Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Balanced diet linked to better brain health and cognition, large-scale study shows

Study utilizing the UK Biobank data identifies four dietary patterns, revealing the balanced diet subtype promotes superior cognitive functions and mental health outcomes compared to starch-free, vegetarian, or high-protein-low-fiber diets.

3 Apr 2024

miR-205 knockout surprises with enhanced mammary development and cancer insights

New research unveils the paradoxical role of miR-205 in mammary gland development and its potential impact on breast cancer, highlighting the miRNA's complex involvement in stem cell regulation and tumor suppression.

2 Apr 2024

Certain gut bacteria may help lower cholesterol and heart disease risk

Changes in the gut microbiome have been implicated in a range of diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease.

2 Apr 2024

New insights into adrenal gland tumor formation

Researchers from Kyushu University's Faculty of Medical Sciences report on new insights into the mechanisms of how adrenal gland tumors are formed.

2 Apr 2024

New malaria vaccine strain shows promise in preclinical trials

In a report published on March 21, 2024 in EMBO Molecular Medicine (A replication competent Plasmodium falciparum parasite completely attenuated by dual gene deletion) investigators at Seattle Children's Research Institute and Sanaria Inc. describe the development of a whole malaria parasite vaccine strain that infects the liver, develops to the late liver stage, and then gets completely stuck and cannot burst out of the liver to cause symptomatic blood infection.

2 Apr 2024

Rare variants in the YKT6 gene cause new neurological disorder, study finds

A recent collaborative study has discovered rare variants in the YKT6 gene as the cause of a new neurological disorder characterized by developmental delays along with severe progressive liver disease and a potential risk for liver cancer.

1 Apr 2024

UVA researchers discover Y chromosome gene linked to heart failure in men

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered a gene on the Y chromosome that contributes to the greater incidence of heart failure in men.

1 Apr 2024

Understanding the genetics behind thyroid cancer to prevent unnecessary invasive treatments

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine are hopeful new research could prevent up to 130,000 unneeded fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of thyroid nodules and subsequent surgeries each year in the United States by better understanding the genetic risk associated with thyroid cancer.

1 Apr 2024

Tuberculosis linked to increased risk of cancer, study finds

A population-wide observational study to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) shows an association between tuberculosis (TB) and cancer, with those with current or previous TB more likely to have a diagnosis of a variety of cancers, including lung, blood, gynaecological and colorectal cancers.

1 Apr 2024

Smartphone app shows promise in detecting early signs of frontotemporal dementia

UCSF-led research shows smartphone cognitive testing is comparable to gold-standard methods; may detect FTD in gene carriers before symptoms start.

1 Apr 2024

Turning back the clock on aging immune systems: New treatment rejuvenates elderly defenses

Study demonstrated that selectively reducing myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells (my-HSCs) in aged mice rejuvenated the immune system, enhanced lymphopoiesis, reduced inflammation, and improved responses to viral infection, highlighting a potential strategy for countering age-related immune decline.

31 Mar 2024

Space travel alters human vascular cell function, study finds

Study investigates the transcriptomic changes in human vascular smooth muscle cells exposed to spaceflight, revealing significant alterations in gene expression affecting cellular function and phenotype.

31 Mar 2024

DNA repair process key to memory formation, study finds

Study reveals that learning triggers a series of molecular events including DNA damage and repair in hippocampal neurons, mediated by TLR9, crucial for memory formation.

31 Mar 2024

New insights into gas vesicle clustering in bacteria open doors for biomedical applications

Gas vesicles are hollow structures made of protein found in the cells of certain microorganisms, and researchers at Rice University believe they can be programmed for use in biomedical applications.

29 Mar 2024

Researchers decode the evolutionary pathway of regulatory proteins

New research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison decodes the evolutionary pathway of regulatory proteins, the molecules that help control gene expression.

29 Mar 2024

Uncovering gender-specific genetic alterations in cancer

Recent research spearheaded by Chunmei Cui at the State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling, Peking University, China, casts a new light on the nuanced interplay between gender and cancer, uncovering significant sex-specific disparities in copy number alterations (CNA) across various cancer types.

29 Mar 2024

Human breast cell atlas unveils early changes in BRCA gene mutation carriers

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created the world's largest catalog of human breast cells, which has revealed early cell changes in healthy carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

28 Mar 2024

Unraveling gene regulation's role in pulmonary fibrosis

Regulators of gene expression are thought to play an outsized role in disorders from cancers to heart disease. But how exactly do variations in gene regulation translate into a disease's biology?

28 Mar 2024

Research offers first insights into the mechanism behind synaptic development

The first analysis of how synaptic proteins change during early development reveals differences between mice and marmosets but also what's different in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

28 Mar 2024

Genetic and lifestyle factors linked to brain network aging, study reveals

Research highlights the impact of genetic and lifestyle factors on a brain network particularly sensitive to aging, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease, using data from nearly 40,000 UK Biobank participants to investigate modifiable risk factors and genetic associations.

28 Mar 2024