Genetics News and Research

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Genetics is the study of genes and heredity. Heredity is the passing of genetic information and traits (such as eye color and an increased chance of getting a certain disease) from parents to offspring.

Identification of Unique Proteins That Might be Body Weight Regulators

Genetic factors may account for up to 50% of the diversity in body mass index, or BMI, in the population.

5 Apr 2023

DELLA Proteins: The Road to the Next Green Revolution

Despite being largely unchanged for over 450 million years, a family of “promiscuous” proteins that are present in all land plants is responsible for a wide range of plant activities.

5 Apr 2023

SoyOmics: An Innovative Framework of Multi-omics Database for Soybean

A major source of plant oil and protein for humans is the soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), a crop cultivated all over the globe. The main objective for geneticists and breeders is to increase soybean production and quality.

5 Apr 2023

Study Offers New Insight into Genetic Factors Behind Premature Delivery and Gestational Duration

New knowledge of the genetic factors behind premature delivery and gestational duration has now emerged.

4 Apr 2023

Jumping Genes in Various Cancers may be Used to Direct Novel Immunotherapies to Tumors

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that transposable elements in various cancers potentially may be used to harness novel immunotherapies against tumors that don't typically respond to immune-based treatments. Shown is a 3D rendering of cancer cells.

4 Apr 2023

First Steps Driving Antibiotic Resistance Discovered

Antibiotic resistance is a global health threat. In 2019 alone, an estimated 1.3 million deaths were attributed to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections worldwide.

3 Apr 2023

Previously unknown telomere and cancer connection to the immune system revealed

Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say their 20-year study of more than 200 people with premature aging syndromes caused by abnormally short telomeres, or shortened repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes, may upend long-held scientific dogma and settle conflicting studies about how and whether short telomeres contribute to cancer risk.

31 Mar 2023

Research shows how the fruit fly gut builds a cozy niche to selectively promote colonization

The digestive tract of fruit flies remodels itself to accommodate beneficial microbiome species and maintain long-term stability of the gut environment, according to new research led by Carnegie's William Ludington and Allan Spradling.

30 Mar 2023

Ancient DNA reveals African founders intermingled with southwest Asian people around 1000 CE

While serfs toiled and knights jousted in Europe and samurai and shoguns rose to power in Japan, the medieval peoples of the Swahili civilization on the coast of East Africa lived in multicultural, coral-stone towns and engaged in trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean.

30 Mar 2023

Study expands understanding of PAK1-related IDDMSSD

A recent study from Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine has expanded the clinical spectrum of a new epileptic disorder called Intellectual Developmental Disorder with Macrocephaly, Seizures, and Speech Delay (IDDMSSD) with the identification of the first recurrently affected residue identified in the protein kinase domain of PAK1 protein.

30 Mar 2023

Genetic welding: Evolutionary meddling with genes

With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations.

29 Mar 2023

Evolution driven by genetic engineering should be known as ‘genetic welding’ to draw scientific and ethical scrutiny

In an opinion paper, evolutionary geneticist Asher Cutter highlights the importance of coining the term ‘genetic welding’ for the anthropogenic manipulation of genetic drive made possible by tools such as CRISPR-Cas9.

29 Mar 2023

Analyzing the GmZF351 transgenic soybean plants and their stress tolerance

Across the globe, soybean is considered to be an important food, oil, and feed crop worldwide.

29 Mar 2023

Key gene involved in crop alkaline tolerance discovered

Chinese scientists have identified a key gene involved in crop alkaline tolerance that may greatly improve crop yield in sodic environments through the use of genetic engineering.

24 Mar 2023

New breakthrough in controlling plant responses to temperature

UC Riverside scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet.

24 Mar 2023

Common Epstein-Barr virus may be a trigger for multiple sclerosis

In 1868, French physician Jean-Martin Charcot, known as the founder of modern neurology, defined a disease entity in which multiple plaques formed in the brain and spinal cord, with varying physical symptoms, called Sclérose en plaques, or in English as multiple sclerosis (MS).

24 Mar 2023

Eye color genes play important roles in maintaining retinal health

Metabolic pathways consist of a series of biochemical reactions in cells that convert a starting component into other products.

24 Mar 2023

Wearable microscopes produce real-time images of mouse spinal cord activity

The spinal cord acts as a messenger, carrying signals between the brain and body to regulate everything from breathing to movement.

23 Mar 2023

Uncovering the evolutionary history of wheat during the Holocene

Over 35% of the world’s population is nourished by wheat, which includes bread wheat and its relatives. Wheat has been cultivated for more than 10,000 years, beginning with the “Neolithic Revolution,” and is one of the earliest ancient crops to emerge in the Fertile Crescent.

21 Mar 2023