Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Latest Genetics and Genomics News and Research

High-Resolution Structures Illuminate the Chloroplast Protein Import Machinery in Plants

Two groundbreaking studies published in the journal Cell shed light on the assembly, function and evolutionary diversity of the chloroplast protein import system.

28 Aug 2024

A Breakthrough in RNA Therapy for Heart and Nervous System Diseases

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed new techniques to sculpt RNA molecules into circles that may result in more potent and long-lasting treatments.

27 Aug 2024

Innovative Stem Cell Research Unveils Glial Cell Dynamics in Multiple Sclerosis

Researchers from The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and Case Western Reserve University have discovered novel ways in which glia, by using the largest known collection of stem cell models from MS patients, essential brain support cells contribute to the disease.

27 Aug 2024

Nile Grass Rats Become New Model for CRISPR Genome Editing

A team of researchers at Michigan State University has discovered a set of methods that enabled the first successful CRISPR-based genome editing in Nile grass rats.

27 Aug 2024

Rare CCDC201 Genotype Significantly Affects Menopause Onset in Women

Scientists at deCODE genetics and collaborators, have identified a sequence variant in the CCDC201 gene that when inherited from both parents homozygous causes menopause on average nine years earlier.

27 Aug 2024

Computational Modeling and Experimental Findings on Nucleosome Constraining in Mitosis

Individual cells divide through a process called mitosis, during which the cell's copied DNA is separated between two resulting daughter cells. Despite recent advances in cell biology, the mechanism by which DNA condenses during mitosis is still poorly understood. Researchers recently tracked small stretches of DNA wound around histone proteins, called nucleosomes, to better characterize nucleosome behavior during cell division.

27 Aug 2024

Engineering Purple Bacteria for Enhanced Bioplastic Synthesis

In a world overrun by petroleum-based plastics, scientists are searching for alternatives that are more sustainable, more biodegradable and far less toxic to the environment.

27 Aug 2024

Cryo-EM Reveals CDCA7's Hemimethylation Sensing in Nucleosome Core Particles

DNA methylation, a process by which methyl groups are added to DNA molecules, is essential for the maintenance of DNA and the overall health of an organism. Disruptions in the standard DNA methylation patterns can lead to immunodeficiency and diseases such as cancer.

27 Aug 2024

Study Utilizes Flow Cytometry and Advanced Transcriptomics to Reveal Age-Related Defects in Thymic Regeneration

Research identifies two states of age-associated thymic epithelial cells, linking thymic degeneration to aging and injury, impacting immune system function.

26 Aug 2024

New Human Intestinal Immuno-Organoids Reveal Insights into Immune Cell Dynamics and Cancer Immunotherapy

Research on intestinal immuno-organoids reveals their potential in modeling immune interactions and studying intestinal diseases linked to cancer therapies.

26 Aug 2024

Clinical Trials Supported by Genetics Show Higher Success Rates

Analyzing 28,561 discontinued trials, the study reveals safety and efficacy concerns as major discontinuation factors, with genetics playing a crucial role.

23 Aug 2024

New Discovery in Mitochondrial DNA Regulation May Halt Heritable Disease Onset

University of Queensland researchers have discovered a mechanism in DNA that regulates how disease-causing mutations are inherited.

23 Aug 2024

New SPARXS Technique Revolutionizes DNA Sequence Analysis

"DNA, RNA and proteins are the key players to regulate all processes in the cells of our body," Leiden Professor John van Noort explains. "To understand the (mis-)functioning of these molecules, it is essential to uncover how their 3D structure depends on their sequence and for this it is necessary to measure them one molecule at a time. However, single-molecule measurements are laborious and slow, and the number of possible sequence variations is massive."

23 Aug 2024

Study Identifies Key Macrophage Subpopulations in MASH Progression and Regression

Formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is an inflammatory disease characterized by liver scarring or fibrosis that progressively impairs liver function.

23 Aug 2024

New Research Reveals Infrared Radiation as a Mosquito Host-Seeking Trigger

While a mosquito bite is often no more than a temporary bother, in many parts of the world it can be scary. One mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, spreads the viruses that cause over 100,000,000 cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other diseases every year. Another, Anopheles gambiae, spreads the parasite that causes malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria alone causes more than 400,000 deaths every year. Indeed, their capacity to transmit disease has earned mosquitoes the title of deadliest animal.

23 Aug 2024

Mitochondrial DNA 'Jumps' to Chromosomes, Potentially Impacting Lifespan

As direct descendants of ancient bacteria, mitochondria have always been a little alien.

23 Aug 2024

The Complex Link Between DNA Modification and ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease which remains incurable. The disease is characterized by the selective degeneration of upper motor neurons in the motor cortex as well as the lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. The cause of ALS remains unknown in 90 percent of cases, which are referred to as sporadic ALS because there is no family history for the disease. Cumulative evidence suggests that sporadic ALS may result from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and aging.

23 Aug 2024

The Role of DNA Repair Pathways in Antibody Somatic Hypermutation

In a recent online publication in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, researchers from the laboratory of Leng-Siew Yeap at the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine published a review article entitled "Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Lesion and Repair During Antibody Somatic Hypermutation". This review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms involved in the generation of antigen-specific diversified antibodies, with a particular focus on the mechanisms that generate high-frequency point mutations and low-frequency deletions and insertions (indels) in antibody genes.

22 Aug 2024

Study Reveals Dual Role of Skin Proteins in Strength and Cell Signaling

An extensive family of proteins that gives human skin mechanical strength also appears to organize molecular signals that control skin cell activity, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

22 Aug 2024

Mother's Gut Microbiome Key to Baby's Brain Development

A study in mice has discovered that the presence of Bifidobacterium breve bacteria in the mother's gut during pregnancy promotes healthy brain development in the fetus.

22 Aug 2024