Genetic News and Research

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Carriers of Recessive Disorders Face Hidden Health and Reproductive Problems

As a group, carriers of recessive disorders are slightly less healthy and have a reduced chance of having offspring.

16 May 2025

Breakthrough Study Identifies Unique Breast Cancer Genes in South African Women

Genetic factors contribute to some 30% of breast cancer cases in SA, necessitating investment in genomic research in African contexts.

16 May 2025

New 3D Stem Cell Model Mimics Human Amniotic Sac Development

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a new stem cell model of the mature human amniotic sac, which replicates development of the tissues supporting the embryo from two to four weeks after fertilization.

16 May 2025

Scientists Develop EvoCAST for Efficient and Accurate Gene Insertion

Ask scientists what gene editing tool is most needed to advance gene therapy, and they'd probably describe a system that's now close to realization in the labs of Samuel Sternberg at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and David Liu at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

16 May 2025

Real Time RNA Tracking in Plants Using Fluorescent Biosensors

RNA acts as a messenger inside cells, carrying instructions from DNA that are translated into proteins that are essential for how cells function.

15 May 2025

Variance Analysis Enhances Genetic Risk Prediction for Blood Cell Traits

A Nature Communications study shows that incorporating variance polygenic scores (vPGS) and variance QTLs (vQTLs) improves genetic risk prediction for blood-related diseases, offering new insight into phenotype variability and lifestyle factors like alcohol intake.

15 May 2025

Viral circRNAs Sponge Up Host miRNAs to Weaken Immune Response

In a significant breakthrough, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the human immunodeficiency type 1 virus (HIV-1) to evade the body’s natural defenses, thereby facilitating its survival and replication.

14 May 2025

DiffInvex Reveals Genetic Escape Routes Used by Tumors Against Treatment

Just as species adapt over generations, our body's cells accumulate DNA changes throughout life. Most are harmless, yet a few "driver" mutations give a cell a competitive edge and can spark cancer.

14 May 2025

Precision Mitochondrial DNA Editing Emerges as a Breakthrough in Neurological Care

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) editing has emerged as a revolutionary approach in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs).

13 May 2025

Unraveling How E. histolytica Kills Cells and Evades the Immune System

Understanding how E. histolytica attacks human cells and evades immunity is crucial for developing effective treatments and vaccines against this parasite.

13 May 2025

Millennia-Old Mutation Provides Clues to Modern HIV Immunity

What connections exist between a millennia-old human from the Black Sea region and contemporary HIV medicine?

12 May 2025

Unraveling the Genetic Basis of Biosurfactant Production in an Oil-Degrading Bacterium

The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis consumes oil and proliferates rapidly following oil spills, thereby enhancing the removal of pollution in many instances.

12 May 2025

Cryo-EM Reveals Protein-Free RNA Structures in Bacterial Cells

Cryogenic electron microscopy showed for the first time that large RNA complexes can assemble without the help of proteins, expanding our understanding of RNA folding and function.

10 May 2025

Scientists Use AI to Predict Future Viruses and Design Better Vaccines

Effective vaccines dramatically changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing illness, reducing disease severity, and saving millions of lives.

10 May 2025

Genes Influence When Babies Start Walking, Study Finds

Researchers examined over 70,000 infants’ genomic information in the first research of its kind. Eleven genetic markers were found to influence when babies begin to walk, providing a number of possibilities for more in-depth biological research.

8 May 2025

Identifying Key Genetic Elements for Plasmid Curing in E. coli

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have pinpointed crucial genetic sequences involved in a technique known as plasmid curing, which aims to “displace” antibiotic resistance genes from bacteria.

7 May 2025

Same Gene Mutations Can Require Different Treatments in Autism and Schizophrenia

For patients with disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, mutations in the same gene could require different treatments, according to new research from Yale School of Medicine (YSM).

6 May 2025

Shift Work Impairs Muscle Clocks, Potentially Speeding Up Age-Related Decline

Muscle cells possess their circadian clocks, and research indicates that disrupting these clocks through shift work can significantly affect the aging process.

6 May 2025

Key Regulators of Mutant Huntingtin Protein in Neuronal Transport

Ten years ago, researchers from the University at Buffalo provided some insight into a long-standing neuroscience conundrum: How precisely does Huntington's disease result from a mutation in the huntingtin protein (HTT)?

6 May 2025

Evolutionary Rescue in Microbes Leads to the Collapse of Mutualism

Microorganisms –defined as very small living beings, invisible to the naked eye, comprising bacteria, fungi, viruses or others– naturally compete and cooperate in nature for survival.

5 May 2025