown that for many people, moderate consumption of alcohol can protect the heart, but the reason for this is poorly understood.

18 Jun 2018

Study finds more information about how gene linked to ASD affects the brain

New preclinical research shows a gene already linked to a subset of people with autism spectrum disorder is critical to healthy neuronal connections in the developing brain, and its loss can harm those connections to help fuel the complex developmental condition.

18 Jun 2018

Scientists locate neurons involved in fear reduction in long-term trauma

As reported in the journal Science, the researchers found that a reduction in long-lasting trauma (remote fear) is connected to the activity of the same group of neurons that are involved in storing the memories in the first place.

14 Jun 2018

Genetically engineered bacteria shows promise as new treatment for constipation

Genetically engineered bacteria are showing promise as a new treatment for constipation, researchers at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have discovered in a mouse study.

14 Jun 2018

International research team develops simplified CRISPR

Details of an advanced form of CRISPR technology have been published in Nature Communications.

8 Jun 2018

Researchers uncover why people with Parkinson's disease suffer from sleep disturbances

A team of researchers at VIB and KU Leuven has uncovered why people with a hereditary form of Parkinson's disease suffer from sleep disturbances.

8 Jun 2018

Study findings may lead to new approaches for treating inflammatory diseases

In the body, the immune system often begins its response to various attackers in the same way: the body activates immune cells, so-called phagocytes, which migrate to sites of inflammation caused by, for example, foreign pathogens or damaged tissue.

6 Jun 2018

Finnish research solves family blood mystery

It's the late 1970s, and a man with an unexplained high hemoglobin level (Hb) is referred to Namsos Hospital north of Trondheim, Norway. It turns out that four members of his family have the same condition. Doctor Kjell Kanelønning is the physician who treats the family.

6 Jun 2018

Study finds link between inflammatory signals in heart muscle cells and atrial fibrillation

Interfering with inflammatory signals produced by heart muscle cells might someday provide novel therapeutic strategies for atrial fibrillation, according to an international team of researchers who have published their findings in the journal Circulation.

5 Jun 2018

Altering bacteria’s genetic code may pave way for long-lasting drugs, shows study

By altering the genetic code in bacteria, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have demonstrated a method to make therapeutic proteins more stable, an advance that would improve the drugs' effectiveness and convenience, leading to smaller and less frequent doses of medicine, lower health care costs and fewer side effects for patients with cancer and other diseases.

5 Jun 2018