Genes News and Research

RSS

Scientists discern molecular mechanisms underlying plant parasitism and cross-species grafting

Using the model Orobanchaceae parasitic plant Phtheirospermum japonicum, scientists from Nagoya University and other research institutes from Japan have discerned the molecular mechanisms underlying plant parasitism and cross-species grafting, pinpointing enzyme β-1,4-glucanase (GH9B3) as an important contributor to both phenomena.

12 Oct 2020

Researchers examine cooperative tumorigenic effects of targeted deletions of tumor suppressors

Volume 11, Issue 28 of Oncotarget features "Genetic analysis of the cooperative tumorigenic effects of targeted deletions of tumor suppressors Rb1, Trp53, Men1, and Pten in neuroendocrine tumors in mice" by Xu et, al. which reported that the authors examined whether the TSGs Rb1, Trp53, Pten, and Men1 have cooperative effects in suppressing neuroendocrine tumors in mice.

12 Oct 2020

Genomes provide insights into fig-wasp coevolution

Banyan trees are fig trees that begin their life as an epiphyte. The most noticeable feature of banyan Ficus species is their extraordinary aerial roots, which enable them to live as hemi-epiphytes, as do the strangler figs often seen in tropical forests.

12 Oct 2020

Scientists shed light on immune evasion strategy used by malaria-causing parasite

The Plasmodium parasite, which transmits malaria to humans through infected mosquitos, triggers changes in human genes that alter the body's adaptive immune response to malarial infections, according to a team of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi.

12 Oct 2020

Study offers new insights how the plant tips stay free of virus

Plants are able to keep growing indefinitely because they have tissues made of meristems--plant stem cells--which have the unique ability to transform themselves into the various specialized cells that make up the plant, dividing whenever appropriate and producing new cells of whatever type as needed.

9 Oct 2020

Study shows thymoquinone compound selectively kills prostate cancer cells

According to a new study reported in the Oncogene journal, the thymoquinone (TQ) compound selectively destroys prostate cancer cells at advanced phases.

9 Oct 2020

Newly developed biodegradable microneedles deliver genes into the skin

Gene therapy offers an excellent potential for treating specific types of genetic defects and cancer, immunological diseases, infections, and wounds.

9 Oct 2020

Researchers identify specific neurons that may contribute to epileptic seizures

Epilepsy, results from impairment in brain cells and is often treated with drugs that counteract or control the seizures.

9 Oct 2020

Study confirms genetic link in cerebral palsy

A research team has found further evidence that rare gene mutations can cause cerebral palsy, findings which could lead to earlier diagnosis.

8 Oct 2020

Microneedles For Therapeutic Gene Delivery

There is great potential in gene therapy for treating certain types of cancer and genetic defects, immunological diseases, wounds and infections.

7 Oct 2020

New machine learning algorithms to analyze reams of RNA-based 'toehold' sequences

DNA and RNA have been compared to "instruction manuals" containing the information needed for living "machines" to operate.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers investigate the role of auxin in regulating pathogen gene expression

Scientists have long known that the plant hormone auxin controls many aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to the environment. Only more recently have they begun to understand that there is also a link between auxin and leaf spotting diseases.

7 Oct 2020

Researchers identify gene related to seed dispersal in green millet

For years, Elizabeth (Toby) Kellogg, PhD, member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator and other researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center) drove up and down the highways of the continental United States, occasionally pulling over to the side of the road to collect small weedy plants and bring them back to the lab.

6 Oct 2020

Study reveals process for regenerating neurons in the eye and brain

The death of neurons, whether in the brain or the eye, can result in a number of human neurodegenerative disorders, from blindness to Parkinson's disease.

6 Oct 2020

Cancer mutations occur in distinct patterns based on 3D structure of the genome

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has discovered that mutations found in cancers do not accumulate randomly, but are found in distinct patterns that vary based on the three-dimensional organization of the genome in the cell as well as the underlying factors causing the mutations.

6 Oct 2020

MIT engineers develop a method to turn off specific genes in bone marrow cells

Using specialized nanoparticles, MIT engineers have developed a way to turn off specific genes in cells of the bone marrow, which play an important role in producing blood cells.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 6 Oct 2020

Study unravels how immunotherapy is 'uniquely suppressed' by liver cancers

Though cancer immunotherapy has become a promising standard-of-care treatment--and in some cases, perhaps a cure--for a wide variety of different cancers, it doesn't work for everyone, and researchers have increasingly turned their attention to understanding why.

5 Oct 2020