Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Blood pressure medication associated with increased risk of diverticulosis

A type of blood pressure lowering medication, called a calcium-channel blocker, may be linked with an increased risk of a type of bowel condition called diverticulosis.

3 Jul 2019

Targeted treatment offers symptom relief for patients with psychosis

Treatment for individuals who experience psychosis, such as hallucinations and delusions as a result of a psychiatric illness, can be targeted to a specific structural mutation, according to a study published by researchers from McLean Hospital and other institutions in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

3 Jul 2019

Some people treated for type 1 diabetes may have monogenic diabetes, study finds

A Joslin Diabetes Center study among people treated for type 1 diabetes for many years has discovered that a minority may have monogenic diabetes, a non-autoimmune inherited condition that in some cases does not require insulin treatment.

3 Jul 2019

New computer model simulates the metabolism of cancer cells

Researchers from the Life Sciences Research Unit of the University of Luxembourg have developed a computer model that simulates the metabolism of cancer cells.

3 Jul 2019

Study shows promise for a drug to extend life of patients with ovarian cancer

Women with ovarian cancer who have undergone four or more rounds of chemotherapy typically haven't had much hope that another treatment option will lengthen their lives in a meaningful way.

3 Jul 2019

A short bout of exercise improves brain function, study reveals

Most people know that regular exercise is good for your health. New research shows it may make you smarter, too.

3 Jul 2019

Research reveals key cellular mechanism leading to aggressive prostate cancer

Prostate cancer represents a major health challenge and there is currently no effective treatment once it has advanced to the aggressive, metastatic stage.

3 Jul 2019

Individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions

A new study in marmoset monkeys suggests that individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions, providing new insights that could help in the development of personalized therapies to tackle anxiety and depression.

3 Jul 2019

Researchers synthesize artificial cells to detect histamine

Baking a cake from scratch is a task deemed difficult for many. Constructing an artificial cell-like system from scratch, well that's another story.

3 Jul 2019

A non-coding RNA may play major role in memory formation

You could call this a neat discovery. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have found that a tissue-specific, non-coding RNA called NEAT1 has a major, previously undescribed role in memory formation.

3 Jul 2019

Antibiotics can wipe out early flu resistance, study finds

Antibiotics can leave the lung vulnerable to flu viruses, leading to significantly worse infections and symptoms, finds a new study in mice led by the Francis Crick Institute.

From The Francis Crick Institute 2 Jul 2019

Study urges genetic testing before abdominal-based free-flap breast reconstruction

For women with breast cancer who opt for breast reconstruction using a tissue flap from the abdomen, gene testing for high-risk mutations should be performed before surgery, concludes a report in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons

2 Jul 2019

Gene mutations may not always predict cardiomyopathy

More than 750,000 people in the United States have dilated cardiomyopathy, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, enlarges and grows increasingly weak.

2 Jul 2019

Scientists discover a new way to kill drug-resistant parasites

Over one billion people, including 880 million children, are infected with intestinal nematode worms, such as roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, according to the World Health Organization.

2 Jul 2019

'Scissors' component of CRISPR/Cas9 sometimes gets stuck

In biotech these days, CRISPR/Cas9 is a hot topic, because of its utility as a precise gene editing tool. Before humans repurposed it, CRISPR/Cas9 was a sort of internal immune system bacteria use to defend themselves against phages, or viruses that infect bacteria, by slicing up the phages' DNA.

2 Jul 2019

Study reveals time taken for DNA repair after chemotherapy

In the time it takes for an Amazon Prime delivery to arrive, cells damaged by chemotherapy can almost completely fix their most important DNA. That is the case in the livers of mice at least, according to a new study.

2 Jul 2019

Scientists identify new genetic mutation behind serious skull disorder

A collaboration led by scientists at Oregon State University, the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and Erasmus University in The Netherlands has identified a new genetic mutation behind the premature fusing of the bony plates that make up the skull.

2 Jul 2019

Gene mutation discovery leads to novel treatment for patient with severe lymphatic condition

Faced with a preteen boy in pain and struggling to breathe from a severe, deteriorating rare condition, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia identified the responsible gene mutation and harnessed that knowledge to develop a novel treatment that dramatically improved the problem.

2 Jul 2019

Rutgers-led study sheds light on the origins of metabolism

A Rutgers-led study sheds light on one of the most enduring mysteries of science: How did metabolism – the process by which life powers itself, by converting energy from food into movement and growth – begin?

2 Jul 2019