Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Blocking nitric oxide suppresses tumor growth in aggressive pediatric neuroblastoma

The tumor begins before birth. Somewhere in the developing fetus, neural crest cells that should have matured into adrenal tissue or sympathetic ganglia take a wrong turn, and a child is born harboring a malignancy that may not declare itself for months.

7 Apr 2026

New strategy exploits specific genetic vulnerability in colorectal cancer patients

Researchers have identified a novel therapeutic approach for colorectal cancer by exploiting a specific genetic vulnerability found in a majority of patients.

6 Apr 2026

Scientists create large library of mitochondrial DNA mutant models

Some of your most important life partners are the mitochondria that power all your cells. You and these little cellular powerhouses are in a 1.5-billion-year-old evolutionary relationship-but mitochondria brought some baggage.

6 Apr 2026

How gut microbes may shape heart attack damage and recovery

This review argues that gut microbes and the metabolites they produce, especially SCFAs and TMAO, may shape how the heart responds to myocardial infarction through epigenetic pathways such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs. It also outlines potential intervention routes, including diet, probiotics, postbiotics, and metabolite-targeted therapies, while noting that much of the evidence remains translational and not yet clinically definitive.

6 Apr 2026

AI helps researchers find antimicrobial peptides in Earth’s harshest habitats

Researchers built the Extreme Environment Microbiome Catalog from 78,213 genomes across global extreme habitats, revealing major taxonomic and biosynthetic novelty, including 32,715 representative species, nearly 4 billion non-redundant genes, and 163,693 biosynthetic gene clusters. They then used protein language models to identify 3,032 candidate non-toxic antimicrobial peptides, with 84 of 100 synthesized peptides showing antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity in the 50 tested in mammalian cells.

6 Apr 2026

Princeton researchers reveal new links between high-fat diets and aggressive breast cancer

Princeton researchers have revealed new links between high-fat diets and aggressive breast cancer, demonstrating the important role fat plays in making some cancers more invasive.

6 Apr 2026

Toxic RNA drives progressive heart damage in myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most common cause of adult-onset muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that leads to muscle weakness and wasting, but also affects the brain, the gastrointestinal tract and the heart.

3 Apr 2026

Calcium channel mutations disrupt early brain development and cause epilepsy

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a previously unrecognized mechanism by which inherited calcium channel mutations disrupt early brain development and predispose children to epilepsy and related cognitive challenges.

3 Apr 2026

Researchers uncover a chain of molecular events behind early brain changes in Alzheimer's

For the millions of people who carry the gene APOE4, the strongest known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, their brain activity may begin changing long before any memory problems appear.

3 Apr 2026

Nanotube membrane injector enables precise transfer of cytoplasmic contents between cells

Cells are not isolated units; they continuously exchange proteins, genetic material, and even entire organelles with their neighbors.

3 Apr 2026

Study identifies a common hidden genetic cause of neurodevelopmental disorder in children

Researchers identified biallelic variants in RNU2-2 as the cause of a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder marked by intellectual disability, global developmental delay, and frequent seizures. The study suggests this condition may be the most prevalent known recessive neurodevelopmental disorder currently diagnosable by sequencing, with RNA data pointing to a loss-of-expression mechanism.

2 Apr 2026

Stard7 plays unexpected role in intestinal cancer development

A new study led by researchers at the University of Liège highlights the unexpected role of Stard7 in the development of intestinal cancers.

2 Apr 2026

Tumor microenvironment drives resistance to ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer

Tumors driven by cancer-driving KRAS mutations are often susceptible to ferroptosis, a type of cell death that can be harnessed for cancer therapy.

2 Apr 2026

Machine learning uncovers thousands of unknown bacterial immune defense systems

Bacterial immune systems protect against viral invaders called phages by precisely targeting specific phage genetic sequences.

2 Apr 2026

Oral molecule prevents kidney stones and restores survival in mice

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have shown that an orally administered small molecule, N-propargylglycine (N-PPG), can completely prevent the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones, protect against kidney failure, and fully restore normal survival in a mouse model of Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 2 (PH2), a rare and currently untreatable genetic disorder that causes progressive kidney failure in infants and young adults.

2 Apr 2026

Regulatory T cells may influence inflammation and behavior in autism

Two new studies from the UC Davis MIND Institute examined regulatory T cells (Tregs) and their potential role in neuroinflammation and behavioral changes associated with autism.

2 Apr 2026

New study highlights rising cleaning product injuries in young children

Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital have found more than an estimated 240,800 visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) associated with household cleaning product-related injuries from 2007 through 2022 for children aged five years and younger.

2 Apr 2026