Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Latest Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Breastfeeding May Lead To Fewer Human Viruses In Infants

Small amounts of breastmilk influence viral populations in the infant's gut and provide a protective effect against potentially pathogenic viruses.

17 Apr 2020

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Secrets Of Schizophrenia

Most research about the genetics of schizophrenia has sought to understand the role that genes play in the development and heritability of schizophrenia.

17 Apr 2020

Molecular network underlies the structures of critical cellular compartments

Networks are at the heart of everything from communications systems to pandemics. Now researchers have found that a unique type of network also underlies the structures of critical cellular compartments known as membraneless organelles.

16 Apr 2020

UTSW researchers solve structure of key protein involved in muscle contraction

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the detailed shape of a key protein involved in muscle contraction.

16 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

Identifying Potential Drugs Earlier In Discovery

Scientists have developed a technique that could significantly reduce the time of discovering potential new antibody-based drugs to treat disease.

16 Apr 2020

Improving drug targets for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers have found that immune T cells exhibit a range of responsiveness. This finding could offer insights into how the immune system of humans responds to infections and cancer, and what goes wrong in immune diseases.

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

Genetic architecture of life span is context dependent, study finds

Scientists believe about 25 percent of the differences in human life span is determined by genetics -- with the rest determined by environmental and lifestyle factors. But they don't yet know all the genes that contribute to a long life.

15 Apr 2020

Molecular causes of brain asymmetry revealed

Scientists may have solved one of the most puzzling and persistent mysteries in neuroscience: why some people are "right-brained" while others are "left-brained."

15 Apr 2020

Study offers insight into exchange of drug resistance genes among bacteria

Researchers have been able to identify and track the exchange of genes among bacteria that allow them to become resistant to drugs, according to a new study published today in eLife.

15 Apr 2020

How human cells recognize undesirable guests

Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders.

15 Apr 2020

Plant genes control microbiome diversity inside leaves to stay healthy

In a new study, published in the journal Nature, Michigan State University scientists show how plant genes select which microbes get to live inside their leaves in order to stay healthy.

14 Apr 2020

Clock protein moves in sync with temperature to coordinate rhythms in shoots, roots

Five years ago, researchers from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics led by the CSIC Research Professor Paloma Mas made the breakthrough discovery that the circadian clocks in the growing tip of the plant shoot function in a similar way to the clocks in the mammalian brain, which in both cases are able to synchronize the daily rhythms of the cells in distal organs.

14 Apr 2020