Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

A closer look at TMPRSS2: This could help treat COVID-19

The transmembrane protease serine-type 2 (TMPRSS2) protein plays a key role in COVID-19 infection since it primes the viral spike protein to allow viral entry into the target cell. A new study by researchers at Imperial College London and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 describes the protein, which could be an attractive drug target to help manage COVID-19.

28 May 2020

Using electric current to directly control gene expression

A team of researchers led by ETH professor Martin Fussenegger has succeeded in using an electric current to directly control gene expression for the first time.

28 May 2020

New drug combinations could help overcome genetic immunotherapy resistance

A new study from researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center helps explain how disruptions in genes can lead to the resistance to one of the leading immunotherapies, PD-1 blockade, and how new drug combinations could help overcome resistance to the anti-PD-1 therapy in a mechanistically-based way.

28 May 2020

Scientists create adenovirus that kills cancer cells

An adenovirus is now better able to target and kill cancer cells due to the addition of an RNA stabilizing element.

28 May 2020

Clinical study shows promising results for treatment of VHL disease-associated renal tumors

In an international trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, treatment with MK-6482, the small molecule inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2a was well tolerated and resulted in clinical responses for patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL)–associated renal cell carcinoma.

28 May 2020

New project launched to find novel treatments for rare genetic diseases

The University Carlos III Madrid, Almirall, S.A. and the MEDINA Foundation have launched a project to find new treatments for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and other genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations.

28 May 2020

Frog brain discovery may pave the way for repairing birth defects in humans

A team of researchers from Tufts University, Universitat de Valencia, and Harvard University has discovered that the brains of developing frog embryos damaged by nicotine exposure can be repaired by using “ionoceuticals” that can help in the recovery of bioelectric patterns in the embryo.

28 May 2020

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

It has not been clear whether dementia worsens the infection or if it has resulted from the patient's old age and the severity of care home outbreaks. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason why people with dementia are at a high risk of developing severe disease caused by the coronavirus disease.

27 May 2020

UTSW/Children's Health joint program approved as Certified Duchenne Care Center

A joint program of UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Health has been approved as a Certified Duchenne Care Center by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the nation's most comprehensive nonprofit organization focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

27 May 2020

WVU partnership produces thousands of swabs to meet demands for COVID-19 testing

With significantly increased testing a key component in the battle against COVID-19, the Innovation Hub at West Virginia University is working with WVU Medicine to churn out up to 10,000 swabs weekly to meet demands for tests.

27 May 2020

Study shows children and adults have a comparable expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry-related genes

A recent paper by researchers from China demonstrated comparable expression levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cell entry mediators in adults and children, suggesting that previously implied difference in viral-entry associated genes is likely not responsible for milder symptoms in children. The study is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

27 May 2020

Mouse model mimics clinical course and pathology observed in COVID-19 patients

A mouse model of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reproduces features observed in human patients, researchers report May 26 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

27 May 2020

Novel immunotherapy targeting myeloid immune cells reduces tumor growth

Checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy, that target myeloid immune cells and slow tumor growth were discovered by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions.

27 May 2020

Findings provide new insights into future cancer treatment

An early age of pregnancy (25 years and younger) is known to reduce the overall risk of breast cancer by over 30%. CSHL Assistant Professor Camila dos Santos spent several years teasing out the molecular details behind the protective effects of pregnancy.

27 May 2020

A new approach to predict the evolutionary mechanisms of melanoma

Melanoma is a malignant tumour resulting from the transformation of melanocytes, the cells in the skin that undertake to synthesise melanin, a complex polymer which protects us from the negative effects of solar radiation.

27 May 2020

Researchers investigate the early development of ovarian cancer

Researchers from the group of Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute have modeled the development and progression of high-grade serous ovarian cancer in mini-versions of the female reproductive organs of the mouse.

27 May 2020

Stand Up To Cancer hails FDA approval of new treatment option for aggressive prostate cancer

A recent FDA approval supported by Stand Up To Cancer research provides a new treatment option for patients with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

27 May 2020

Research could help identify disturbances in the body's copper metabolism

In biology it is well-known that every living organism is triggered by the hereditary material or DNA that encodes various protein molecules, which in turn perform all the necessary biological functions and it might seem that nothing else is needed to sustain the life of an organism.

26 May 2020

A key player in hepatitis A virus infection discovered

How hepatitis A virus manages to enter liver cells called hepatocytes and initiate infection had remained a mystery for fifty years until now.

26 May 2020

UVA researchers discover essential key to hearing sensitivity in the inner ear

New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine is shedding light on the biological architecture that lets us hear – and on a genetic disorder that causes both deafness and blindness.

26 May 2020