Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Scientists find link between colitis and colon cancer

Lingering inflammation in the colon is a known risk factor for colorectal cancer and now scientists report one way it resets the stage to enable this common and often deadly cancer.

14 Jan 2019

Researchers repurpose gene-editing tool CRISPR to develop better antibiotics

A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher and his collaborators at the University of California, San Francisco have repurposed the gene-editing tool CRISPR to study which genes are targeted by particular antibiotics, providing clues on how to improve existing antibiotics or develop new ones.

11 Jan 2019

Reviewing applications of advanced materials in drug delivery and biomedicine

The Graphene family of materials has emerged as one of the most useful new age nano-biomaterials. Graphene-based materials exhibit excellent physicochemical properties, such as high electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and high surface area with π-conjugated carbon atoms stacked to form honeycomb structure, suitable for binding other molecules.

11 Jan 2019

CRISPR-Cas9 circular permutants can sense and respond to viral proteases

Using a technique called circular permutation, researchers at the University of California Berkeley have created a new suite of Cas9 variants called Cas9-CPs, which will simplify design of Cas9-fusion proteins for diverse applications beyond simple DNA cutting, such as base editing and epigenetic modifications.

11 Jan 2019

New method modifies blood stem cells to reverse genetic mutation that causes IPEX

UCLA researchers led by Dr. Donald Kohn have created a method for modifying blood stem cells to reverse the genetic mutation that causes a life-threatening autoimmune syndrome called IPEX.

11 Jan 2019

Unconventional T cells may account for failure of IL-17 inhibition in rheumatoid arthritis

Spondyloarthritis is one of the most common types of chronic joint inflammation affecting nearly 1-2% of the Western population.

10 Jan 2019

Expression of a molecule in blood cells inversely predicts appearance of subclinical atherosclerosis

Earlier detection of cardiovascular disease is a step closer thanks to the findings of a research team at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares led by Francisco Sánchez-Madrid and Pilar Martín.

10 Jan 2019

AGA's new clinical guideline to help manage patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis

Most patients with ulcerative colitis have mild-to-moderate disease characterized by periods of activity or remission, but practice variations exist in disease management.

10 Jan 2019

Staphylococcus aureus: Study describes development of resistance to antibiotic for the first time

The Staphylococcus aureus bacterium is one of the commonest pathogens and can even cause sepsis. The new antibiotic dalbavancin is very effective against many bacterial pathogens.

10 Jan 2019

New biomarker may help better predict outcomes in patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers

By analyzing variations in the level of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancers, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a gene signature associated with treatment response and survival in patients.

10 Jan 2019

Novel biomarker links tumor progression to genome instability

Our DNA is under constant attack. The delicate molecule that contains our genetic information is extremely vulnerable to everything from environmental agents, such as radiation, to the chemicals in the air we breathe and the food we eat.

10 Jan 2019

Neuropeptide Y may hold key to exacerbating severe influenza

Severe influenza virus infection is characterized by a strong inflammatory response and profuse viral replication in lungs. These viruses, such as the notorious avian flu, have a high rate of death and to date there are no effective treatments.

10 Jan 2019

Defective astrocytes linked to alpha-synuclein accumulation in Parkinson's

Researchers have found that defects in brain glial cells called astrocytes are linked to the accumulation of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease.

10 Jan 2019

Unusual molecular regulatory mechanism discovered in unicellular parasites

Researchers of the University of Bern have discovered a new molecular regulatory mechanism in unicellular parasites which has never before been observed.

10 Jan 2019

New method to speed up genetic diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

Elongated segments of DNA cause Huntington's disease and certain other disorders of the brain. Researchers funded by the SNSF have developed a method to determine the length of the mutated genes quickly and easily.

10 Jan 2019

Study uncovers a protein involved in lung cancer treatment resistance

Lung cancer remains a major cause of mortality across the globe, although we are gaining a deeper understanding of the genetic background behind this disease, including the mutations that promote it.

10 Jan 2019

Gene governing body's biological clock acts differently in males versus females

Research suggests that a gene that governs the body's biological clock acts differently in males versus females and may protect females from heart disease.

10 Jan 2019

NYSCF announce partnership with Ngene to develop new disease treatments

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute today announced a partnership with Ngene Therapeutics Inc. to develop new disease treatments that leverage human stem cell research and novel gene editing techniques.

10 Jan 2019

New findings bring about better understanding of many cancers' metabolic needs

Scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have discovered that squamous cell skin cancers do not require increased glucose to power their development and growth, contrary to a long-held belief about cancer metabolism.

10 Jan 2019

Aggressive prostate cancer linked to hereditary breast cancer, confirms study

Aggressive prostate cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in men, is associated with BRCA2 mutations, which are also linked to hereditary breast cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreas cancer, among others.

10 Jan 2019