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Koalas protect their germline cells against retroviral attack

In a new study published in the journal Cell, scientists have found that koala DNA is protected against attack by retroviruses by a special type of immune response, which distinguishes foreign DNA from the host genome and destroys it before it can proliferate. This finding could help us understand both how koalas survive these infections, and the mechanics of adaptive gene change.

15 Oct 2019

Researchers develop customized drug treatment to bypass patient’s unique mutation

An unprecedented case at Boston Children's Hospital shows that it's possible to do something that's never been done before: identify a patient's unique mutation, design a customized drug to bypass it, manufacture and test the drug, and obtain permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin treating the patient -- all in less than one year.

11 Oct 2019

Novel cancer-driving mutation discovered in vast non-coding regions of the cancer genome

An Ontario-led research group has discovered a novel cancer-driving mutation in the vast non-coding regions of the human cancer genome, also known as the "dark matter" of human cancer DNA.

9 Oct 2019

Study reveals link between alterations in RNA splicing and Alzheimer's disease

A collaborative study published today in the journal Cell Reports provides evidence for a new molecular cause for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

8 Oct 2019

New way to prevent malaria bugs from breeding

A new international collaboration reports that the compound called TCMDC-135051 is capable of preventing the synthesis of a protein that is required for growth in Plasmodium falciparum, one of the species of the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. The study, reported in the journal Science, could lead to the development of a new antimalarial drug.

8 Oct 2019

Targeting two genetic faults in cancer cells could hold the key to treating leukemia

Faults in two genes directly work together to bring about the deadliest form of blood cancer, scientists have discovered in a study that could pave the way for better treatments.

4 Oct 2019

Researchers discover metabolic vulnerability in cancer cells with mutated spliceosomes

A research team from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reports it has discovered a metabolic vulnerability in multiple types of cancer cells that bear a common genetic mutation affecting cellular machines called spliceosomes.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 3 Oct 2019

Two cell mutations contribute to the development of acute myeloid leukemia

Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have discovered that two cell mutations, already harmful alone, enhance one another's effects, contributing to the development of the deadly blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

3 Oct 2019

Discovery of neoantigens could widen the possibilities for universal cancer vaccine

For more than a decade, scientist Stephen Albert Johnston and his team at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have pooled their energies into an often scoffed-at, high-risk, high-reward goal in medicine: to develop a universal vaccine to prevent cancer.

2 Oct 2019

Discovery opens up new opportunities to understand the genetics of cancer

University of Delaware molecular biologist Mona Batish and collaborators at Harvard Medical School and University of California, Los Angeles, have identified a new circular ribonucleic acid (RNA) that increases tumor activity in soft tissue and connective tissue tumors.

13 Sep 2019

Genome editing strategy opens new perspectives in the treatment of cystic fibrosis

The approach adopted by the team of the University of Trento, led by Anna Cereseto, opens new perspectives in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease for which no cure is currently available.

7 Aug 2019

NIH offers $377,971 grant to develop disposable HIV-1 viral load microchip

As of 2017, about 36.9 million people around the world were living with HIV-- 1 in 4 were unaware of their HIV status.

21 Jun 2019

Gut bacteria linked to metabolic changes and autism in new study

Researchers have made an important discovery that may explain how gut bacteria could contribute to autism-like behaviors.

31 May 2019

Researchers identify 34 genes associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer

A team of researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Cancer and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have newly identified 34 genes that are associated with an increased risk for developing the earliest stages of ovarian cancer.

1 May 2019

Researchers use genomics to solve a 20-year case study

After 20 years, a patient's family received an answer to a decades-long genetic mystery. Their daughter had two rare disorders, Angelman syndrome and P450scc deficiency, which was detected after researchers found out she had uniparental disomy, two copies of chromosome 15 from one parent and none from another.

28 Apr 2019

TET proteins help regulate gene activity vital for normal antibody production

A family of cancer suppressive proteins, known as TET proteins, help regulate gene activity via their influence on chromosomal architecture. However, until now it wasn't entirely clear how genes were activated by TET proteins to make sure that cells perform their normal functions efficiently.

27 Apr 2019

CircRNAs bind to dsRNA-activated protein kinase which is linked to innate immunity

Covalently closed circular RNAs are produced by precursor mRNA back-splicing the exons of thousands of genes in eukaryotes.

26 Apr 2019

Uncovering the Structure of HIV Integrase to Inform Drug Discovery

In this interview Dr Kushol Gupta, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania talks to News-Medical and Life Sciences about the importance of light scattering techniques for investigating structure and mechanism of action in his ongoing research into HIV integrase and the development of HIV therapeutics.

From Waters | Wyatt Technology 24 Apr 2019

Overlooked part of cell’s internal machinery may hold key to treating acute myeloid leukemia

Many individuals forced to fight an exceptionally aggressive form of the blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML) don't survive more than five years.

22 Apr 2019

Scientists present a new approach to fight cancer

In recent years, it's become clear that RNA-binding proteins play a major role in cancer growth. These proteins, active in all cells but especially so in cancer cells, bind to RNA molecules and accelerate cancer cell growth.

15 Apr 2019