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RNA Molecules Alter Genome Structure to Silence Critical Neuronal Genes During Stress

What if the brain's response to stress could be read not in fleeting neurotransmitter bursts, but in the quieting of genes deep inside chromatin? Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have now shown that stress hormones may silence crucial neuronal genes through an unexpected class of RNA molecules that operate not by encoding proteins, but by reshaping the genome's architecture.

5 Nov 2025

Scientists Uncover How "P Bodies" Guide Stem Cells to Their Destinies

How do stem cells know what to become? Nearly three decades after scientists isolated the first human embryonic stem cells, researchers are still working hard to understand precisely how a single, undifferentiated cell can become any one of the roughly 200 cell types that make up the human body.

4 Nov 2025

Enzyme BVRA Found to Shield Neurons from Oxidative Stress

New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that the enzyme biliverdin reductase A (BVRA) plays a direct protective role against oxidative stress in neurons, independent of its role producing the yellow pigment bilirubin.

4 Nov 2025

Weill Cornell Scientists Develop Safe and Precise Tool to Control Gene Activity

Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a versatile and non-toxic technology for controlling the activity of any gene in a cell. Such "gene-switch" tools allow scientists to "turn on" or "turn off" a target gene to study how it works, model diseases and design new therapies.

4 Nov 2025

Reactivating a Naturally Occurring Gene Promotes Heart Repair and Regeneration

A naturally occurring gene called Cyclin A2 (CCNA2), which turns off after birth in humans, can actually make new, functioning heart cells and help the heart repair itself from injury including a heart attack or heart failure when the gene is turned back on.

4 Nov 2025

Study Reveals Shared Genetic Roots Between ALS and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

Motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), share physical similarities but have been largely viewed as genetically distinct.

3 Nov 2025

Intracellular Compounds Offer Blueprint for Next-Generation Targeted Therapies

New research led by the University of Minnesota Medical School demonstrates that molecules acting as "molecular bumpers" and "molecular glues" can rewire G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, turning the cell's busiest receptors into precision tools - opening the door to a new generation of safer, smarter medicines.

3 Nov 2025

Cross-Ancestry Genomic Study Identifies Thirteen Genes Linked to Obesity

Obesity is a global epidemic affecting millions of people every day and is associated with comorbidities ranging from heart disease and Type 2 diabetes to osteoarthritis and social stigma.

31 Oct 2025

Genetic Variants Reveal Unexpected Link Between Obesity Risk and Cholesterol Levels

Individuals with a genetic profile that puts them at risk of obesity may not necessarily be at risk of having high cholesterol, UTHealth Houston researchers discovered.

31 Oct 2025

New Method Doubles Therapeutic Cell Production for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

If cancer is a disease of overabundance, where cells divide without restraint and tumors grow despite the body's best interests, then degenerative diseases are disorders of deprivation.

31 Oct 2025

Breakthrough Small Molecule Offers New Hope for Diabetes Treatment

Researchers from the University at Albany and NYU Grossman School of Medicine have found a way to block a key cellular pathway known to drive chronic inflammation and impaired wound healing in people with diabetes.

31 Oct 2025

Fruit Fly Study Reveals New Details on Alzheimer's Disease Risk Genes

Scientists have identified hundreds of genes that may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease but the roles these genes play in the brain are poorly understood.

30 Oct 2025

AI-Guided Protein Engineering Creates Smart Receptors for Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy, especially using T cells, is showing a lot of promise in treating blood cancers. Bioengineered T cells, especially those equipped with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T cells), have revolutionized cancer treatment.

29 Oct 2025

Retinal Implant Restores Sight for Patients With Macular Degeneration

A wireless photovoltaic implant shows promise in restoring central vision for patients with macular degeneration, enhancing visual acuity and independence.

29 Oct 2025

Electromagnetic Levitation Enables Noninvasive Sorting of Cancer and Healthy Cells

Stanford Medicine researchers invent an electromagnetic device that can gently sort different types of cells by levitating them to different heights.

28 Oct 2025

Mitochondria and Lysosomes Orchestrate Metabolic States of Regulatory T Cells

Metabolism guides the activation states of regulatory T cells, the immune cells that prevent inappropriate activation of the immune system.

27 Oct 2025

Understanding Interplay of Physiological Processes as the Brain Shifts from Wakefulness to Sleep

Findings from Mass General Brigham investigators highlight the intricate interplay of diverse physiological processes as the brain shifts from wakefulness to sleep.

27 Oct 2025

Disrupted Circadian Rhythms Alter Gene Activity in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease is notorious for scrambling patients' daily rhythms. Restless nights with little sleep and increased napping during the day are early indicators of disease onset, while sundowning, or confusion later in the day, is typical for later stages of the disease.

24 Oct 2025

Hidden RNA Inside a Gene Solves Decades-Old Telomere Mystery in Roundworms

An international research team led by Hiroki Shibuya at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan has solved a genetic mystery and revealed a previously unknown way that DNA can control what cells do.

24 Oct 2025

DNA Cassettes Enable Long-Lasting Antibody Production Directly Inside Patients

A multidisciplinary team of scientists led by The Wistar Institute, including Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, AstraZeneca and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, published today in Nature Medicine a breakthrough in biologic antibody production that happens directly in human subjects in this encouraging first clinical trial of its kind.

23 Oct 2025