Gene News and Research

RSS

A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It normally resides on a stretch of DNA that codes for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. All living things depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains.

Analysis of nearly 300 new SARS-CoV-2 antibodies reveals a common feature

An analysis of nearly 300 recently identified human SARS-CoV-2 antibodies uncovered a gene frequently used in antibodies that most effectively target the virus. The results contribute to growing structural insight that will be needed for successful vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2.

14 Jul 2020

Common molecular feature in SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies discovered

A team led by scientists at Scripps Research has discovered a common molecular feature found in many of the human antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

14 Jul 2020

New technology can improve treatment for cystic fibrosis

World-first research led by Monash University could hold the key to better monitoring and treatment of lung disease associated with cystic fibrosis (CF) - a condition thousands of people are diagnosed with each year.

14 Jul 2020

Compound in pickled capers can activate proteins required for bodily processes

A compound commonly found in pickled capers has been shown to activate proteins required for normal human brain and heart activity, and may even lead to future therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and abnormal heart rhythms.

14 Jul 2020

A fine balance between maintaining immunity and longevity

As we age, the immune system gradually becomes impaired. One aspect of this impairment is chronic inflammation in the elderly, which means that the immune system is constantly active and sends out inflammatory substances.

13 Jul 2020

Genomics study in Black Americans could lead to precision prostate cancer therapies

Black men in the United States are known to suffer disproportionately from prostate cancer, but few studies have investigated whether genetic differences in prostate tumors could have anything to do with these health disparities.

13 Jul 2020

New drug enables the immune system to attack ovarian cancer, TGen study shows

A drug known as SP-2577 could help enable the body's own immune system to attack ovarian cancer, according to a study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope.

13 Jul 2020

Scientists develop new genome editing methods for better crop yield

Although crop hybrid technologies have played a key role in considerably improving crop yield across the world in the past decades, developing and maintaining a hybrid production line has invariably been laborious and complex.

13 Jul 2020

Study may provide a therapeutically safer strategy for gene editing

The CRISPR gene editing system is a robust tool specifically developed for the targeted editing of genomes. While this tool has considerable therapeutic potential, it is associated with improper editing of “off-target” sites.

13 Jul 2020

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing helps compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine

The lab of Jeremy Day, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has used single-nucleus RNA sequencing approaches to compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine in 16 unique cell populations from a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, or NAc.

From University of Alabama 10 Jul 2020

Study explains why human mitochondrial genomes mutate frequently

One could say that mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles inside every human cell, dance to their own beat.

10 Jul 2020

TMEM106B gene reveals the causes of neurodegenerative diseases

Across the globe, approximately 50 million people are living with dementia. The two most common forms are Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which develop when neurons in specific parts of the brain stop functioning - triggering memory loss and other behavioral or personality changes.

10 Jul 2020

Metabolomics can help understand the impact of calorie-restricted diets on aging

Changes in a few small molecules involved in a cell's metabolism seem to indicate whether a restricted "life extension" diet will actually extend, shorten, or have no effect on lifespan, a study of fruit flies has found.

10 Jul 2020

Bioinformaticians reveal previously unknown features of genes involved in brain functioning

In a recent study of genes involved in brain functioning, their previously unknown features have been uncovered by bioinformaticians from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology, RAS. The findings are reported in PLOS One.

10 Jul 2020

New type of molecular editor can make precise changes in mitochondrial DNA

The genome in mitochondria -- the cell's energy-producing organelles -- is involved in disease and key biological functions, and the ability to precisely alter this DNA would allow scientists to learn more about the effects of these genes and mutations.

9 Jul 2020

Report highlights role of genomics in perpetuating racism and inequality

Genomics is crowding out ways of reducing inequality, has thwarted medicine from advancing justice, and is creating new forms of social classification and surveillance.

9 Jul 2020

New spatial mapping method pinpoints new potential therapeutic targets for lupus

A team of researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia used a new method of pinpointing potential disease-causing changes in the genome to identify two new potential therapeutic targets for lupus, while also paving the way for more accurately identifying disease-causing variations in other autoimmune disorders.

9 Jul 2020