Gene News and Research

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A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It normally resides on a stretch of DNA that codes for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. All living things depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains.

Study shows how the coronavirus disarms the body’s innate immune system

Scientists have established how SARS-CoV-2 suppresses the production of proteins in infected cells and how this virus effectively disarms the immune system.

20 Jul 2020

Small, compact Cas proteins found in bacteriophages are ideal for gene editing

The DNA-cutting proteins central to CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene-editing tools originally came from bacteria, but a newfound variety of Cas proteins apparently evolved in viruses that infect bacteria.

20 Jul 2020

Researchers estimate the cost-effectiveness and health impact of BRCA testing

Screening entire populations for breast and ovarian cancer gene mutations could prevent millions more breast and ovarian cancer cases across the world compared to current clinical practice, according to an international study led by Queen Mary University of London.

20 Jul 2020

Yale researchers uncover mechanism driving Wolfram Syndrome

Yale pharmacology professor Barbara Ehrlich and her team have uncovered a mechanism driving a rare, lethal disease called Wolfram Syndrome and also a potential treatment.

20 Jul 2020

Genetic sequencing can reveal evolutionary differences in reef-building corals

Globally, the rising water temperatures caused by pollution and global warming have impacted the coral reefs that are dwindling at an alarming speed.

20 Jul 2020

Study: High levels of iron in the blood can prevent age-related damage

Genes linked to ageing that could help explain why some people age at different rates to others has been identified by scientists.

17 Jul 2020

Researchers use high-quality coral genome to forecast potential bleaching events

In a new approach to conservation genetics, researchers used a high-quality genome of the coral Acropora millepora, along with environmental data, to study this coral's variable responses to climate change, a trait of key conservation importance.

17 Jul 2020

Study focuses on how relationship between plants and microbes responds to drought conditions

Just below ground, an ancient and poorly understood relationship plays out between plants and microbes that infuse the soil.

17 Jul 2020

Scientists gain insights into how parasitic bacterium gives rise to lesions

Bacteria of the genus Bartonella are parasites that can be transmitted to humans via insect bites and animal scratches, resulting in an infection known as "bartonellosis." Cat-scratch disease and trench fever are forms of bartonellosis caused by different Bartonella species infecting humans.

17 Jul 2020

Disseminated cancer cells hijack crucial iron micronutrients to survive

In order to survive within the remote and harsh anatomical microenvironments of the central nervous system, the disseminated cancer cells that cause rare yet deadly leptomeningeal metastases (LM) hijack crucial iron micronutrients from native macrophages, researchers report.

17 Jul 2020

Rare inherited mutation in TP53 gene predisposes to a wide range of cancers

Rare inherited mutations in the body's master regulator of the DNA repair system – the TP53 gene – can leave people at a higher risk of developing multiple types of cancer over the course of their lives.

17 Jul 2020

New technique increases the precision of gene editing

A group of biomolecular engineers from Rice University has now identified a C-worthy method that significantly improves the precision of gene editing.

17 Jul 2020

Researchers identify key enzyme that drives the production of ribosomes

Scientists have demonstrated that an enzyme fuels the production of ribosomes—the molecular machines that synthesize all cellular proteins.

From University of Toronto 17 Jul 2020

New, promising CAR T cell therapy results in exceptional patient recovery

In a clinical trial evaluating a novel immunotherapy option for cancer treatment, a child with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of muscle cancer, that had spread to the bone marrow, showed no detectable cancer following treatment with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that were engineered to target the HER2 protein on the surface of cancerthe cells.

16 Jul 2020