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.

Researchers identify gene related to seed dispersal in green millet

For years, Elizabeth (Toby) Kellogg, PhD, member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator and other researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center) drove up and down the highways of the continental United States, occasionally pulling over to the side of the road to collect small weedy plants and bring them back to the lab.

6 Oct 2020

Study finds how the malaria parasite can withstand fever's heat

Even when a person suffering from malaria is burning up with fever and too sick to function, the tiny blood-eating parasites lurking inside them continue to flourish, relentlessly growing and multiplying as they gobble up the host's red blood cells.

6 Oct 2020

Cancer mutations occur in distinct patterns based on 3D structure of the genome

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has discovered that mutations found in cancers do not accumulate randomly, but are found in distinct patterns that vary based on the three-dimensional organization of the genome in the cell as well as the underlying factors causing the mutations.

6 Oct 2020

Study shows patients can benefit from personalized cancer therapy

Scientists have shown that patients, who are receiving care for cancer, have a greater chance of surviving if they received personalized cancer treatment.

From UC San Diego 5 Oct 2020

Novel tool can screen cereal crops for frost damage

Agricultural scientists and engineers at the University of Adelaide have identified a potential new tool for screening cereal crops for frost damage.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers map genetic networks controlling human regulatory T cell identity

Unlike most T cells, which launch immune responses against foreign molecules, regulatory T cells are the peacekeepers of the human immune system, damping down inflammatory reactions when they're not needed.

5 Oct 2020

Scientists discover new genes and brain circuits crucial for short-term memory

A mice study has revealed a novel gene that is crucial for short-term memory but works in a part of the brain that is not usually linked to memory.

5 Oct 2020

Study offers clues to optimize defense tactics against viruses

Science's pursuits of unraveling how human cells fight viral infections kicked into high gear in 2020 with the devastating emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

30 Sep 2020

Epigenetic alterations drive late-onset Alzheimer's disease

New findings suggest that late-onset Alzheimer's Disease is driven by epigenetic changes -- how and when certain genes are turned on and off -- in the brain. Results were published today in Nature Genetics.

29 Sep 2020

Scientists identify a novel approach to regulate cell plasticity

Cell plasticity is a property by which a cell can take on different and reversible identities. Cell plasticity is also essential for embryo development and for the correct function of the immune system.

29 Sep 2020

Cocaine addiction: Impact of genetic mutations elucidated

Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available.

28 Sep 2020

Study may help develop new immunotherapies for different types of tumors

A team of researchers have plotted the genes that enable cancer cells to avoid being destroyed by the immune system.

From University of Toronto 25 Sep 2020

Scientists create the first atlas of human heart cells

Ka-thump. Ka-thump. Ka-thump. Though we barely notice it most of the time, the steady beating of a human heart is an amazingly complex performance.

25 Sep 2020

Study identifies genetic mutation linked with fibromuscular dysplasia

Understanding of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), a rare blood vessel disease, is making the jump from the laboratory to the clinic with new findings about a genetic variant.

25 Sep 2020

New data shows immunotherapy is beneficial for patients with gastric, esophageal cancers

New data presented at ESMO 2020 have shown that immunotherapy is beneficial for patients with gastric and esophageal cancers who currently have poor survival. (1-3)

24 Sep 2020

Genetic data reveals link between obesity-related genes and rheumatoid arthritis

An analysis of genetic data collected from more than 850,000 individuals of European ancestry has found a link between obesity-related genes and rheumatoid arthritis.

24 Sep 2020

Researchers discover novel genes for human deafness in Israeli families

Until now, seven genes were known to be involved in hearing loss in Israel's Jewish population. A new study led by Zippora Brownstein, PhD, and Prof. Karen Avraham from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University has found that 32 genes are responsible for inherited hearing loss in Israeli Jewish families.

24 Sep 2020