Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Rockefeller University researchers discover molecule that helps guide axons during CNS development

During embryonic development, billions of neurons nimbly reposition themselves within the brain and spinal cord, and connect branches to form the neural circuits that ultimately control our movements, perception, and memory. Scientists have long sought to understand the driving forces in this meticulously choreographed dance, in which each cell seems to know precisely where to be to at any given time, and with what other cells it must link.

20 Nov 2015

UF Health investigators make new discovery about Huntington's disease

University of Florida Health researchers have made a new discovery about Huntington's disease, showing that the gene that causes the fatal disorder makes an unexpected "cocktail" of mutant proteins that accumulate in the brain.

19 Nov 2015

Last resort antibiotics may no longer work

E.coli has become resistant to the last line of antibiotics we have left and untreatable bugs may already be circulating in Britain, warn scientists.

19 Nov 2015

Role of genetic predisposition in pediatric cancer patients

The most detailed analysis yet of the role germline mutations in genes associated with cancer predisposition play in the development of childhood cancer suggests that comprehensive genomic screening may be warranted on all pediatric cancer patients, not just those with a family history of cancer.

19 Nov 2015

New technique improves accuracy of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

A new CRISPR/Cas9 technology developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is precise enough to surgically edit DNA at nearly any genomic location, while avoiding potentially harmful off-target changes typically seen in standard CRISPR gene editing techniques.

19 Nov 2015

IMB scientists unravel complex regulatory mechanism involved in brain development

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have unraveled a complex regulatory mechanism that explains how a single gene can drive the formation of brain cells. The research, published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step towards a better understanding of how the brain develops. It also harbors potential for regenerative medicine.

19 Nov 2015

Potential treatment strategy for glycogen storage disease

Researchers from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore and Duke Medicine have identified a potential treatment strategy for an often-fatal inherited glycogen storage disease.

18 Nov 2015

Cell Therapy Catapult initiates construction for cell and gene therapy manufacturing centre

The Cell Therapy Catapult, the UK organisation dedicated to the growth of the UK cell and gene therapy industry by bridging the gap between scientific research and commercialisation, today announces the official initiation of construction for its cell and gene therapy manufacturing centre.

18 Nov 2015

Duchenne muscular dystrophy could directly affect muscle stem cells

A new study from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa is poised to completely change our understanding of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and pave the way for far more effective treatments.

18 Nov 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists use gene-based tests to distinguish precancerous cysts from harmless cysts

In a "look-back" analysis of data stored on 130 patients with pancreatic cysts, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used gene-based tests and a fixed set of clinical criteria to more accurately distinguish precancerous cysts from those less likely to do harm. The findings may eventually help some patients in real time safely avoid surgery to remove harmless cysts.

18 Nov 2015

Study provides biochemical links between genes linked to autism and the inhibition of nerve cells

A study led by the University of Utah School of Medicine provides new insights into how the subtle changes within cells, caused by disruptions in a gene called Kirrel3, could underlie some types of intellectual disability and autism.

18 Nov 2015

Researchers identify genetic mutation associated with reckless drunken behavior

University of Helsinki researchers have identified a genetic mutation which renders carriers susceptible to particularly impulsive and reckless behaviour when drunk. More than one hundred thousand Finns carry this mutation.

17 Nov 2015

RNA-based drugs provide many advantages over CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

In just the past few years, researchers have found a way to use a naturally occurring bacterial system known as CRISPR/Cas9 to inactivate or correct specific genes in any organism. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing activity runs continuously, though, leading to risk of additional editing at unwanted sites. Now, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Cancer Research and Isis Pharmaceuticals demonstrate a commercially feasible way to use RNA to turn the CRISPR-Cas9 system on and off as desired -- permanently editing a gene, but only temporarily activating CRISPR-Cas9.

17 Nov 2015

Study reveals why colorectal cancer still returns in some patients after treatment

Cetuximab, marketed as Erbitux, is one of the key therapies for metastatic colorectal cancer. Yet the cancer still returns in some patients, shortening overall survival.

17 Nov 2015

Research shows how scientists altered stem cells, triggered bone growth

Imagine you have a bone fracture or a hip replacement, and you need bone to form, but you heal slowly - a common fact of life for older people. Instead of forming bone, you could form fat. Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have found a way to tip the scale in favor of bone formation. They used cytochalasin D, a naturally occurring substance found in mold, as a proxy to alter gene expression in the nuclei of mesenchymal stem cells to force them to become osteoblasts (bone cells).

17 Nov 2015

Researchers identify molecular patterns that dominate gene expression in the human brain

The human brain may be the most complex piece of organized matter in the known universe, but Allen Institute researchers have begun to unravel the genetic code underlying its function. Research published this month in Nature Neuroscience identified a surprisingly small set of molecular patterns that dominate gene expression in the human brain and appear to be common to all individuals, providing key insights into the core of the genetic code that makes our brains distinctly human.

17 Nov 2015

Adjustable Tip Spacing Pipette Improves Productivity & Reproducibility

INTEGRA reports on a new technical note produced by Analytik Jena (www.analytik-jena.de/en.html) that compares the performance of the INTEGRA VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing multichannel pipette with a manual single channel pipette for performing real-time PCR experiments.

From INTEGRA Biosciences 17 Nov 2015

Changes in cellular metabolites regulate earliest stages of embryonic stem cell development

Changes in cellular metabolites have been shown to regulate embryonic stem cell development at the earliest stages of life. Metabolites are simple compounds generated during life-sustaining chemical activities in cells.

17 Nov 2015

Improved gene therapy treatment shows promise in mice with cystic fibrosis

An improved gene therapy treatment can cure mice with cystic fibrosis (CF). Cell cultures from CF patients, too, respond well to the treatment. Those are the encouraging results of a study presented by the Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy at KU Leuven, Belgium.

17 Nov 2015

MedUni Vienna researchers discover genetic cause of a rare disease

Researchers at MedUni Vienna have discovered the genetic cause of a rare disease characterized by life-threatening "liver crises" in early childhood and subsequent manifestation of neurological symptoms, such as neuropathy and ataxia (a movement disorder), when they reach school age.

15 Nov 2015

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Rockefeller University researchers discover molecule that helps guide axons during CNS development

UF Health investigators make new discovery about Huntington's disease

Last resort antibiotics may no longer work

Role of genetic predisposition in pediatric cancer patients

New technique improves accuracy of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

IMB scientists unravel complex regulatory mechanism involved in brain development

Potential treatment strategy for glycogen storage disease

Cell Therapy Catapult initiates construction for cell and gene therapy manufacturing centre

Duchenne muscular dystrophy could directly affect muscle stem cells

Johns Hopkins scientists use gene-based tests to distinguish precancerous cysts from harmless cysts

Study provides biochemical links between genes linked to autism and the inhibition of nerve cells

Researchers identify genetic mutation associated with reckless drunken behavior

RNA-based drugs provide many advantages over CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

Study reveals why colorectal cancer still returns in some patients after treatment

Research shows how scientists altered stem cells, triggered bone growth

Researchers identify molecular patterns that dominate gene expression in the human brain

Adjustable Tip Spacing Pipette Improves Productivity & Reproducibility

Changes in cellular metabolites regulate earliest stages of embryonic stem cell development

Improved gene therapy treatment shows promise in mice with cystic fibrosis

MedUni Vienna researchers discover genetic cause of a rare disease

Industry focus eBook - Cell and gene therapy (2nd edition) eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research