Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Atomic resolution structure of key molecule may contribute to drug discovery for devastating conditions

Culminating a nearly 10 year effort, researchers have determined the atomic resolution structure of a key molecule that translates signals from a cell's local environment into a language that the cell can understand and use.

18 Apr 2017

New 7-gene test strategy could improve life expectancy for women at risk of hereditary breast cancer

Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, announced today the publication of new research indicating that testing for variants in 7 cancer-associated genes (versus the usual process of testing in just 2 genes) followed by risk-reduction management could cost-effectively improve life expectancy for women at risk of hereditary breast cancer.

17 Apr 2017

New online genetic study aims to enroll 50,000 individuals and families affected by autism

Autism has a strong genetic component. To date, approximately 50 genes have been identified that almost certainly play a role in autism, and researchers estimate that at least an additional 300 are involved.

17 Apr 2017

Nanoparticle-programmed immune cells can slow progression of leukemia in mouse model

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed biodegradable nanoparticles that can be used to genetically program immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells -- while the immune cells are still inside the body.

17 Apr 2017

Vanderbilt geneticists find new way to tap plant pharmacopeia to produce improved therapeutics

Cocaine, nicotine, capsaicin. These are just three familiar examples of the hundreds of thousands of small molecules (also called specialized or secondary metabolites) that plants use as chemical ammunition to protect themselves from predation.

17 Apr 2017

Scientists identify gene responsible for generating key lipid in skin barrier formation

Scientists have identified the gene responsible for generating acylceramide, the key lipid in forming the skin barrier that protects us from pathogens, allergens and other harmful substances. This finding could prove crucial in developing medicines for treating atopic dermatitis and ichthyosis.

17 Apr 2017

Seeing genes inside living cells

For Mazhar Adli, the little glowing dots dancing about on the computer screen are nothing less than the fulfillment of a dream. Those fluorescent dots, moving in real time, are set to illuminate our understanding of the human genome, cancer and other genetic diseases in a way never before possible.

14 Apr 2017

Researchers uncover global regulator that 'switches on' silent biosynthetic gene clusters

Bacteria have supplied some of today's most indispensable anti-cancer and anti-bacterial drugs. Yet these compounds comprise only a fraction of their possible offerings. Now, researchers have found a way to unleash their full potential as natural product dispensers.

13 Apr 2017

Vascular risk factors increase risk of Alzheimer's disease in late-life, study reveals

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that an increasing number of vascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking during midlife contributes to increased brain amyloid levels (protein fragments associated with Alzhemier’s, the most common form of dementia) in later life.

13 Apr 2017

Researchers correct Duchenne muscular dystrophy using gene-editing alternative

Using the new gene-editing enzyme CRISPR-Cpf1, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have successfully corrected Duchenne muscular dystrophy in human cells and mice in the lab.

13 Apr 2017

Targeted treatment slows progression of two degenerative brain diseases in mice

Scientists report a significant step toward combatting two degenerative brain diseases that chip away at an individual's ability to move, and think.

12 Apr 2017

NIH study provides unprecedented detail on host response to Ebola virus disease

Analysis of daily gene activation in a patient with severe Ebola virus disease cared for at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2015 found changes in antiviral and immune response genes that pinpointed key transition points in the response to infection.

12 Apr 2017

Gladstone scientists discover common mechanism that links neurodegeneration in young and old

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), identified a common mechanism in two forms of neurodegeneration that affect young adults or the elderly.

12 Apr 2017

NIH scientists identify protein complexes involved in promoting HSV infection and reactivation

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections last a lifetime. Once a person has been infected, the virus can remain dormant (latent) for years before periodically reactivating to cause recurrent disease. This poorly understood cycle has frustrated scientists for years.

12 Apr 2017

'Human knockouts': Genetics in families reveals basic biology and possible therapeutics for disorders

More than 1,800 individuals carrying loss-of-function mutations in both copies of their genes, so-called "human knockouts," are described in the first major study to be published in Nature this week by an international collaboration led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues.

12 Apr 2017

Scientists discover potential trigger for MDS in children with rare genetic disorder

Myelodysplastic syndrome is an umbrella term used to describe disorders characterized by the bone marrow's inability to produce normal blood cells.

12 Apr 2017

Scientists discover how insulin-producing cells show differences in age

Diabetes researchers have puzzled for decades about why insulin-producing beta cells in one pancreatic islet often look and behave quite differently than their counterparts in the same islet or in nearby islets.

12 Apr 2017

Microparticles show potential to deliver DNA-based vaccines and gene therapies in pill form

A microscopic corn-and-shrimp cocktail could eventually make DNA-based vaccinations and cancer-treating gene therapies an easier pill to swallow, according to new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

12 Apr 2017

Developmental Split-Brain syndrome discovery

Our group describes a new entity, which we refer to as “Developmental Split-Brain syndrome” which we discovered affected four individuals from three unrelated families. All affected individuals showed disruption of communicating tracts between the right and left side of the brain which meant that there is lack of coordination and communication between the two sides of the brain.

12 Apr 2017

Researchers identify three novel genetic mutations linked to Fuchs dystrophy

Researchers discovered three novel genetic mutations associated with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, the most common corneal disorder requiring transplantation.

12 Apr 2017

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Atomic resolution structure of key molecule may contribute to drug discovery for devastating conditions

New 7-gene test strategy could improve life expectancy for women at risk of hereditary breast cancer

New online genetic study aims to enroll 50,000 individuals and families affected by autism

Nanoparticle-programmed immune cells can slow progression of leukemia in mouse model

Vanderbilt geneticists find new way to tap plant pharmacopeia to produce improved therapeutics

Scientists identify gene responsible for generating key lipid in skin barrier formation

Seeing genes inside living cells

Researchers uncover global regulator that 'switches on' silent biosynthetic gene clusters

Vascular risk factors increase risk of Alzheimer's disease in late-life, study reveals

Researchers correct Duchenne muscular dystrophy using gene-editing alternative

Targeted treatment slows progression of two degenerative brain diseases in mice

NIH study provides unprecedented detail on host response to Ebola virus disease

Gladstone scientists discover common mechanism that links neurodegeneration in young and old

NIH scientists identify protein complexes involved in promoting HSV infection and reactivation

'Human knockouts': Genetics in families reveals basic biology and possible therapeutics for disorders

Scientists discover potential trigger for MDS in children with rare genetic disorder

Scientists discover how insulin-producing cells show differences in age

Microparticles show potential to deliver DNA-based vaccines and gene therapies in pill form

Developmental Split-Brain syndrome discovery

Researchers identify three novel genetic mutations linked to Fuchs dystrophy

Industry focus eBook - Cell and gene therapy (2nd edition) eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research