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A novel approach to identify cancer targets using 'synthetic lethality'

With advances in genome sequencing, cancer treatments have increasingly sought to leverage the idea of "synthetic lethality," exploiting cancer-specific genetic defects to identify targets that are uniquely essential to the survival of cancer cells.

28 Jul 2020

EBV viral genome modifies the host epigenetic landscape to promote gastric cancer

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), one of the most common human viruses, is associated with about 8-10 per cent of stomach -- or gastric -- cancers, the third leading cause of cancer death globally.

28 Jul 2020

Artificial intelligence-based process can help design novel proteins

Proteins are known to perform complex tasks and catalyze chemical reactions, making them crucial for cell survival.

27 Jul 2020

Rare gene mutation eliminates immune cell population

A study has allowed researchers to identify a rare human gene mutation that removes a population of immune cells, called mucosal-associated invariant T cells.

27 Jul 2020

Genome editing technologies can help understand disease-associated genetic mutations

Scientists have developed novel genome-editing technology that could help understand disease-related genetic mutations based on C-to-G single base variations.

27 Jul 2020

Epigenomic data can help characterize genes that play key role in cancer progression

As cancer cells evolve, many of their genes become overactive while others are turned down. These genetic changes can help tumors grow out of control and become more aggressive, adapt to changing conditions, and eventually lead the tumor to metastasize and spread elsewhere in the body.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 24 Jul 2020

New startup launched to overcome the challenge of delivering next-generation therapeutics

Harvard University's Office of Technology Development (OTD) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health today announced the launch of Vesigen Therapeutics, a startup company that aims to overcome the challenge of delivering next-generation therapeutics, such as gene-editing complexes, RNA molecules, and other large proteins, to intracellular targets in specific tissues of interest.

23 Jul 2020

New pathways that could help treat RNA viruses discovered

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have identified new pathways in an RNA-based virus where inhibitors, like medical treatments, unbind.

23 Jul 2020

Simple DNA repeats can be the basis for genetic computers

Dr. Herbert asks what if our genome was far smarter than everyone previously believed? What if in the many DNA repeat elements lay the foundation for building a novel type of biocomputer?

22 Jul 2020

Novel genetic measure could improve screening for osteoporosis

An international team of scientists has developed a novel genetic measure that could dramatically improve how doctors assess the risk of sustaining a fracture due to osteoporosis or fragility.

22 Jul 2020

Chronic inflammation disrupts tissue structure of the colon, study finds

In a new study, researchers have compared diseased colon with healthy tissue to better understand how inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancers, at a molecular level.

22 Jul 2020

Advanced cryo-EM reveals stunning details of viral RNA replication complex structure

For the first time, scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have generated near atomic resolution images of a major viral protein complex responsible for replicating the RNA genome of a member of the positive-strand RNA viruses, the large class of viruses that includes coronaviruses and many other pathogens.

21 Jul 2020

Small, compact Cas proteins found in bacteriophages are ideal for gene editing

The DNA-cutting proteins central to CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene-editing tools originally came from bacteria, but a newfound variety of Cas proteins apparently evolved in viruses that infect bacteria.

20 Jul 2020

Study shows how proteins prevent DNA replication errors

Two rereading proteins on the DNA assembly line collectively work as an emergency stop button to inhibit replication errors.

20 Jul 2020

Genetic sequencing can reveal evolutionary differences in reef-building corals

Globally, the rising water temperatures caused by pollution and global warming have impacted the coral reefs that are dwindling at an alarming speed.

20 Jul 2020

Study: High levels of iron in the blood can prevent age-related damage

Genes linked to ageing that could help explain why some people age at different rates to others has been identified by scientists.

17 Jul 2020

Hypercompact CRISPR enzyme from bacteriophages expands genome editing toolbox

A recently discovered hypercompact CRISPR enzyme found only in huge bacteriophages, and known as CRISPR-CasΦ, is functional, a new study by Patrick Pausch, Jennifer Doudna and colleagues reports, and it provides a powerful new tool in the CRISPR genome editing toolbox, including because it can target a wider range of genetic sequences compared to Cas9 and Cas12

17 Jul 2020