Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Latest Genetics and Genomics News and Research

New insights into the distribution and regulation of meiotic DSB hotspots

A new method, DNA End tailing and sequencing (DEtail-seq), for meiotic DNA double-strand break (DSB) profiling was developed recently.

3 Mar 2023

CRISPR/Cas method could help save rice crops threatened by climate change

A review of gene editing techniques suggests that the CRISPR/Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas) method could be a possible 'savior' for rice crops threatened by climate change and high food demand.

3 Mar 2023

Uncovering the complete 3D structure of p53 protein

By inducing cell repair or self-destruction, the tumor suppressor protein p53, often known as “the guardian of the genome,” shields the body’s DNA from daily stress or long-term damage.

2 Mar 2023

An important piece of the puzzle of Europe's genetic history disclosed

Recent research discloses genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who inhabited what was most likely Europe’s warmest location during the last Ice Age.

2 Mar 2023

Stress response in mom leads to epigenetic change in children

Adding evidence to the importance of early development, a new study links neutral maternal behavior toward infants with an epigenetic change in children related to stress response.

2 Mar 2023

New signals of natural selection in humans identified

A team of global experts has discovered new signals of natural selection in humans.

2 Mar 2023

Novel way to block the death of nerve cells in MND

Scientists have found a novel way to block the transportation of mutant RNA and subsequent production of toxic repeat proteins which lead to the death of nerve cells in the most common subtypes of motor neurone disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

2 Mar 2023

Researchers find methods to awaken and revive neural stem cells

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and even elderly mice. These results, promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, are to be discovered in the journal Science Advances.

2 Mar 2023

New model, C. elegans, helps pursue research on Parkinson's disease

A tiny worm called the C. elegans is enabling scientists to explore the emerging theory that Parkinson's disease starts in the gut.

1 Mar 2023

Elaborating how amino acids shaped the genetic code of ancient microbes

Researchers discovered that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have identified how to evolve into anything alive on the planet today, including plants, animals, and humans, by mimicking early Earth conditions in the lab.

28 Feb 2023

Lieber Institute awarded $1 million grant to foster racial diversity across neuroscience

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development has received a $1 million, two-year grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support the work of the African Ancestry Neuroscience Research Initiative (AANRI) to promote racial equity throughout the field of neuroscience.

28 Feb 2023

Study shows how pesticides render certain strawberries bland

Have you ever bitten into a plump, red strawberry, only to find it bland and watery? Certain pesticides might be responsible. A team reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that two common strawberry fungicides can impact cellular mechanisms, creating berries with subdued flavor and sweetness, as well as a lower nutritional value.

28 Feb 2023

The relationship between cancer and DMD gene expression discovered

Mutations of the gene encoding dystrophins have long been known to cause the debilitating muscle-wasting disease DMD, which affects one in every 5,000 boys born. People with the condition will usually only live into their 20s or 30s.

28 Feb 2023

New method can rapidly detect COVID-19 infections with near-perfect accuracy

By inspecting the body's immune response at a molecular level, a research team has developed a new way to test patients for COVID-19.

28 Feb 2023

Redefining low-risk WNT-pathway medulloblastoma based on newer biological information

A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on February 7, 2023, entitled, "WNT-pathway medulloblastoma: what constitutes low-risk and how low can one go?"

28 Feb 2023

Experts reveal the link between necrosis, circulating tumor cells, and cancer metastasis

A tumor's necrotic core contains factors that appear to promote metastasis, or the seeding of tumors cells throughout the body, according to a new study in rats by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

28 Feb 2023

Effective and faster methodology detects RNA viruses based on the triplex-forming probe technology

Experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and the Aragon Nanoscience and Materials Institute of Aragon (INMA) -;a joint institute of the CSIC and the University of Zaragoza-; have developed a new method to detect RNA viruses based on the triplex-forming probe technology.

28 Feb 2023

Study reveals why the FMO5 gene produces an enzyme with a different activity

Our body produces lots of enzymes that break down toxic substances. One class of such enzymes are the flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs), which are present in all tetrapods. Humans have five different FMO genes, of which the first four display the same activity. However, the fifth FMO gene triggers a different breakdown reaction. University of Groningen biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of all tetrapod FMOs to show how this divergence has occurred. Their results appear on 24 February in Nature Communications.

28 Feb 2023

New center offers electron microscope services to the scientific community

The Joint Electron Microscopy Center at ALBA (JEMCA) was established through the collaboration of various research agencies to open a new center within the ALBA Synchrotron building that provides electron microscope assistance to the scientific community.

27 Feb 2023

Women over 50 with genetic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation face a high risk of cancer

Although genetic mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are associated with a younger onset of breast and ovarian cancer, women with these genetic mutations continue to face a high risk of cancer incidence after age 50, even if they have not been previously diagnosed with cancer.

27 Feb 2023