Genetic News and Research

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New Technology can Help Probe the Connections Between the Brain and Gut

The brain and the digestive tract are in constant communication, relaying signals that help to control feeding and other behaviors.

23 Jun 2023

New Approach to Revolutionize Synthetic Biology

For the first time, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of the Department of Energy (Berkeley Lab) have created a genome-scale method to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that are essential for controlling gene expression, and a plant’s physiological features.

22 Jun 2023

Elaborate 3D Structures of DNA That Mimics Protein Functions

According to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, DNA can imitate protein activities by folding into complex, three-dimensional structures.

22 Jun 2023

Loss of the Y Chromosome Impairs Body's Ability to Fight Cancer

According to recent Cedars-Sinai Cancer research, as men age, some of their cells lose the very feature that makes them biological males—the Y chromosome—and this loss impairs the body’s ability to fight cancer.

22 Jun 2023

New Automated Machine Learning Tool to Design and Interpret Biological Sequences

The amount of data generated by scientists today is massive, thanks to the falling costs of sequencing technology and the increasing amount of available computing power.

22 Jun 2023

Cells with “Jumping Genes” Self-Destruct in the Early Stages of Development

A previously unknown type of cell that self-destructs within days of forming as part of a quality control procedure to protect the growing fetus has been found by researchers studying gene activity data of the early human embryo.

21 Jun 2023

Albino Squid Illuminates Cephalopod Brain Activity

A team of researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has successfully engineered an albino strain of Euprymna berryi, the hummingbird bobtail squid.

21 Jun 2023

Scientists Discover New Embryonic Cell Type that Self-Destructs to Protect the Developing Embryo

Scientists studying gene activity data of the early human embryo have discovered an overlooked type of cell which self-destructs within days of forming, as part of a quality control process to protect the developing foetus.

21 Jun 2023

Review: Role of Alternative Splicing Defects in Major Neurodegenerative Diseases

Alternative splicing, a clever way a cell generates many different variations of messenger RNAs -; single-stranded RNAs involved in protein synthesis -; and proteins from the same stretch of DNA, plays an important role in molecular biology.

21 Jun 2023

Scientists Discover Candidate Genes for Disease Resistance in Wild Grape Plants

A team of scientists – including UC Irvine's Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Brandon Gaut and UC Davis' Professors of Viticulture & Enology Dario Cantù and Andy Walker – has made a significant breakthrough in the battle against a devastating disease affecting grapevines.

20 Jun 2023

Detailed Genome Map to Prevent the Extinction of the Rusty Patched Bumblebee

Scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have released a comprehensive, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bees’ genome, supplying new approaches for saving the native pollinator from extinction.

20 Jun 2023

New Method Provides Near-Perfect Control Over the Manipulation of Individual Molecules

Aleksandra Radenovic, Head of the School of Engineering’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology, has spent years working to enhance nanopore technology, which primarily involves a molecule like DNA through a tiny pore in a membrane to quantify an ionic current.

20 Jun 2023

Establishing the Flour Reference Proteome for Five Wheat Species

The protein composition of the five types of wheat—einkorn, emmer, spelt, durum, and common wheat—and their varieties differ widely.

20 Jun 2023

Study Reveals Genetic Underpinnings That Allow Highland Mice to Protect Developing Fetuses

Pregnancy at high elevations often is associated with low birth weights and other complications. These challenges occur in a wide range of mammals, from deer mice to human beings.

19 Jun 2023

Understanding How Genes Predispose Humans to Allergies

New research is expanding the scientific understanding of why some people are more allergic than others. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine discovered how genetic changes that modify a specific protein called ETS1 can affect our body’s response to allergens.

16 Jun 2023

Small RNA Identified as Regulator During Bacterial Infection

Infection risk is always there in those with compromised immune systems. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a typical environmental bacterium, can colonize several body areas, including the lungs.

15 Jun 2023

Investigating the Neandertal Origin of Dupuytren’s Disease

Recent research published by Oxford University Press in Molecular Biology and Evolution demonstrates that Dupuytren’s disease is partially Neandertal in origin.

15 Jun 2023

Discovering a Novel Method to Determine the Parent Species of Hybrids

For those who have maintained a garden, hybrids are well-known, from disease-resistant tomatoes to Stargazer lilies.

14 Jun 2023

cBAF Protein Complex Controls the Fate of T Cells

The immune system protects the body from intruders, like bacteria, viruses, or tumors, with its intricate network of proteins, cells, and organs. Cytotoxic T cells are specialized immune cells that can grow into short-lived effector cells that destroy infected or malignant cells in human bodies.

14 Jun 2023

Heat-Damaged DNA in Food Linked to Possible Genetic Risks

Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that's been damaged by the cooking process.

14 Jun 2023