Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study uses ferret model to elucidate key mechanisms for gyrus formation

The human brain is highly developed with higher functions compared to other animals, thanks to which humans are believed to have acquired special abilities. One of the important factors considered to contribute to the development of the brain is the gyrus, the fold on the cerebral cortex surface.

5 Oct 2017

Gene therapy effectively stabilizes progression of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, trial reveals

In a recent clinical trial, a gene therapy to treat cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) -- a neurodegenerative disease that typically claims young boys' lives within 10 years of diagnosis -- effectively stabilized the disease's progression in 88 percent of patients, researchers from the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Massachusetts General Hospital report today.

4 Oct 2017

Study on cell stress response may hold promise for treating inflammation-related disorders

Stress – defined broadly – can have a profoundly deleterious effect on the human body. Even individual cells have their own way of dealing with environmental strains such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun or germs.

4 Oct 2017

Gene targets for triple negative breast cancers resistant to chemotherapy found

Researchers have finally found the genetic targets that could be used for treatment and development of new drugs in patients who are resistant to chemotherapy. These patients who are resistant to chemotherapy are most likely to have triple negative breast cancer which is the most aggressive form of breast cancer. The study appeared in the latest issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

4 Oct 2017

New study reveals novel gene involved in maintaining body weight

A new study published online in The FASEB Journal reveals a novel gene involved in maintaining body weight. Specifically, the study suggests that GTRAP3-18 interacts with pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the hypothalamus to regulate food intake and blood glucose levels.

4 Oct 2017

Lower meat consumption during pregnancy increases risk of substance misuse by offspring

Lower meat consumption by women during pregnancy was linked with an increased risk of substance misuse by their children during adolescence. The findings come from a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

4 Oct 2017

Scientists manipulate living cells to produce fluorinated bioplastics

Natural organic compounds that contain fluorine are rare because living organisms—with a few exceptions—do not produce them.

4 Oct 2017

Patented invention has potential to induce and regulate stem cell differentiation

An invention by Florida Institute of Technology’s Shengyuan Yang was found to naturally narrow the spreading of stem cells and has the potential to induce and regulate their differentiation.

4 Oct 2017

Scientists awarded $1.3 million grant to study relationship between traumatic brain injury and dementia

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a team of scientists and physicians from leading health care institutions across Phoenix a $1.3 million grant over three years to study traumatic brain injury and its relationship to dementia.

4 Oct 2017

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have engineered a new way to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology inside cells and have demonstrated in mice that the technology can repair the mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle-wasting disease.

4 Oct 2017

Novel agents appear to halt growth and progression of Ewing sarcoma

When combined with an already FDA-approved chemotherapy, a novel agent developed by researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, appears to halt the ability of Ewing sarcoma to grow and progress.

4 Oct 2017

Scientists unravel mechanism that links gut bacteria to hypertension

One in three American adults suffers from high blood pressure, or hypertension. The disease can be passed down in families, and certain lifestyle factors such as smoking, high-sodium diets, and stress can increase the risk.

3 Oct 2017

Research uncovers potential targets for treatment of triple negative breast cancer

Research led by Dr. Carlos Arteaga, Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, has identified potential targets for treatment of triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of breast cancer.

3 Oct 2017

Wake Forest Baptist receives NIH grants to study risks associated with kidney transplants

The National Institutes of Health has awarded two five-year grants to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center worth more than $5 million to prospectively study the effects of a genetic variation in organ donors that appears to contribute to survival of kidneys after transplantation.

3 Oct 2017

New gene therapy to treat cancer in children, young adults offers hopes and challenges

The first gene therapy for cancer, approved by the Food Drug Administration in August, will transform the treatment of a particular kind of cancer in children and young adults. It's transformative because it uses a patient's own immune cells to attack the cancer cells.

3 Oct 2017

UTHealth study focuses on how gene-environment interactions impact cocaine use disorder

Studying the effect of environmental stressors on the development of cocaine use is the focus of a $2.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

3 Oct 2017

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

A team of Chinese researchers have for the first time “mended” defective embryos using chemical surgery to free them of a faulty gene that leads to beta thalassemia. Until now this defect was found to be incorrigible caused due to a single misspelling in the DNA code. Beta thalassemia is a dreaded blood disorder wherein the child is unable to make healthy blood needing blood transfusions on a regular basis. The study was published this week in the journal Protein and Cell.

2 Oct 2017

Benefits of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Biomarkers fall into different categories: diagnostic biomarkers, are used to identify a disease; prognostic biomarkers, help clinicians to determine, for example, whether you're more likely to die or have problems with a disease; and there are some that can be used to inform treatment, to determine whether one therapy would be more successful than another.

2 Oct 2017

Researchers produce fluorinated molecules in living cells

Natural organic compounds that contain fluorine are rare because living organisms—with a few exceptions—do not produce them. American scientists have now genetically engineered a microbial host for organofluorine metabolism, allowing it to produce a fluoridated intermediate known as a diketide.

30 Sep 2017

Study sheds light on the mechanism of lung damage in premature babies

The lungs are one of the last organs to undergo full maturation in a baby's body. Children that are born very prematurely do not have fully developed lungs, and are therefore more susceptible to associated complications.

30 Sep 2017

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study uses ferret model to elucidate key mechanisms for gyrus formation

Gene therapy effectively stabilizes progression of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, trial reveals

Study on cell stress response may hold promise for treating inflammation-related disorders

Gene targets for triple negative breast cancers resistant to chemotherapy found

New study reveals novel gene involved in maintaining body weight

Lower meat consumption during pregnancy increases risk of substance misuse by offspring

Scientists manipulate living cells to produce fluorinated bioplastics

Patented invention has potential to induce and regulate stem cell differentiation

Scientists awarded $1.3 million grant to study relationship between traumatic brain injury and dementia

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Novel agents appear to halt growth and progression of Ewing sarcoma

Scientists unravel mechanism that links gut bacteria to hypertension

Research uncovers potential targets for treatment of triple negative breast cancer

Wake Forest Baptist receives NIH grants to study risks associated with kidney transplants

New gene therapy to treat cancer in children, young adults offers hopes and challenges

UTHealth study focuses on how gene-environment interactions impact cocaine use disorder

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

Benefits of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Researchers produce fluorinated molecules in living cells

Study sheds light on the mechanism of lung damage in premature babies

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging