Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

A genetic variant of TMPRSS2 may confer protection against severe COVID-19

Among a large sample of COVID-19 patients, researchers found that a genetic variant – caused by an amino acid substitution from valine to methionine – is associated with a reduced chance of severe disease.

9 Mar 2021

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

In a recent report made available on bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from Poland and Finland reveal a spillover event of mink-adapted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from farmed mink to humans after an extensive adaptation process.

9 Mar 2021

Scientists develop RNA-based therapeutic strategy for Charcot-Marie Tooth disease

Charcot-Marie Tooth disease is the most common hereditary neurological disease in the world. It affects the peripheral nerves and causes progressive paralysis of the legs and hands.

9 Mar 2021

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

A new study confirms the utility of wastewater surveillance as an important new tool in this regard by showing the presence of the UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in wastewater samples from London early in November, with increasing frequency thereafter.

9 Mar 2021

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Researchers at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, Department of Virology, Paris, France determined that in BNT162b2-vaccinated participants who received two doses, their sera harbored at least a neutralizing titer against the three SARS-CoV-2 variants.

8 Mar 2021

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

Researchers at the Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa, found evidence of a significant change in the selective forces acting on immunologically important SARS-CoV-2 genes, such as N and S. These likely coincided with the emergence of the 501Y lineages.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers establish organoid culture models from prostate tumor biopsies

Scientists at Urology Research Laboratory of the Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern and Urology Department of the Inselspital of Bern, have established organoid culture models from prostate tumor biopsies.

8 Mar 2021

Compounds in green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins

A new study from the University of California, Irvine shows that compounds in both green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins in the blood vessel wall.

8 Mar 2021

New academic spin-out based in Finland introduces a nasal spray vaccine against COVID

Rokote Laboratories Finland Ltd., a newly-founded academic spin-out based in Finland is working to develop and introduce to the markets a nasal spray vaccine against COVID.

8 Mar 2021

Impairments in immune response contribute to severe COVID-19

New research by a team of scientists at University Hospital RWTH Aachen in Germany and Erasmus Medical Centre in The Netherlands characterized changes in CD8+ T cells in response to SARS-CoV-2.

8 Mar 2021

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

A new paper in the journal Life presents an early review of the viral factors involved in initiating and effecting apoptosis within infected cells.

8 Mar 2021

Using decision theory for precise choice of breast cancer treatment

The precise choice of treatment for breast cancer depends upon the status of the hormone receptors (for oestrogen and progesterone). Their conventional determination by means of immunohistochemistry (IHC) is associated with a certain error rate, which can be reduced by adding genomic data.

8 Mar 2021

Diphtheria is evolving to become antibiotic-resistant and could lead to vaccine escape

Diphtheria - a relatively easily-preventable infection - is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

8 Mar 2021

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

An interesting new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, University of Bristol and Public Health England in the UK describes a novel bioinformatics tool used to detect subgenomic messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) sequences from the virus. This may help develop new diagnostic tools and model the transmission of the virus.

8 Mar 2021

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

One of the most challenging tasks of physicians has been differentiating between persistent COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. Recently, a team of researchers analyzed SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the publicly available reports on reinfection and persistence. They further characterized the markers of reinfecting sequences and studied the mutation rate in newly evolved persistent variants.

8 Mar 2021

Scientists optimize wastewater disinfection process to minimize spread of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a global threat today, owing in part to the efficiency with which resistance spreads among them. Some of this spread happens in waterbodies—and our wastewater systems are no exception.

8 Mar 2021

Review helps understand the mechanisms of R-CHOP resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive cancer of lymphocytes, and a large proportion of patients are either unresponsive or develop resistance towards R-CHOP—the standard treatment regimen.

8 Mar 2021

New method provides more control over gene drive releases

Powerful new genetic engineering methods have given scientists the potential to revolutionize several sectors of global urgency.

8 Mar 2021

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

With a mission of empowering the rare disease community, Illumina has today partnered with medical researchers and families to highlight the importance of genomic sequencing and to shine the spotlight on the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers create new nerve cells, spur recovery after spinal cord injury

Using genetic engineering, researchers at UT Southwestern and Indiana University have reprogrammed scar-forming cells in mouse spinal cords to create new nerve cells, spurring recovery after spinal cord injury.

8 Mar 2021

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

A genetic variant of TMPRSS2 may confer protection against severe COVID-19

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

Scientists develop RNA-based therapeutic strategy for Charcot-Marie Tooth disease

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

Researchers establish organoid culture models from prostate tumor biopsies

Compounds in green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins

New academic spin-out based in Finland introduces a nasal spray vaccine against COVID

Impairments in immune response contribute to severe COVID-19

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

Using decision theory for precise choice of breast cancer treatment

Diphtheria is evolving to become antibiotic-resistant and could lead to vaccine escape

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

Scientists optimize wastewater disinfection process to minimize spread of antibiotic resistance

Review helps understand the mechanisms of R-CHOP resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

New method provides more control over gene drive releases

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

Researchers create new nerve cells, spur recovery after spinal cord injury

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research