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Study links gut hormone to Parkinson’s dementia

A team of researchers have discovered that a gut hormone, called ghrelin, is a crucial regulator of new nerve cells that form in the adult brain.

26 Oct 2020

Scientists explain the role of transcription factors in genetic diseases

Transcription factor proteins can be described as the light switches of the human genome. These proteins bind to DNA and allow genes to turn “on” or “off.”

26 Oct 2020

Study indicates underlying molecular sources in COVID-19 variability

Humans have different susceptibilities to SARS-CoV-2, and eventually develop varying degrees of fatigue, fever, and breathing problems.

26 Oct 2020

Study: Early travel restrictions have significantly limited the spread of COVID-19 virus

The coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has one official name--SARS-CoV-2. But according to virologists, mutations lead to hundreds of genetically-distinct versions of the virus.

23 Oct 2020

Scientists develop lab-grown lung model to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of Duke University researchers has developed a lab-grown living lung model that mimics the tiny air sacs of the lungs where coronavirus infection and serious lung damage take place. This advance has enabled them to watch the battle between the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and lung cells at the finest molecular scale.

23 Oct 2020

Research demonstrates an agriculturally amenable epigenetic breeding method

Novel grafted plants -- consisting of rootstock epigenetically modified to "believe" it has been under stress -- joined to an unmodified scion, or above-ground shoot, give rise to progeny that are more vigorous, productive and resilient than the parental plants.

23 Oct 2020

Researchers develop "mini lungs" to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

'Mini-lungs' grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals has provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs.

23 Oct 2020

Scientists set ambitious goals for biodiversity and sustainability

Nearly three decades have passed since world leaders agreed to reverse biodiversity loss. It hasn't gone according to plan.

23 Oct 2020

Novel technique could propel personalized treatments for cancer

When it comes to defeating cancer, some immune cells are mightier than others. But even the best-trained eye and today's advanced scientific tools have trouble discerning the most powerful tumor-fighting cells from the rest.

23 Oct 2020

New method for producing FTVI enzyme could enhance therapeutic potential of cord blood transplants

A new way of producing an enzyme called fucosyltransferase VI (FTVI) in the lab could help enhance the therapeutic potential of cord blood transplants.

23 Oct 2020

New delivery system may treat male infertility

According to the Mayo Clinic, about 15% of couples are infertile, and male infertility plays a role in over one-third of these cases. Often, problems with sperm development are to blame.

22 Oct 2020

Study raises ethical concerns about gene-editing technologies

Genome editing of human embryos represents one of the most contentious potential scientific applications today. But what if geneticists could sidestep the controversy by editing sperm and eggs instead?

22 Oct 2020

Researchers identify a valuable source for treating pediatric cancer

For many cancers, doctors are increasingly looking to the DNA that solid tumors shed into the blood stream to help with diagnosis and monitoring.

22 Oct 2020

Researchers uncover a new cellular mechanism for disposing of misfolded proteins

About 30 years ago, Dr. Richard Sifers set out on a journey to discover why people with a rare condition known as alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency present with high variation in the severity of liver disease.

21 Oct 2020

Study discusses the role of insects as a potential new food allergen

Those with food allergies must avoid allergens in food. Health problems can be triggered by even the smallest traces for those affected. This is why manufacturers of ready-made foods must list the ingredients on the packaging.

21 Oct 2020

New DNA-cutting tool could advance gene editing for novel treatments

Gene editing for the development of new treatments, and for studying disease as well as normal function in humans and other organisms, may advance more quickly with a new tool for cutting larger pieces of DNA out of a cell's genome, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists.

21 Oct 2020

Study explores the impact of microbial immune diversity on dynamics of host-virus interactions

CRISPR-Cas serves as a key driving force of strain diversity in host-virus systems during an evolutionary fight between the host and virus.

21 Oct 2020

First-ever draft sequence of the human proteome mapped successfully

Two decades after the release of the human genome, researchers have mapped the first-ever draft sequence of the human proteome.

21 Oct 2020

Researchers discover a gene responsible for urination

In a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study involving both mice and patients who are part of an NIH Clinical Center trial, researchers discovered that a gene, called PIEZO2, may be responsible for the powerful urge to urinate that we normally feel several times a day.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers develop new method to advance wildlife genomics

A team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), the Australian Museum, and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) report a new method for identifying any genome sequence located next to a known sequence.

20 Oct 2020