Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Overreaction of the immune system could be linked to severe COVID-19 cases

Samples from the lungs of patients show a runaway immune system reaction could be one mechanism behind severe COVID-19 cases.

8 Oct 2020

Comet supercomputer performs complex calculations on receptor sequence data from human T cells

While researchers around the world race to develop an effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine, a team from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego contributed to a study led by Vanderbilt Vaccine Center of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on T cell receptors, which play a vital role in alerting the adaptive immune system to mount an attack on invading foreign pathogens including the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

8 Oct 2020

Study: Thymoquinone selectively kills prostate cancer cells at advanced stages

The compound thymoquinone (TQ) selectively kills prostate cancer cells at advanced stages, according to a new study published in Oncogene.

8 Oct 2020

Plasma ABO protein is a causal risk factor for severe COVID-19

Researchers used an integrative genomics approach to find the genes responsible for COVID-19 and its severity.

7 Oct 2020

Study identifies the exact neurons that are most affected by epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. It is caused by a malfunction in brain cells and is usually treated with medicines that control or counteract the seizures.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers hope to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine using bovine adenovirus

A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is part of a team of scientists working to develop a unique COVID-19 vaccine that uses a bovine adenovirus as a safe and effective delivery vehicle.

7 Oct 2020

Oral cancer pain may help predict metastasis

Oral cancer is more likely to spread in patients experiencing high levels of pain, according to a team of researchers at New York University College of Dentistry that found genetic and cellular clues as to why metastatic oral cancers are so painful.

7 Oct 2020

Biodegradable microneedle patch for local therapeutic gene delivery

There is great potential in gene therapy for treating certain types of cancer and genetic defects, immunological diseases, wounds and infections. The therapies work by delivering genes into the patients' cells, which then produce therapeutic proteins to treat the affliction.

7 Oct 2020

Rare gene mutations can cause cerebral palsy, confirms new study

An international research team including the University of Adelaide has found further evidence that rare gene mutations can cause cerebral palsy, findings which could lead to earlier diagnosis and new treatments for this devastating movement disorder.

7 Oct 2020

Why do we need sleep?

In this interview, Dr. Gina Poe speaks to News-Medical about why we sleep, and the importance of REM sleep for brain development.

7 Oct 2020

Study shows how CD4+ T cells respond to SARS-CoV-2 virus

As scientists around the world develop life-saving COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, many are still wondering exactly why the disease proves deadly in some people and mild in others.

7 Oct 2020

New clinical report on brain changes in deceased COVID-19 patients

German researchers published a report on a series of cases on post mortem findings of COVID-19 patients who succumbed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection along with neurological complications. Their study titled “Neuropathology of patients with COVID-19 in Germany: a post-mortem case series” is published in the latest issue of The Lancet Neurology.

6 Oct 2020

Using GWAS and trans-ancestry comparison to accurately predict risk for coronary artery disease

An international group led by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences have used a combination of genome-wide association analysis--or GWAS--and a trans-ancestry comparison of different GWAS studies, to come up with a more accurate predictor of coronary artery disease based on genetic factors.

6 Oct 2020

Researchers decipher evolution of the Y chromosome in great apes

New analysis of the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosomes from all living species of the great ape family helps to clarify our understanding of how this enigmatic chromosome evolved.

6 Oct 2020

Two Penn Medicine researchers selected for prestigious NIH Director's Awards

Picture a future where embedded medical devices not only treat and teach patients, but learn from them. Imagine chronic pain being managed without the negative side effects of opioids. Penn Medicine researchers are working to make those scenarios a reality.

6 Oct 2020

ACGT awards $500,000 grant to advance strategies for treating solid tumors

With a $500,000 Research Grant from Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Sidi Chen, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Genetics and Systems Biology Institute at Yale School of Medicine and member of Yale Cancer Center, will advance a versatile and highly scalable strategy he's been developing and calling MAEGI -- Multiplexed Activation of Endogenous Genes as an Immunotherapy.

6 Oct 2020

Multi-ancestry comparison can accurately predict risk factors for coronary artery disease

An international group led by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences have used a combination of genome-wide association analysis—or GWAS—and a trans-ancestry comparison of different GWAS studies, to come up with a more accurate predictor of coronary artery disease based on genetic factors.

6 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 and anti-COVID-19 drugs activate Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* aimed to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on people with various illnesses. Specifically, the researchers at the Rockefeller Cancer Institute, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences wanted to see the effects of COVID-19 on patients with cancer and other infectious diseases.

6 Oct 2020

CAR T cell therapy can predict treatment response in patients with large B-cell lymphoma

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified molecular and cellular characteristics of anti-CD19 CAR T cell infusion products associated with how patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) respond to treatment and develop side effects.

6 Oct 2020

Researchers identify gene related to seed dispersal in green millet

For years, Elizabeth (Toby) Kellogg, PhD, member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator and other researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center) drove up and down the highways of the continental United States, occasionally pulling over to the side of the road to collect small weedy plants and bring them back to the lab.

6 Oct 2020