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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Potential drug targets cause of adult-onset muscular dystrophy

People diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy type 1 have difficulty unclenching muscles due to a genetic defect that generates toxic material within their cells.

1 Apr 2019

Designer organelles in living mammalian cells can build synthetic proteins

A research team led by biophysical chemist Professor Edward Lemke has engineered a designer organelle in a living mammalian cell in a new complex biological translation process. The created membraneless organelle can build proteins from natural and synthetic amino acids carrying new functionalities.

30 Mar 2019

Cellular mechanism that connects smoking during pregnancy and baby’s obesity risk identified

Using foreskin tissue from newborn circumcisions, a group of researchers have identified a potential cellular mechanism that connects a mother's smoking while pregnant with an increased risk of offspring obesity later in life.

30 Mar 2019

Pediatric Cell Atlas needed for better understanding of children’s health and illnesses

Research efforts to comprehensively map adult human cells are in progress. But in a Perspective publishing March 28 in the journal Developmental Cell, researchers argue that there is a need to map children’s cells with the same level of granularity.

29 Mar 2019

Single lineage of stem cells contributes to lifelong hippocampal neurogenesis in mice

Scientists once thought that mammals entered adulthood with all of the neurons they would ever have, but studies from the 60s found that new neurons are generated in certain parts of the adult brain and pioneering studies from the 90s helped identify their origins and function.

29 Mar 2019

Walnut consumption could change gene expression in pathologically-confirmed breast cancers

New research from Marshall University links walnut consumption as a contributing factor that could suppress growth and survival of breast cancers.

29 Mar 2019

Promising new way to thwart tricky Mtb pathogen

Tuberculosis, an ancient and notoriously difficult disease to treat, has killed millions through the course of human history; and the antibiotics that have been used to fight the disease in recent history are becoming less and less effective.

29 Mar 2019

UTM researchers uncover 'master pacemaker' for biological clocks

What makes a biological clock tick? According to a new study from U of T Mississauga, the surprising answer lies with a gene typically associated with stem and cancer cells.

28 Mar 2019

Low-dose radiation therapy may increase uptake of therapeutic nanoparticles by brain tumors

A new study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators finds that radiation therapy may increase the uptake of therapeutic nanoparticles by glioblastomas, raising the possibility of using both growth-factor-targeted and immune-system-based therapies against the deadly brain tumor.

28 Mar 2019

Garvan researchers develop more accurate method to diagnose cancer subtypes

Developed by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, this potential diagnostic method screens a cancer sample for 'fusion genes', estimated to be linked to one in five cancers, and may provide a more accurate snapshot of rearranged DNA found in cancer.

28 Mar 2019

C-Path and Japan's PMDA join forces on first-of-its-kind biomarker project

Critical Path Institute announced today that a formal consultation between its Predictive Safety Testing Consortium and Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency has resulted in an agreement on a first-of-its-kind approach to compare the levels of eight novel urinary kidney safety biomarkers in healthy Japanese volunteers to data collected on these same biomarkers in healthy Western volunteers in a bridging study.

27 Mar 2019

Researchers unravel biomechanics of Ebola virus-host cell adhesion

It was recently reported that the number of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000, making it the second-worst outbreak in history after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa in which 29,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died.

27 Mar 2019

Study offers new insights for vaccine development to prevent RSV disease

In healthy adults, RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, feels like the common cold with a runny nose, chest congestion and cough.

27 Mar 2019

Researchers uncover mechanism that initiates sexual organs maturation

Puberty is a period of extensive changes of body morphology and function. As much as we are familiar with these life-altering changes, relatively little is known about what sets the whole process in motion.

26 Mar 2019

Researchers identify genes responsible for safener efficacy in grain sorghum

Weeds often emerge at the same time as vulnerable crop seedlings and sneak between plants as crops grow. How do farmers kill them without harming the crops themselves?

22 Mar 2019

Wyss Technology licensed by Sherlock Biosciences to create affordable molecular diagnostics

Harvard University has granted a worldwide exclusive license to Sherlock Biosciences, Inc. to develop and commercialize technology from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering to create a highly sensitive, nucleic acid-based diagnostic platform that can rapidly deliver accurate and inexpensive results for a vast range of needs in virtually any setting.

22 Mar 2019

Thermally abused cooking oil may promote progression of breast cancer

A new study in mice suggests that consuming the chemical compounds found in thermally abused cooking oil may trigger genetic changes that promote the progression of late-stage breast cancer.

22 Mar 2019

Knowing causative genes of osteoporosis may open door to more effective treatments

Scientists have harnessed powerful data analysis tools and three-dimensional studies of genomic geography to implicate new risk genes for osteoporosis, the chronic bone-weakening condition that affects millions of people.

22 Mar 2019

Researchers investigate whether Zika reservoirs are found in the Americas

Most emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic -- they make the jump from other animals to humans.

20 Mar 2019

Researchers identify origin of chronic pain in humans

A new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health Science Center at Houston and Baylor College of Medicine has produced evidence of the source of chronic pain in humans, revealing several new targets for pain treatment.

19 Mar 2019