Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

GE Healthcare showcases new Edison applications and Edison-powered devices at RSNA 2018

GE Healthcare today announced new applications and smart devices built on Edison - a platform that helps accelerate the development and adoption of Artificial Intelligence technology and empower providers to deliver faster, more precise care.

25 Nov 2018

A love of coffee and tea is mostly genetic

The morning coffee or tea can perk one up for the day, however, for some of us these beverages are too bitter. Researchers have now found that the bitter taste experienced is all down to genes. The new study titled, “Understanding the role of bitter taste perception in coffee, tea and alcohol consumption through Mendelian randomization,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

25 Nov 2018

Why Mosquitoes prefer some people over others: Genetic discovery

A new study has tried to assess the genetic variants among mosquitoes that make them more susceptible to spreading deadly viral diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya and more resistant to insecticides that are used to kill them.

25 Nov 2018

Scientist proves role of microbiome in obesity

New research presented by the award-winning Dr. Christoph Thaiss describes several bacterial metabolites in the human gut are modified during obesity.

22 Nov 2018

UVA researchers make unexpected discovery about irreplaceable nerve cells

Meticulous new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine has changed a well-accepted scientific belief about neurons, the vital nerve cells that allow us to experience the world and record those experiences as memories in our brains.

22 Nov 2018

New method enhances efficiency and accuracy of single cell RNA sequencing

In the era of personalized medicine, scientists are using new genetic and genomic insights to help them determine the best treatment for a given patient. In the case of cancer, the first step toward these treatments is an investigation into how tumor cells behave in an effort to figure out the best drugs to use to attack them.

22 Nov 2018

Discovery of new gene could lead to better understanding of human susceptibility to chemicals

The discovery of a new gene in zebrafish could lead to a better understanding of how exposure to chemicals leads to disease in humans, according to a new Oregon State University study.

22 Nov 2018

Novel DNA nanoplatform delivers anticancer agents to multidrug-resistant tumors

One of the most successful techniques to combat multidrug resistance in cancer cells is the downregulation of those genes responsible for drug resistance.

22 Nov 2018

Scientists uncover genomic keys to successful evolution of vertebrates

One of the most important results of this work consists of understanding how the genomic duplications that occurred in the origin of the vertebrates contributed to diversifying gene function.

22 Nov 2018

Breakthrough Alzheimer's discovery

A new study has found that the neurons in the brain can alter their genetic make-up unlike other cells of the body which remain constant.

22 Nov 2018

Lower levels of protein make squamous carcinoma cells more invasive

Loss of a protein called TRIM29 promotes cancer cell invasion in a common type of skin cancer, suggesting a novel diagnostic marker and a possible therapeutic target.

21 Nov 2018

Pharmacogenetic tests don't provide much information for prescribing antidepressants or antipsychotics

Pharmacogenetic tests are marketed as an aid to psychiatrists in selecting the antidepressant or antipsychotic medication that will work best in individual patients, based on their genetic makeup.

21 Nov 2018

Starved ticks try harder to find hosts

Ticks are hardy little brutes that can go as long as a year without a meal. Now scientists at the University of Cincinnati say the hungrier ticks are, the harder they try to find you or other hosts. The findings could have implications for the spread of tick-borne disease such as Lyme or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

21 Nov 2018

Researchers awarded $7 million funding in Pancreatic Cancer Collective’s 'New Therapies Challenge'

The Pancreatic Cancer Collective, the strategic partnership of the Lustgarten Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer, has awarded a total of $7 million in first-round "New Therapies Challenge" grants to seven teams of top cancer researchers to explore new pancreatic cancer treatments, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Scientific Partner of SU2C, announced today.

21 Nov 2018

Stand Up to Cancer supports potential approach to more efficiently target pancreatic cancer

Research on a new way of deploying the immune system against pancreatic cancer, an exceptionally lethal cancer that has so far resisted new immunotherapies, will receive $1 million in initial funding from Stand Up to Cancer.

21 Nov 2018

Gut protein mutations protect against spikes in blood glucose levels

Why is it that, despite consuming the same number of calories, sodium and sugar, some people face little risk of diabetes or obesity while others are at higher risk? A new study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital has uncovered mutations in a gene that appear to help drive this difference.

21 Nov 2018

Genetic therapy may help children with Angelman syndrome to overcome seizures

Angelman syndrome is a genetic disease with no cure. Children grow up with severe intellectual disabilities and a range of other problems, arguably the worst of which are epileptic seizures. Now scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have found evidence that genetic therapy may prevent the enhanced seizure susceptibility.

21 Nov 2018

Study uncovers new mechanism controlling the master cancer regulator

Of the more than 23,000 genes in the human genome, only a handful assume a very central role in signal transduction and growth regulation. Of these, the three genes encoding RAS proteins are particularly important, as they are found mutated in over 25% of human cancers.

20 Nov 2018

Scientists identify three genes responsible for recurrent molar pregnancies

A team of scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and McGill University have identified three genes responsible for recurrent molar pregnancies, a rare complication that occurs when a non-viable pregnancy with no embryo implants in the uterus.

20 Nov 2018

Researchers shed light on molecular mechanisms of heart valvular disease

About three per cent of the world's population is affected by valvular heart diseases. It is also the most common cause of heart surgery, as no drug-based treatment is available.

20 Nov 2018