Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study links age-related changes in human pancreas to diabetes development

A Stanford-led national collaboration to procure and analyze human pancreatic tissue from deceased donors illustrates how the organ's function changes as we age, and could point the way toward new diabetes treatments.

29 Apr 2016

New class of cancer-driver gene may serve as unique therapeutic targets, biomarkers in TNBC

The discovery of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has dramatically changed the understanding of the biology of diseases such as cancer. The human genome contains about 20,000 protein-coding genes - less than 2 percent of the total - but 70 percent of the genome is made into non-gene-encoding RNA.

29 Apr 2016

Role of microRNAs in range of physiological activities

A group including scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health to study the role of microRNAs in a range of physiological activities, including memory, sleep, synapse function and movement.

28 Apr 2016

Musashi-2 protein regulates function, development of blood stem cells

Researchers at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have made significant steps forward in understanding the stem cells of the human blood system after discovering how a key protein allows for better control and regeneration of these cells.

28 Apr 2016

Experimental cancer drug Nutlin-3 shows promise in cancelling effects of fragile X syndrome

A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who studies the most common genetic intellectual disability has used an experimental drug to reverse — in mice — damage from the mutation that causes the syndrome.

28 Apr 2016

Certain genetic markers linked with depression can also predict who may benefit from exercise

Call it personalized medicine for depression -- but the prescription in this case is exercise, which University of Florida Health researchers have found helps people with certain genetic traits.

28 Apr 2016

Group of gamma-protocadherins linked with neurons help regulate growth of dendrites

When you think of a neuron, imagine a tree. A healthy brain cell indeed looks like a tree with a full canopy. There's a trunk, which is the cell's nucleus; there's a root system, embodied in a single axon; and there are the branches, called dendrites.

28 Apr 2016

Scientists show how HIV enters female reproductive tract

Finding the vulnerable points where HIV enters the female reproductive tract is like searching for needles in a haystack. But Northwestern Medicine scientists have solved that challenge by creating a glowing map of the very first cells to be infected with a HIV-like virus.

28 Apr 2016

New study on retroviral DNA could help improve treatments for HIV infection

When retroviruses such as HIV infect a cell, they first make a copy of their RNA genome in the form of DNA. The relatively short viral DNA strand then moves to the cell nucleus, where it inserts itself into the host cell's DNA.

27 Apr 2016

TSRI study reveals important traits in LCMV, Lassa virus

For the first time, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have solved the structure of the biological machinery used by a common virus to recognize and attack human host cells.

27 Apr 2016

Modernization of screening methods in sperm banks could protect future children from highly heritable diseases

U.S. sperm banks perform genetic testing to screen for and disqualify carriers of a limited number of recessive disease mutations, but more comprehensive and affordable DNA-based screening methods are now available that can detect many more disease-causing genetic variations.

27 Apr 2016

New rat study shows specific genetic factors may contribute to differences in addiction among humans

Why does one person who tries cocaine get addicted, while another might use it and then leave it alone? Why do some people who kick a drug habit manage to stay clean, while others relapse? And why do some families seem more prone to addiction than others?

27 Apr 2016

Study reveals new function for CACNA1C gene in psychiatric diseases

A new study shows the death of newborn brain cells may be linked to a genetic risk factor for five major psychiatric diseases, and at the same time shows a compound currently being developed for use in humans may have therapeutic value for these diseases by preventing the cells from dying.

27 Apr 2016

Review focuses on autologous cell therapy that can be applied to cardiac surgery

The combination of cell and gene therapy is rapidly raising clinical interest, although their combination has been under investigation for several decades. This is mainly due to the availability and feasibility of clinically relevant gene delivery options. This review focuses on cell therapies for heart failure and their use combined with cardiac surgery as well as with gene therapy.

27 Apr 2016

University of Leicester-led researchers solve 3D structure of NuRD complex that plays role in cancer

A team of researchers led by the University of Leicester has shed new light on how the regulation machinery that controls gene expression works by characterising a complex known as the NuRD complex.

27 Apr 2016

Takara Bio USA, Integrated DNA Technologies collaborate to enhance transcriptome research

Takara Bio USA, Inc. (TBUSA, formerly Clontech Laboratories, Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., and Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) today announced a new collaboration to support targeted RNA sequencing.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 27 Apr 2016

New fruit fly model study reveals metabolic pathway that can be targeted to treat FXS patients

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common genetically inherited cause of intellectual disability in humans. New research shows how the hormone insulin -- usually associated with diabetes -- is involved in the daily activity patterns and cognitive deficits in the fruitfly model of FXS, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published online this month in Molecular Psychiatry in advance of the print issue.

27 Apr 2016

Combination of nanoscale topography and triculture technology benefits large or slow-healing wounds

Large or slow-healing wounds that do not receive adequate blood flow could benefit from a novel approach that combines a nanoscale graft onto which three different cell types are layered. Proper cell alignment on the nanograft allows for the formation of new blood vessel-like structures, as reported in of Tissue Engineering, Part A, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free for download on the Tissue Engineering website until May 26, 2016.

27 Apr 2016

ATR-FTIR spectroscopy could be effective for detecting ulcerative colitis

A minimally invasive screening for ulcerative colitis, a debilitating gastrointestinal tract disorder, using emerging infrared technology could be a rapid and cost-effective method for detecting disease that eliminates the need for biopsies and intrusive testing of the human body, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

27 Apr 2016

First small molecule targeted therapy holds promise for Usher syndrome

Usher syndrome (USH) is characterized by hearing loss or deafness at birth and progressive vision loss, and is the most common cause of inherited dual sensory deficit. No treatment is currently available to stop or slow the progression of vision or hearing loss in USH3, one of three clinical classifications for USH that are further divided into subtypes and all associated with different genes.

27 Apr 2016

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study links age-related changes in human pancreas to diabetes development

New class of cancer-driver gene may serve as unique therapeutic targets, biomarkers in TNBC

Role of microRNAs in range of physiological activities

Musashi-2 protein regulates function, development of blood stem cells

Experimental cancer drug Nutlin-3 shows promise in cancelling effects of fragile X syndrome

Certain genetic markers linked with depression can also predict who may benefit from exercise

Group of gamma-protocadherins linked with neurons help regulate growth of dendrites

Scientists show how HIV enters female reproductive tract

New study on retroviral DNA could help improve treatments for HIV infection

TSRI study reveals important traits in LCMV, Lassa virus

Modernization of screening methods in sperm banks could protect future children from highly heritable diseases

New rat study shows specific genetic factors may contribute to differences in addiction among humans

Study reveals new function for CACNA1C gene in psychiatric diseases

Review focuses on autologous cell therapy that can be applied to cardiac surgery

University of Leicester-led researchers solve 3D structure of NuRD complex that plays role in cancer

Takara Bio USA, Integrated DNA Technologies collaborate to enhance transcriptome research

New fruit fly model study reveals metabolic pathway that can be targeted to treat FXS patients

Combination of nanoscale topography and triculture technology benefits large or slow-healing wounds

ATR-FTIR spectroscopy could be effective for detecting ulcerative colitis

First small molecule targeted therapy holds promise for Usher syndrome

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

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich