Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New antibody shows promise in active lupus

A new trial involving the use of an antibody called anifrolumab reports improvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after 52 weeks of treatment. The research, titled 'Trial of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus', is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Dec 2019

Connection between herpes virus and Alzheimer’s refuted

A new study has shown that unlike previous claims, there is no association between getting herpes infections and developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study from the researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine was titled, “Are HHV-6A and HHV-7 really more abundant in Alzheimer’s disease?” and was published in the journal Neuron.

19 Dec 2019

Caffeine may offset some negative health effects of obesogenic diet

A new study in rats suggests that caffeine may offset some of the negative effects of an obesogenic diet by reducing the storage of lipids in fat cells and limiting weight gain and the production of triglycerides.

19 Dec 2019

Edematous severe acute malnutrition linked to DNA modification

A group led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine has identified significant differences at the epigenetic level - the chemical tags in DNA that help regulate gene expression - between two clinically distinct forms of acute childhood malnutrition known as edematous severe acute malnutrition (ESAM) and non-edematous SAM (NESAM).

19 Dec 2019

Study reveals new role for a triple-negative breast cancer target

Unlike almost every other organ, the mammary gland does not develop until after birth. And it's unusually dynamic, shape-shifting during menstrual cycles, puberty, pregnancy, and lactation.

19 Dec 2019

New mechanism that impairs Treg differentiation and stability in type 1 diabetes discovered

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) prevent excessive immune reactions in healthy people. In the development of autoimmune type 1 diabetes, this protection is not sufficiently effective.

19 Dec 2019

Glutamine could help obese people reduce inflammation of fat tissue

Glutamine could help people with obesity reduce inflammation of fat tissue and reduce fat mass, according to a new study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oxford in the U.K. The researchers also show how glutamine levels can alter gene expression in several different cell types.

19 Dec 2019

Genetics plays a role in the effects of long-term methamphetamine use

New research led by La Trobe University in Australia has uncovered genetic clues which could explain why some people have more severe side effects from long-term methamphetamine use than others.

19 Dec 2019

First images of new gene editing complex which could upgrade CRISPR

Nobel Prize-winning technique used to capture images of a new gene-editing tool that could improve CRISPR-based tools.

19 Dec 2019

Declining dementia rates may be due to generational differences in lifetime lead exposure

To the medical community's surprise, several studies from the US, Canada, and Europe suggest a promising downward trend in the incidence and prevalence of dementia. Important risk factors for dementia, such as mid-life obesity and mid-life diabetes, have been increasing rapidly, so the decline in dementia incidence is particularly perplexing.

19 Dec 2019

A new book on ovarian cancer

An opening discussion of contemporary management of this disease presents commentary on surgery and clinical trials: neoadjuvant, dose-dense, and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC}, as well as immunotherapy, vaccine therapy, emerging therapies.

18 Dec 2019

A fast, sensitive technique to detect cancer markers brings liquid biopsy closer to clinic

A fast, inexpensive yet sensitive technique to detect cancer markers is bringing researchers closer to a "liquid biopsy" - a test using a small sample of blood or serum to detect cancer, rather than the invasive tissue sampling routinely used for diagnosis.

18 Dec 2019

Suppressing MSUT2 gene may protect people from Alzheimer’s disease

In the wake of recent disappointments over clinical trials targeting amyloid plaque build-up in Alzheimer's disease, researchers are focusing more attention on misfolded tau protein, another culprit in brain diseases that cause dementia.

18 Dec 2019

Forgetful? Look at the time

An interesting new paper describes the discovery of a gene in mice that affects the degree of memory recall at various times of day. They found that this gene makes mice most forgetful at the time immediately before they wake.

18 Dec 2019

Study refutes link between increased levels of herpes virus and Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report today in the journal Neuron evidence that refutes the link between increased levels of herpes virus and Alzheimer's disease.

18 Dec 2019

Study opens up new treatment possibilities for Wilms' tumor

As an embryo develops, its cells must learn what to do with the thousands of genes they've been equipped with. That's why each cell comes with a detailed gene-expression manual outlining exactly which genes should be switched on, to what extent, and when.

18 Dec 2019

Different mutations in a single gene can have myriad effects on a person's health

Mount Sinai researchers have found that different mutations in a single gene can have myriad effects on a person's health, suggesting that gene therapies may need to do more than just replenish the missing or dysfunctional protein the gene is supposed to encode, according to a study published in Nature Genetics in November.

18 Dec 2019

Worse long-term control of blood sugar increases risks in diabetic trauma patients

In trauma patients with diabetes, poorer long-term control of blood glucose levels is linked to a higher risk of death and trauma-related complications, reports a study in SHOCK: Injury, Inflammation, and Sepsis: Laboratory and Clinical Approaches, Official Journal of the Shock Society.

18 Dec 2019

Researchers identify frequent technical bias in data generated by RNA-seq technology

Reproducibility of research data is a major challenge in experimental biology. As data generated by genomic-scale techniques increases in complexity, this concern is becoming more and more worrisome.

18 Dec 2019

Scientists develop computationally inspired method for preclinical study of anxiety

Nearly 40 million people in the U.S. have an anxiety disorder. While treatment options exist, treatment success varies, and many people do not respond to treatment until weeks or months after they begin anti-depressants

18 Dec 2019

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New antibody shows promise in active lupus

Connection between herpes virus and Alzheimer’s refuted

Caffeine may offset some negative health effects of obesogenic diet

Edematous severe acute malnutrition linked to DNA modification

Study reveals new role for a triple-negative breast cancer target

New mechanism that impairs Treg differentiation and stability in type 1 diabetes discovered

Glutamine could help obese people reduce inflammation of fat tissue

Genetics plays a role in the effects of long-term methamphetamine use

First images of new gene editing complex which could upgrade CRISPR

Declining dementia rates may be due to generational differences in lifetime lead exposure

A new book on ovarian cancer

A fast, sensitive technique to detect cancer markers brings liquid biopsy closer to clinic

Suppressing MSUT2 gene may protect people from Alzheimer’s disease

Forgetful? Look at the time

Study refutes link between increased levels of herpes virus and Alzheimer's disease

Study opens up new treatment possibilities for Wilms' tumor

Different mutations in a single gene can have myriad effects on a person's health

Worse long-term control of blood sugar increases risks in diabetic trauma patients

Researchers identify frequent technical bias in data generated by RNA-seq technology

Scientists develop computationally inspired method for preclinical study of anxiety

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

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging