Genetic News and Research

RSS

New method helps track actin involved in mitochondrial dysfunction

The human skeleton helps in moving the body. Similarly, fine skeleton-like filaments inside the cells also help in the movement of cellular structures.

11 Aug 2020

A genetic switch in brain cells can toggle between sex-specific states when necessary

Biological sex is typically understood in binary terms: male and female. However, there are many examples of animals that are able to modify sex-typical biological and behavioral features and even change sex.

11 Aug 2020

Adapting the equipment and expertise of agtech labs could help combat pandemics

Just as redeploying a fleet of small British fishing boats helped during the Battle of Dunkirk, marshalling the research equipment and expertise of the many agtech labs around the world could help combat pandemics, say the authors of a just-published article in Nature Biotechnology.

11 Aug 2020

Scientists resolve photosynthetic bottlenecks to increase crop productivity

Plants are factories that manufacture yield from light and carbon dioxide--but parts of this complex process, called photosynthesis, are hindered by a lack of raw materials and machinery.

11 Aug 2020

Using genetic engineering to study evolutionary assimilation of foreign DNA in a new host

All life is subject to evolution in the form of mutations that change the DNA sequence of an organism's offspring, after which natural selection allows the 'fittest' mutants to survive and pass on their genes to future generations.

11 Aug 2020

Researchers use genome editing to facilitate drug discovery based on natural fungus

Rice University scientists have won federal support for their pursuit of novel drugs to treat human disease.

11 Aug 2020

Researchers describe a previously unknown phylum of aquatic Archaea

In a publication in Nature Communications last Friday, NIOZ scientists Nina Dombrowski and Anja Spang and their collaboration partners describe a previously unknown phylum of aquatic Archaea that are likely dependent on partner organisms for growth while potentially being able to conserve some energy by fermentation.

11 Aug 2020

$1.2 million NIH grant awarded to create humanized mice susceptible to COVID-19

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant of $1.2 million to the Mouse Biology Program at the University of California, Davis, to create mice that are susceptible to the COVID-19 virus, and to distribute them to researchers.

11 Aug 2020

Gene therapy to the inner retina prevents blindness in Cln3-deficient mice

Gene therapy to the inner retina prevented blindness in a mouse model of the neuro-degenerative disorder CLN3 Batten disease.

11 Aug 2020

UC Riverside physicist receives NIH grant to study how pathogens evolve

For several years, physicist John Barton at the University of California, Riverside, has been working on developing models to understand and predict how pathogens, such as HIV, evolve. This research pursuit has just received support from the National Institutes of Health.

11 Aug 2020

Study may reduce transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils, offers hope for treating human cancers

A rare, transmissible tumor has brought the iconic Tasmanian devil to the brink of extinction, but new research by scientists at Washington State University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle indicates hope for the animals' survival and possibly new treatment for human cancers.

10 Aug 2020

Genetic analysis reveals the inhibitory role of NSD2 enzyme in cellular senescence

Using a detailed genetic analysis, a research team from Japan-based Kumamoto University has discovered that the NSD2 enzyme, which controls the actions of several genes, also functions to block the aging of cells.

10 Aug 2020

Researchers isolate fragile protein complex from heat-loving bacteria

Goethe University scientists have discovered what is probably the oldest enzyme found in cellular respiration. Now, the team has successfully isolated a highly delicate protein complex known as “Rnf” from the heat-loving bacterium called Thermotoga maritima.

10 Aug 2020

Early neuron training shows promise for regenerative medicine

When it comes to training neural circuits for tissue engineering or biomedical applications, a new study suggests a key parameter: Train them young.

10 Aug 2020

Test pinpoints which people with gonorrhea can be treated with ciprofloxacin

A test designed by UCLA researchers can pinpoint which people with gonorrhea will respond successfully to the inexpensive oral antibiotic ciprofloxacin, which had previously been sidelined over concerns the bacterium that causes the infection was becoming resistant to it.

10 Aug 2020

Study shows how DNA from ancient ancestors was passed down to modern humans

According to a new study of ancient genomes, different branches of the human family tree could have interbred numerous times, and certain human beings carry DNA from an unfamiliar and ancient ancestor.

7 Aug 2020

Agricultural Research Service releases genomic data of Asian giant hornets

The first complete genome of the Asian giant hornet has been released by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

7 Aug 2020

Study indicates a powerful treatment for pulmonary fibrosis

A pre-clinical study led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's demonstrates that in mice the drug barasertib reverses the activation of fibroblasts that cause dangerous scar tissue to build up in the lungs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

7 Aug 2020

New device can help grow human gut bacteria that protect against inflammation

Several thousand strains of bacteria live in the human gut. Some of these are associated with disease, while others have beneficial effects on human health.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 7 Aug 2020

Study: Amyloid-beta alters cholesterol biosynthesis in early stages of Alzheimer’s

Korea Brain Research Institute (headed by Suh Pann-ghill) announced on July 24 the discovery that an increase in amyloid-beta in the brain alters cholesterol biosynthesis, which was found by Dr. Cheon Mookyung of KBRI through RNA-seq analysis data (omics) using AI.

7 Aug 2020