Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Three commercially available drugs may cause unexpected effects in humans, shows study

A new study of 1,443 medications found that three prescription drugs currently on the market caused unexpected changes in worms that could point to potential, unrecognized effects in humans.

28 Jul 2020

Simultaneous mutation of two nonessential genes can cause cancer cell death

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a new instance in which the simultaneous mutation of two nonessential genes - neither of which is on its own vital to cell survival - can cause cancer cell death.

28 Jul 2020

Researchers identify a miRNA that could promote hair regeneration

Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a microRNA (miRNA) that could promote hair regeneration.

27 Jul 2020

New strategy may help guard beta cells, slow the onset of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person's own immune system destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. In recent years, scientists have learned how to grow large volumes of replacement beta cells, but the researchers are still trying out many options to protect these cells against the immune attack.

27 Jul 2020

Study reveals molecular cause underlying rare genetic disorder

Virginia Tech scientists have revealed how a nonfunctioning version of an ordinary gene impairs brain structure and function. The findings help explain a genetic form of microcephaly -- a condition where babies' heads are small and grow more slowly than their peers.

27 Jul 2020

EBV viral genome alters the host epigenetic landscape to drive stomach cancer

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), one of the most common human viruses, is associated with about 8-10 per cent of stomach -- or gastric -- cancers, the third leading cause of cancer death globally.

27 Jul 2020

Cancers caused by bacterial toxin might be preventable

Studying DNA mutations in cancers can help clarify how cancers develop and what makes cancer cells different from normal, healthy cells.

27 Jul 2020

Study reveals manifold applications of cytokine transcriptional response modules in COVID-19

In a recent bioRxiv* study, UK researchers used interleukin modules to investigate the pathology of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

27 Jul 2020

Continuous survival of neurons is intrinsically programmed during development

When our neurons -- the principle cells of the brain -- die, so do we.Most neurons are created during embryonic development and have no "backup" after birth. Researchers have generally believed that their survival is determined nearly extrinsically, or by outside forces, such as the tissues and cells that neurons supply with nerve cells.

25 Jul 2020

Study identifies mechanisms that underlie olfactory symptoms of COVID-19

A new study of human olfactory cells has revealed that viral invasion of supportive cells in the nasal cavity might be driving the loss of smell seen in some patients with COVID-19.

25 Jul 2020

Olfactory cell types are most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, shows study

Temporary loss of smell, or anosmia, is the main neurological symptom and one of the earliest and most commonly reported indicators of COVID-19.

25 Jul 2020

Researchers identify TLR7 gene that predisposes elderly patients to severe COVID-19

Current observations suggest that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causes severe symptoms mainly in elderly patients with chronic disease.

25 Jul 2020

New study helps identify patients at higher risk of statin-related myopathy

Statins are prescribed to millions of people worldwide to reduce their risks of suffering heart attacks and strokes.

25 Jul 2020

Neurotransmitter-derived lipidoids help carry drugs across the blood-brain barrier in mice

Biomedical engineers at the Tufts University School of Engineering have developed tiny lipid-based nanoparticles that incorporate neurotranmitters to help carry drugs, large molecules, and even gene editing proteins across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain in mice.

24 Jul 2020

Researchers design new version of protein to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Responding to a need to quickly develop billions of doses of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, a scientific team at The University of Texas at Austin has successfully redesigned a key protein from the coronavirus, and the modification could enable much faster and more stable production of vaccines worldwide.

24 Jul 2020

New model may explain why certain cancer cells are resistant to therapy

Cancer's knack for developing resistance to chemotherapy has long been a major obstacle to achieving lasting remissions or cures.

24 Jul 2020

Novel research determines the prevalence of chronic kidney disease

A new study looking at nearly three decades of data from some 54,000 people has determined that the overall prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) for several racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the United States has stabilized in recent years, except Mexican Americans.

24 Jul 2020

New genome-editing technologies can help understand disease-associated genetic mutations

New genome-editing technologies developed by researchers in J. Keith Joung's laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have the potential to help understand disease-associated genetic mutations that are based on C-to-G (cytosine to guanine) single base changes.

24 Jul 2020

Epigenomic modifications play key role in the development of lung tumors

As cancer cells evolve, many of their genes become overactive while others are turned down. These genetic changes can help tumors grow out of control and become more aggressive, adapt to changing conditions, and eventually lead the tumor to metastasize and spread elsewhere in the body.

23 Jul 2020

Gene in fat cells plays a key role in regulating insulin sensitivity

Deleting a key gene in mice in just their fat made tissues throughout these animals insulin resistant, in addition to other effects, a new study by UT Southwestern researchers shows.

23 Jul 2020