Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Robots, AI to diagnose and treat patients soon

Soon the complaints about the short time doctors spend with their patients may be a thing of the past. Robots, artificial speakers (smart speakers like Siri or Alexa) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help lend an ear to patient complaints says a report from the NHS.

12 Feb 2019

Lactate activates multiple genes that modulate neuronal activity

A genome-wide study led by Dean Pierre Magistretti sheds light on the mechanisms through which lactate regulates long-term memory formation and neuroprotection.

12 Feb 2019

Newly discovered genetic disorder opens way for future diabetes drugs

Knowledge of a newly discovered genetic disorder, which means that a person cannot produce the protein TXNIP (thioredoxin interacting protein) in their cells, can open for the development of new diabetes drugs.

12 Feb 2019

Frequency of heteroresistance has been greatly underestimated, study finds

When antibiotics are used to treat bacteria susceptible to them, the treatment usually works. Nevertheless, the antibiotic chosen is sometimes ineffective. One of the reasons for this is heteroresistance, a phenomenon explored in depth by Uppsala and Emory University researchers in a new study.

12 Feb 2019

Study reveals how one mutation causes the most common inherited intellectual disability

Research published today (Feb. 11, 2019) reveals how one mutation causes fragile X, the most common inherited intellectual disability.

12 Feb 2019

NIH scientists zero in on genes associated with AMD

National Eye Institute scientists led a collaborative study and zeroed in on genes associated with age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss and blindness among people age 65 and older.

12 Feb 2019

Rare gene mutations associated with colorectal cancer also cause breast cancer

Rare mutations in the NTHL1 gene, previously associated with colorectal cancer, also cause breast cancer and other types of cancer.

12 Feb 2019

Rapid progression of age-related diseases may result from formation of vicious cycles

Biologist Aleksey Belikov from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has proposed that rapid progression of age-related diseases may result from the formation of so-called vicious cycles. An example of this is when toxic products of a biochemical reaction trigger that same reaction to happen again.

12 Feb 2019

Researchers discover new therapeutic target for rare, aggressive pediatric cancers

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that malignant rhabdoid tumors, a rare pediatric cancer without effective treatments, may be sensitive to drugs that block the cancer cell's ability to dispose of misfolded proteins.

12 Feb 2019

Human brain protein linked with autism has an effect on fruit fly behavior

A mutant gene that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of fruit flies. Fruit flies hosting that gene produce the variant human brain protein and show abnormal behaviors of fear, repetitive activity and altered social interaction, reminiscent of autism impairments.

12 Feb 2019

Brain protein critical to recovery from stroke identified

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States suffers a stroke and available therapies, such as clot busting drugs or clot removal devices, are focused on limiting the extent of brain damage.

12 Feb 2019

Study findings hold promise for children with DMD

Prednisone, the current standard of care used to treat kids with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), reduces chronic inflammation but has harsh side effects.

11 Feb 2019

New model sheds light on how small cell lung cancer is initiated

Scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a stem-cell-based model of small cell lung cancer that will help them understand how the disease is initiated and how it progresses.

11 Feb 2019

Research sheds light on how motor enzyme can promote genome integrity

Approximately one per cent of each organism's genome encodes helicases. Helicases are mostly known as motor enzymes that can unwrap double-stranded DNA by use of energy.

11 Feb 2019

Bone marrow disease is stimulated by vitamin D and immune cells, reveals research

The bone marrow disease myelofibrosis is stimulated by excessive signaling from vitamin D and immune cells known as macrophages, reveals a Japanese research team. These findings could help to develop alternative treatments that do not target problem genes.

11 Feb 2019

When genomic sequencing fails to diagnose a rare disease

Routine sequencing has given unprecedented insight into the genetics of rare diseases, but genomics fails to diagnose up to half of patients who are tested. That's the problem German scientists tackled in a recent study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

11 Feb 2019

OHSU research uncovers new target to prevent, treat alcoholism

New research conducted at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, identifies a gene that could provide a new target for developing medication to prevent and treat alcoholism.

11 Feb 2019

Scientists develop novel way with genome sequences to study widespread form of malaria

Scientists at the Institute of Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have developed a novel way with genome sequences to study and better understand transmission, treat and ultimately eradicate Plasmodium vivax, the most widespread form of malaria. P. vivax is a single-celled transmitted by mosquitoes.

11 Feb 2019

Metabolic plasticity helps metastatic cancer cells survive hostile environments

When metastatic cancer cells need to avoid a threat, they simply reprogram themselves. Rice University scientists are beginning to get a handle on how they survive hostile environments.

8 Feb 2019

Unexpected discovery points to potential new treatment for autoimmune disorder

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified an unexpected contributor to rheumatoid arthritis that may help explain the painful flare-ups associated with the disease.

8 Feb 2019