Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New study provides clear picture of brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia

What if the key to a better understanding of schizophrenia has been here all along--but researchers haven't had the resources to study it?

12 Feb 2020

Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

It's known that genetics, or an inherited genome, is a major determinant of one's risk for autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. In human cells, a person's genome--about six feet of DNA--is compressed into the micrometer space of the nucleus via a three-dimensional folding process.

11 Feb 2020

Taller body height in young men linked to lower risk of dementia in old age

Men who are taller in young adulthood, as an indicator of early-life circumstances, may have a lower risk of dementia in old age, suggests a study published today in eLife.

11 Feb 2020

Researchers simulate leaky gut conditions using 3D models of human intestines

Once a vague scapegoat for a variety of ills, increasing evidence suggests a condition known as "leaky gut" -- in which microbes and other molecules seep out of the intestines -- may be more common, and more harmful, than previously thought.

10 Feb 2020

Discovery of potential cause of age-related macular degeneration

Age related macular degeneration or AMD leads to loss of vision in around 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom and millions of others around the world. In a new study researchers have discovered a new protein that could explain the causation and thus provide clues to its early diagnosis and effective treatment. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

9 Feb 2020

Understanding the genetic background of idiopathic ketotic hypoglycemia

Lisa is two years old. She often gets uneasy--shaking and sweating--especially in the morning. She vomits and refuses to eat. Her mother, Karoline, knows she has to act before Lisa starts to deteriorate.

9 Feb 2020

Princeton's Bonnie Bassler awarded the 2020 Gruber Genetics Prize

The 2020 Gruber Genetics Prize is being awarded to geneticist Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D. of Princeton University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for her groundbreaking work on how bacteria "talk" to each other using molecular "languages."

9 Feb 2020

Researchers offer new hope for diagnosis, treatment of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers have identified a new protein linked to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that could offer new hope for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which affects over 1.5 million people in the UK alone.

8 Feb 2020

Fly model could help lay the foundation for new therapies to fight 'difficult' pathogen

The Clostridium difficile pathogen takes its name from the French word for "difficult." A bacterium that is known to cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening colon damage, C. difficile is part of a growing epidemic of concern for the elderly and patients on antibiotics.

8 Feb 2020

Childhood vaccine responses in sub-Saharan Africa depend on geography, age and anemia

Vaccine responses in the developing immune systems of children may depend on factors such as age, location and anemia status, according to a study comparing samples from 1,119 Dutch children to 171 children in sub-Saharan Africa who took part in a malaria vaccine trial.

6 Feb 2020

Natural antioxidant reverses reproductive harms caused by BPA exposure in worms

From plastics to pesticides, it seems like every week delivers fresh news about the dangers of endocrine disruptors--chemicals in the environment that alter the body's hormones and can lead to reproductive, developmental, neurologic and immune problems and cancer.

6 Feb 2020

Researchers compile large catalog of cancer mutations

Mutations in 38 different types of cancer have been mapped by means of whole genome analysis by an international team of researchers from, amongst others, the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital, and Rigshospitalet.

6 Feb 2020

Study lays foundation for translating mitochondrial biology into clinical applications

A study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center furthered understanding about mitochondria, the cell components known as the "powerhouse of the cell." Knowing more about the genome is crucial given that mitochondria play important roles in tumorigenesis.

6 Feb 2020

Researchers discover new mutational phenomenon chromothripsis in cancer

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and EMBL-EBI have carried out the largest analysis across cancer types of the newly discovered mutational phenomenon chromothripsis.

6 Feb 2020

Researchers study how structural variations in the genome can lead to cancer

Structural variations in genomes can arise from deleting, amplifying, or reordering genomic segments ranging from a few thousand letters of the genetic code to whole chromosomes.

6 Feb 2020

First comprehensive survey of viruses found within different cancers

Researchers from the University of East Anglia have helped to carry out the first comprehensive survey of viruses found within different types of cancer.

5 Feb 2020

Researchers discover new genetic drivers of cancer

The discovery of genetic drivers of cancer can have critical implications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients, yet genome analysis has focused primarily on only 1-2% of the whole genome - the part that contains the code for making proteins.

5 Feb 2020

Three key variables linked to higher rural mortality rates in the U.S.

Since the 1980s, the all-cause mortality rate in the U.S for rural residents has exceeded that of urban dwellers.

5 Feb 2020

Study sheds new light on genetic relationship between three mood disorders

Researchers shed new light on the genetic relationship between three mood disorders associated with depression--major depression and bipolar disorder types 1 and 2, in a new study in the journal Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.

5 Feb 2020