Transcription News and Research

RSS

Researchers develop methodology to monitor changes in DNA methylation patterns in individual cells

Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a methodology to monitor changes in DNA methylation over time in individual cells.

26 Sep 2015

Study uses genome- and epigenome-editing tools to determine disease-causing variants

A paper receiving advance online release in Nature Medicine describes a strategy for meeting one of today's most significant challenges in genomic medicine - determining whether a specific DNA variant in the non-protein-coding genome is the actual disease-causing variant of an associated disease risk.

24 Sep 2015

UCSF researchers successfully separate human muscle stem cells

UC San Francisco researchers have successfully isolated human muscle stem cells and shown that the cells could robustly replicate and repair damaged muscles when grafted onto an injured site. The laboratory finding paves the way for potential treatments for patients with severe muscle injury, paralysis or genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

23 Sep 2015

Protein-based modular system could help detect viral infection or kill cancer cells

MIT biological engineers have developed a modular system of proteins that can detect a particular DNA sequence in a cell and then trigger a specific response, such as cell death.

22 Sep 2015

PharmaMar begins phase II 'Basket' trial to evaluate safety, efficacy of PM1183 in advanced solid tumors

PharmaMar announced today the start of a multicenter, international, open-label, exploratory phase II "Basket" trial (NCT02454972) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the anticancer agent PM1183 (lurbinectedin) in advanced solid tumors.

18 Sep 2015

Cancer-causing gene disrupts internal rhythm, metabolic pathways in cancer cells

Myc is a cancer-causing gene responsible for disrupting the normal 24-hour internal rhythm and metabolic pathways in cancer cells, found a team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Postdoctoral fellow Brian Altman, PhD, and doctoral student Annie Hsieh, MD, both from the lab of senior author Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, director Abramson Cancer Center, study body clock proteins associated with cancer cells.

18 Sep 2015

New optimising ChIP sequencing library preparation guide

Chromatrap®, a business unit of Porvair Sciences, has produced an informative new guide entitled ‘Top 10 Tips for ChIP-seq Library Preparation'.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 18 Sep 2015

New findings on amitriptyline drug could help develop antidepressants with novel mechanisms

Researchers in Japan have shown that several different classes of antidepressants increase early growth responses in astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells, which could help develop new treatments.

16 Sep 2015

Study reveals how leukemia cells evade deadly effects of BRD4 inhibitors

BRD4 inhibitors are among the most promising new agents in cancer therapy that are currently evaluated in clinical trials.

15 Sep 2015

UNC scientists create smarter immune cells to treat Parkinson's disease

As a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created smarter immune cells that produce and deliver a healing protein to the brain while also teaching neurons to begin making the protein for themselves.

14 Sep 2015

Researchers use nanopore technology for early detection of colorectal and lung cancers

Using tiny "nanopore" scanners that can detect individual DNA molecules, Professor Amit Meller and colleagues are on the hunt for biological markers in cancer cells that may help clinicians diagnose colorectal and lung cancers at their earliest stages.

10 Sep 2015

UI scientists discover protein that causes muscle weakness and loss during aging

As we grow older, we lose strength and muscle mass. However, the cause of age-related muscle weakness and atrophy has remained a mystery.

9 Sep 2015

New study reveals effect of diabetes drug on bone health, benefit of exercise in mice

Inside our bones there is fat. Diabetes increases the amount of this marrow fat. And now a study from the UNC School of Medicine shows how some diabetes drugs substantially increase bone fat and thus the risk of bone fractures.

9 Sep 2015

Researchers identify new way to help AML patients avoid a relapse

A protein domain once considered of little importance may be key to helping patients who are fighting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) avoid a relapse.

8 Sep 2015

Mel18 protein regulates development of heart muscle

It is arguably the hardest working muscle in our body and without its incessant, regular beating our organs would be starved of life-giving nutrients.

4 Sep 2015

Study reveals new epigenetic mechanism underlying progression of cancer tumors

Aggressive cancer growth and alterations in gene activity without changes in DNA sequence (epigenetics) are associated with mutant p53 proteins, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Sep 2015

Altering protein recycling complexes in human cells may help overcome chemotherapy resistance

Altering the protein recycling complexes in human cells, including cancer cells, allows the cells to resist treatment with a class of drugs known as proteasome inhibitors, according to Whitehead Institute scientists.

2 Sep 2015

Researchers provide new insights into biology of aging, age-related diseases

The scientific team of a new biotech company Gero in collaboration with one of the leading academics in the field of aging Prof. Robert J. Shmookler Reis (current world record holder in life extension for model animals - 10 fold for nematodes) has recently brought new insights into biology of aging and age-related diseases, primarily, around the stability and stress resistance of certain gene regulatory networks.

28 Aug 2015

New review article reveals Y chromosome’s role in cardiovascular and immune function, cancer

The role of sex in human disease is a growing area of research. Although estrogen (in females) and androgens (in males) are often seen as possible causes for such differences, sex chromosomes, including the male-specific Y chromosome, may also play a role. However, it has been difficult to understand how the Y chromosome could contribute to disease in men, in part because it is much more difficult to sequence than all other chromosomes.