Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Insights about the sweet receptor could lead to better-tasting food

Whether it's chocolate cake or pasta sauce, the sensation of sweetness plays a major role in the human diet and the perception of other flavors.

24 Oct 2019

Unhealthy gut microbiome reduces brain synaptic pruning, impairs learning

A new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University has come up with more explanations of how gut microbes communicate with the brain neurons. The study, published in the journal Nature on October 23, 2019, examined the brains of mouse models and found that when the gut microbiome is significantly reduced, there are changes in gene expression in the brain’s microglial cells.

24 Oct 2019

Protein mutation that causes inflammatory bowel diseases becomes dysfunctional

A new study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada and Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China has uncovered why a protein mutation that causes inflammatory bowel diseases is dysfunctional.

24 Oct 2019

Parents' behavior can have substantial impact on developing oxytocin systems in babies

Oxytocin is an extremely important hormone, involved in social interaction and bonding in mammals, including humans.

24 Oct 2019

Gene linked to schizophrenia likely confers risk for illness

Researchers have discovered in mice how one of the few genes definitively linked to schizophrenia, called SETD1A, likely confers risk for the illness. Mice genetically engineered to lack a functioning version of the enzyme-coding gene showed abnormalities in working memory, mimicking those commonly seen in schizophrenia patients.

24 Oct 2019

Breakthrough study suggests ways to develop treatments for rare genetic skin disease

A breakthrough has been made in understanding a rare genetic skin disease that causes progressively enlarging skin tumours over the scalp, face and body.

24 Oct 2019

McMaster University research potentially offers new tool for assessing eating habits

Researchers at McMaster University have identified several chemical signatures, detectable in blood and urine, that can accurately measure dietary intake, potentially offering a new tool for physicians, dieticians and researchers to assess eating habits, measure the value of fad diets and develop health policies.

24 Oct 2019

$5 million in federal funding to accelerate potential treatments for urea cycle disorders

An international research consortium co-led by Andrea L. Gropman, M.D., at Children's National Hospital has received $5 million in federal funding as part of an overall effort to better understand rare diseases and accelerate potential treatments to patients.

24 Oct 2019

Genetic variations linked to declines in blood oxygen levels during sleep identified

Researchers have identified 57 genetic variations of a gene strongly associated with declines in blood oxygen levels during sleep. Low oxygen levels during sleep are a clinical indicator of the severity of sleep apnea, a disorder that increases the risk of heart disease, dementia, and death.

24 Oct 2019

Study reveals novel druggable driver gene in human gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Sarcomas - cancers that arise from transformed mesenchymal cells (a type of connective tissue) - are quite deadly. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common human sarcoma and are initiated by activating mutations in the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase.

24 Oct 2019

Wyss Institute joins Global Virus Network as new Center of Excellence to fight viral threats

Today, the Global Virus Network, a conglomerate of 52 "Centers of Excellence" and 9 Affiliates in 32 countries, which catalyzes collaborative research into diseases caused by every class of virus in humans and animals, announced the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University as a new Center of Excellence.

24 Oct 2019

Acetate derived from alcohol metabolism directly influences epigenetic regulation in the brain

Triggers in everyday life such as running into a former drinking buddy, walking by a once-familiar bar, and attending social gatherings can all cause recovering alcoholics to "fall off the wagon."

24 Oct 2019

Molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells revealed

New cellular and molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells have been described for the first time by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell's Ithaca campus.

23 Oct 2019

New NPO formed to accelerate development of therapies for Shankopathies

Parents of children affected by Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) announce the formation of CureSHANK, a nonprofit organization on a mission to accelerate drug development in PMS and other diseases related to the SHANK genes for which there are currently no FDA approved treatments.

23 Oct 2019

UChicago researchers reveal the secret of cancer-related Warburg effect

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Chicago, provides an answer to why cancer cells consume and use nutrients differently than their healthy counterparts and how that difference contributes to their survival and growth.

23 Oct 2019

SLU research halts toxic protein linked to muscular dystrophy in animal models

There is no cure or treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, an illness that starts with facial, shoulder and upper arm weakness and eventually affects nearly all skeletal muscles of those with the disease.

23 Oct 2019

Disrupting key immune regulator boosts anti-tumor immunity, enables cancer clearance

The immune system must strike an exquisite balance between vanquishing infections and cancer, while at the same time restraining its activity to avoid inadvertently attacking the body's healthy tissues and organs.

23 Oct 2019

Researchers discover new details about several proteins implicated in cancer

Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have uncovered new details about several proteins implicated in tumor growth and metastasis, opening a potential avenue for the development of treatments for diseases such as breast cancer.

23 Oct 2019

High levels of dietary salt can activate a brain pathway to cause cognitive impairment

High levels of dietary salt can activate a pathway in the brain to cause cognitive impairment, according to a new study. The paper, which was published in Nature, shows that this effect is not due to a loss in blood flow to the brain as originally thought, but rather to clumps of a protein linked to several forms of dementia in humans.

23 Oct 2019

MIT neuroscientists find a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice

People with autism often experience hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory input. MIT neuroscientists have now identified two brain circuits that help tune out distracting sensory information, and they have found a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice by boosting the activity of those circuits.

23 Oct 2019

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Insights about the sweet receptor could lead to better-tasting food

Unhealthy gut microbiome reduces brain synaptic pruning, impairs learning

Protein mutation that causes inflammatory bowel diseases becomes dysfunctional

Parents' behavior can have substantial impact on developing oxytocin systems in babies

Gene linked to schizophrenia likely confers risk for illness

Breakthrough study suggests ways to develop treatments for rare genetic skin disease

McMaster University research potentially offers new tool for assessing eating habits

$5 million in federal funding to accelerate potential treatments for urea cycle disorders

Genetic variations linked to declines in blood oxygen levels during sleep identified

Study reveals novel druggable driver gene in human gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Wyss Institute joins Global Virus Network as new Center of Excellence to fight viral threats

Acetate derived from alcohol metabolism directly influences epigenetic regulation in the brain

Molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells revealed

New NPO formed to accelerate development of therapies for Shankopathies

UChicago researchers reveal the secret of cancer-related Warburg effect

SLU research halts toxic protein linked to muscular dystrophy in animal models

Disrupting key immune regulator boosts anti-tumor immunity, enables cancer clearance

Researchers discover new details about several proteins implicated in cancer

High levels of dietary salt can activate a brain pathway to cause cognitive impairment

MIT neuroscientists find a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice

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