Genetics News and Research

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Genetics is the study of genes and heredity. Heredity is the passing of genetic information and traits (such as eye color and an increased chance of getting a certain disease) from parents to offspring.

OHSU Team Identifies Gene Essential for Brain's Protective Layer

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a gene that is critical to the brain’s ability to form myelin, a protective layer around nerves, potentially leading to new treatments for an extremely uncommon childhood disorder and more common diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

23 Jul 2025

AgriLife Research Scientist Helps Crack Genome of a Soft Tick

Scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Baylor College of Medicine have sequenced the genome of the disease-spreading soft tick.

23 Jul 2025

Researchers Combine AI and CRISPR to Rejuvenate Ovarian Function

Ovarian aging, characterized by diminishing egg reserves and quality, affects millions of women worldwide, often leading to infertility.

21 Jul 2025

Study Reveals Surprising Redundancy in Staph Metabolism

In the ongoing battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, MSU researchers have made a discovery that could reshape how we target deadly pathogens like staph infections.

17 Jul 2025

Paternal miRNAs Play Unexpected Role in Seed Viability and Embryogenesis

By using targeted gene silencing in different pollen cell types, the study reveals that disrupting DCL1 function either in the vegetative cell or in sperm cells leads to defective seed formation.

14 Jul 2025

Scientists Uncover How New Genes Are Switched On in Fruit Flies

Most genes are ancient and shared across species. But a small subset of genes are relative newcomers, spontaneously emerging from stretches of DNA that once encoded nothing at all.

14 Jul 2025

LINE1 Retrotransposon Found to Exploit Dormant Protein in Human Cells

An international research team led by Freiburg biologists Dr. Wenjing Qi and Prof. Ralf Baumeister has discovered how the LINE1 retrotransposon exploits a cell protein to become active itself, as occurs in tumors.

14 Jul 2025

Bacteria Show Unexpected Flexibility in Building Their Cell Walls

Closely related bacterial species use different strategies to build their cell walls, an international team of scientists led by Université de Montréal microbiology professor Yves Brun has found.

10 Jul 2025

New Global Platform Aims to Standardize and Improve Single-Cell Analysis

Researchers from more than 50 international institutions have launched Open Problems (https://openproblems.bio), a collaborative open-source platform to benchmark, improve, and run competitions for computational methods in single-cell genomics.

8 Jul 2025

New Multi Omics Database Advances Chrysanthemum Research and Breeding

The Asteraceae family boasts more than 25,000 species, with chrysanthemums ranking among its most iconic and economically valuable members. Having been cultivated for over three millennia in China and beyond, these plants hold deep cultural, medicinal, and horticultural significance.

4 Jul 2025

Study Links Cell Surface Receptor Pairing to Proper Embryonic Body Shape

During animal development, cells divide and arrange themselves in a coordinated way, eventually forming the embryo.

4 Jul 2025

Uncovering the Gut Virome's Role in Health and Disease

The human gut is home to trillions of microbes, yet scientific understanding has largely focused on bacteria, leaving the virome—the community of viruses—relatively uncharted.

4 Jul 2025

Mapping Thousands of Conserved Gene Groups Across Grasses

A new computational biology pipeline has mapped out over 13,000 groups of protein-coding genes conserved across grasses, offering a powerful tool for researchers investigating gene function in these economically and ecologically vital species.

2 Jul 2025

New Clues Reveal How Multicellularity Evolved in Early Animals

Animals, from worms and sponges to jellyfish and whales, contain anywhere from a few thousand to tens of trillions of nearly genetically identical cells.

2 Jul 2025

New Chordata Olfactory Receptor Database Offers Insight into the Genetics of Scent

Olfactory receptors (ORs) are key to how animals perceive their surroundings, guiding behaviors like foraging, mating, and avoiding danger.

1 Jul 2025

Chromosome Imbalance Disrupts Mitochondria Through Protein Aggregates

It has been known for several years that abnormal chromosome numbers lead to protein imbalances in the affected cells. Researchers at RPTU have now investigated the detailed effects of such imbalances.

30 Jun 2025

Worm Species Reveal Deep Genetic Similarities Across Evolutionary Time

Two species of worms, separated by 20 million years of evolution, have been found to activate their genes in nearly identical ways as they develop from a single cell to a fully formed organism.

27 Jun 2025

Tracing the Genetic Mosaic of India Through Ancient Ancestry and Modern Genomes

India's population is genetically one of the most diverse in the world, yet it remains underrepresented in global datasets.

27 Jun 2025

RNases Play Pivotal Role in Shaping the Molecular Foundation of Mendelian Disorders

A new review brings to light the pivotal role of ribonucleases (RNases) in shaping the molecular foundation of Mendelian disorders.

26 Jun 2025

Fusion Genes Emerge as Key Drivers in Cancer Development

Fusion genes, arising from abnormal chromosomal rearrangements, are gaining recognition as pivotal players in cancer development. These genetic alterations result in the creation of hybrid genes with altered functions, often driving tumor progression.

25 Jun 2025