Genomics

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Black death and the development of immune genes

The Black Death, which wiped off up to 50% of the European population in less than five years, was the single-worst mortality catastrophe in recorded history.

21 Oct 2022

Meiotic drive systems can be maintained for long evolutionary timespans

Meiotic drivers, which are a sort of selfish gene, are, in fact, selfish. They are found in nearly all species’ genomes, including humans, and unfairly convey their genetic information to more than half of their offspring, resulting in infertility and impaired organism health.

21 Oct 2022

Native predatory fish may provide a form of biocontrol on invasive mullet species

Jacks and barracuda in Heʻeia fishpond were found to feed on Australian mullet, an invasive species introduced to Oahu waters in the 1950s.

20 Oct 2022

Saving ocean habitats with newer genomic technologies

In an essay published on October 17th, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, Madeleine van Oppen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Melbourne and Melinda Coleman of the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries argue that genetic and genomic technologies have tremendous potential for protecting marine life but are currently underutilized.

20 Oct 2022

New gene linked to the growth of colon cancer discovered

Researchers at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute have discovered a new gene that is crucial to the development of colon cancer and established that inflammation in the region surrounding the tumor can contribute to the development of tumor cells.

20 Oct 2022

Novel method for comparing single-cell trajectories with tree alignment

The genes that are activated in a single cell can now be determined thanks to advances in high-throughput biological studies. However, interpreting the resulting complex datasets might be difficult.

From Osaka University 20 Oct 2022

Harsh parenting leads to depression later in life

Strict parenting can influence how the body reads the children’s DNA. These modifications can become “hard-wired” into the DNA of kids who consider their parents to be harsh, enhancing their biological risk for depression in adolescence and later life.

20 Oct 2022

Innovative method opens myriad new avenues for understanding the biology behind COVID-19

A highly innovative method using the latest technology has generated a comprehensive list of SARS-CoV-2 viral and human proteins that interact with each other, with one such interaction showing the virus directly influencing proteins that regulate the human immune system.

18 Oct 2022

An accurate overview of gene activity could provide targeted therapies

Normal gene activity in the afflicted cells is changed during pathological events. Therefore, obtaining a precise picture of gene activity could hold the key to the creation of new, targeted therapies.

18 Oct 2022

Prolonged longevity in mice with gene clusters

Numerous candidate genes that affect longevity have recently been found, according to research from the Interventions Testing Program, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

14 Oct 2022

High-quality chromosome-level reference genome for A. gigantea

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, Aldabra giant tortoises are in danger of extinction, which means the species stands a high risk of extinction in the wild.

14 Oct 2022

Newly discovered small blue fish may have evolved from cold-adapted species of the Southern Ocean

The Atacama Trench is a deep-water channel running along the Pacific coast of Chili and Peru, South America. In 2018, an international team of scientists used free-falling "landers" to study the trench, gathering images and specimens of deep-sea creatures.

13 Oct 2022

Two endemic Ochrosia species turn out to be kindred strangers

When classifying two species of the same flowering plant, the similarities and differences between them are considered.

13 Oct 2022

Genetic speciation method to make new hybrid species

The evolution of a new species by hybridization from two already described species without a change in chromosome number is very rare in the animal kingdom.

12 Oct 2022

A more efficient way to deliver gene therapies to the CNS

For gene therapy, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a formidable obstacle. The BBB, which is made up of cells that are closely packed together, prevents poisons and pathogens from accessing brain tissue while also blocking potential treatments for diseases that impact the CNS.

12 Oct 2022

Building designer plant cuticles with important protective functions

Scientists are working to bioengineer a common defense mechanism that most plants develop naturally to protect against drought, insects and other environmental stresses.

11 Oct 2022

Adults with congenital blindness experience striking recoveries of night vision after gene therapy

Adults with a genetic form of childhood-onset blindness experienced striking recoveries of night vision within days of receiving an experimental gene therapy, according to researchers at the Scheie Eye Institute in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

11 Oct 2022