Genomics

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Reef fish flip a genetic switch in response to warming seas

Reef fish species uniquely respond to climate change, with some more vulnerable than others.

23 Apr 2020

Understanding evolution of early life may be trickier than previously thought

Biologists have long hoped to understand the nature of the earliest living organisms on Earth. If they could, they might then be able to say something about how, when, and where life arose on Earth, and perhaps by extension, whether life is common in the Universe.

23 Apr 2020

DNA may not be the 'blueprint' for life, just a scrambled list of ingredients

The common view of heredity is that all information passed down from one generation to the next is stored in an organism's DNA. But Antony Jose, associate professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, disagrees.

23 Apr 2020

Researchers develop new molecular workflow to study single-cell genomics of diseases

Although advances in genetics and genomics reveal numerous disease-associated gene mutations, physicians and researchers still wrestle with the tricky challenge of linking those mutations to actual disease-causing processes.

23 Apr 2020

Reference genes could lead to genetic improvement in wheat

Wheat sustains the world. The FAO has stated that wheat is one of the main crops in the world, both in terms of scope and production, and it is also one of the rich sources of vegetable protein and carbohydrates in the human diet.

23 Apr 2020

Researchers use CRISPR/Cas9 to search for Alzheimer's-related genes

Experts at the University of Tokyo have identified a new protein in the pathway that leads to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers used the "molecular scissors" of CRISPR/Cas9 to search for new genes related to the neurodegenerative disease.

22 Apr 2020

Scientists find gene signature linked to worst prognosis in rare uterine cancer

Women who don't survive a rare and aggressive uterine cancer called uterine serous carcinoma, have high expression of a group of 73 genes, a score scientists say can help identify these women and improve their outcome.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers analyze genomic diversifications of five cotton lineages

Come harvest time, the cotton fields look like popcorn is literally growing on plants, with fluffy white bolls bursting out of the green pods in every direction.

21 Apr 2020

A ‘virtual embryo’ for unprecedented single-cell studies

Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg and from the University of Padua School of Medicine have created the first complete description of early embryo development, accounting for every single cell in the embryo.

21 Apr 2020

Researchers use genome-wide CRISPR technology to identify leukemia's weakness

A team of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used CRISPR technology to identify key regulators of aggressive chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that remains difficult to treat and is marked by frequent relapse.

From UC San Diego 21 Apr 2020

Genetic variability of immune system affects severity of COVID-19

Genetic variations in the immune system of humans may have an impact on the vulnerability to, and severity of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

20 Apr 2020

Advanced simulations show how to improve efficiency of gene therapy

Diseases with a genetic cause could, in theory, be treated by supplying a correct version of the faulty gene.

20 Apr 2020

Novel protein facilitates a critical event in mammalian fertilization

Fertilization is a fundamental process in sexual reproduction when the combination of male and female gametes blends genetic material to create a new unique individual. Now, researchers from Japan have identified a new factor that may help orchestrate this vitally complex life event.

From Osaka University 17 Apr 2020

Scents regulate fat metabolism without affecting feeding habits

Dr. Ayse Sena Mutlu, a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor's Huffington Center On Aging, had an intriguing question. Is it possible to change the body's fat storage without changing eating habits?

17 Apr 2020

Study clears potential obstacle to using gene drive strategy to control mosquitoes

New research from entomologists at UC Davis clears a potential obstacle to using CRISPR-Cas9 "gene drive" technology to control mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and Zika.

From The University of California, Davis 17 Apr 2020

Rare structural genetic variants could play a role in schizophrenia

Most of the research focused on the genetics of schizophrenia has aimed at understanding the function played by genes in the development and heritability of schizophrenia.

17 Apr 2020

Study shows how vulnerable cells armor themselves against infection

Cells in some of the body's most vulnerable entry routes to bacterial infection buffer themselves when the immune system detects danger by reorganizing the cholesterol on their surfaces, a new study led by UTSW scientists suggests.

16 Apr 2020

New mathematical model to characterize long-term evolutionary scenarios

Species under a taxonomic umbrella often go through adaptation or face extinction when they encounter a division in the path, and the road that is taken has been hard to track.

16 Apr 2020

New study on transposable elements could help advance understanding of genetic evolution

There has been very little knowledge of ways in which transposable elements play a role in gene regulation. Transposable elements are small DNA pieces with the ability to replicate and scatter themselves in the genome.

16 Apr 2020

New algorithm predicts the evolution of genetic mutations in species

David McCandlish and Juannan Zhou, both quantitative biologists at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, have designed a new algorithm that has predictive power, providing researchers the ability to observe the way particular genetic mutations combine to make crucial proteins change over the duration of a species’ evolution.

16 Apr 2020