Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Three-drug combination improves lung function, reduces symptoms in CF patients

A phase three clinical trial that UT Southwestern participated in determined that a three-drug combination improved lung function and reduced symptoms in cystic fibrosis patients who have a single copy of the most common genetic mutation for the disease.

31 Oct 2019

Discovery of first blue light emitting South American insect

A rainforest reserve, bordering the mighty Atlantic, in the Sao Paulo state of Brazil, is now in the news because scientists saw a flash of blue while they were gathering mushrooms. Indeed, this privately-owned Reserva Betary park can boast the honor of being host to the newly discovered species of fungus gnat, named Neoceroplatus betaryiensis, the larva of which is the first bioluminescent creature found in the Neotropics that emits blue light.

31 Oct 2019

Scientists visualize complex cellular machine to yield new insights in cancer

Cellular machines that control chromosome structure, such as the RSC complex, are mutated in about one-fifth of all human cancers.

31 Oct 2019

Three UCLA researchers receive multimillion-dollar grant from state's stem cell agency

Three researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received awards totaling more than $18 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state's stem cell agency.

31 Oct 2019

Common things you need to know about pancreatitis

The pancreas is an important part of the digestive system that converts the food we eat into fuel for the body's cells. Responsible for two main functions, the pancreas helps digestion and regulates blood sugar. However, the pancreas can become inflamed, which causes pancreatitis to occur.

31 Oct 2019

Study provides a first look into black box of embryonic development

Little is known about the molecular and cellular events that occur during early embryonic development in primate species.

31 Oct 2019

New signaling systems discovered in human cells

The human cell has a wide variety of receptors on its surface that many molecules and therapeutic drugs can bind to in order to activate signals inside the cell to regulate different physiological functions. GPCRs are the largest - and a very important - family of receptors on human cells.

31 Oct 2019

OHSU receives $2.1 million to develop new vaccine additives for tropical viruses

Sometimes vaccines need a little help to protect people against infectious diseases.

31 Oct 2019

Mutated version of DNA repair protein may illuminate its role in preventing cancer

Two trillion times each day, the cells in a typical human divide to replace old, damaged or dead cells. Before a cell divides, though, it makes an exact copy of its DNA, which will be passed on to the new cells.

31 Oct 2019

Mechanisms preserving cell identity are based on status of proteins housing DNA

The inheritance, not only of DNA, but of changes to proteins that package it, maintains the identity of cells as they multiply, a new study finds.

31 Oct 2019

Molecular gatekeepers that regulate calcium ions vital for muscle health and repair

Calcium ions are essential to how muscles work effectively, playing a starring role in how and when muscles contract, tap energy stores to keep working and self-repair damage.

31 Oct 2019

Discovery has potential to put the brakes on Parkinson's 'runaway train'

Researchers at the University of Dundee have made a discovery they believe has the potential to put the brakes on the 'runaway train' that is Parkinson's disease.

31 Oct 2019

Study identifies a kinase as potential target to treat heart failure

An unexplored kinase in heart muscle cells may be a good target to treat heart failure, a disease that is only incrementally delayed by existing therapies.

31 Oct 2019

Researchers identify genes linked to most severe symptoms of multiple sclerosis

In a bid to determine factors linked to the most debilitating forms of multiple sclerosis, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have identified three so-called "complement system" genes that appear to play a role in MS-caused vision loss.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 31 Oct 2019

Novel method for aggressive breast cancer detection

A new study in rats published in the journal Cell Reports shows that the pattern of RNA molecules produced within certain immune cells called macrophages, found within breast cancers (tumor-associated macrophages, TAMs), can tell whether the tumor is cancerous or not and indicate the type of outcome. The same pattern is present in humans as in mice. This makes it directly useful in predicting the nature of a breast tumor and its outcome.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers develop new therapeutic concept for treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy

Teams of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Medical University of Innsbruck have developed a new therapeutic concept for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.

30 Oct 2019

New way to slow and reverse fibrosis identified

In cell and mouse models, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have identified a way to slow and reverse the process of uncontrolled internal scarring, called fibrosis.

30 Oct 2019

Education may erase risk of cognitive decline linked to APOE e4 gene in black people

Education may erase the risk of cognitive decline associated with the APOE e4 gene--the biggest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease--in older non-Hispanic black people, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

30 Oct 2019

Key gene mutated in familial Alzheimer's regulates differentiation of neurons

An international team of researchers led by the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona describes a new route that promotes differentiation of neurons.

30 Oct 2019

Scientists receive $1.6 million grant to study impact of phthalate exposure on male fertility

A cross-disciplinary team of scientists, led by University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental epigeneticist Richard Pilsner, will use a three-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to expand research into the impact of phthalate exposure on male fertility.

30 Oct 2019