Genome News and Research

RSS

Molecular staple: The DNA repair mechanism impeding cancer treatment

Due to the continuous cellular activity, malfunctions frequently occur, making error-correcting systems crucial for cells. However, it serves the cancer cells’ best interests to cause errors when it comes to destroying them.

30 Jan 2023

Smallest known freshwater green algae, Medakamo hakoo, discovered

A new species of microalgae was discovered in water from a home aquarium. Scientists from the University of Tokyo noticed Medakamo hakoo while examining DNA samples taken from algae. Its DNA sequence did not match any previously known species.

30 Jan 2023

Novel protein degradation technology provides functional insights into how CTCF regulates transcription

CTCF is a critical protein known to play various roles in key biological processes such as transcription.

30 Jan 2023

Cryo-EM helps visualize the detailed structure of viral genome replication machinery

RNA viruses, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, are in a life-and-death race the moment they infect a cell.

30 Jan 2023

Newly discovered genetic mutation may be a root cause of severe cases of childhood glaucoma

An international team of scientists led by Mass Eye and Ear, a member of Mass General Brigham, and Boston Children's Hospital, has discovered a new genetic mutation that may be a root cause of severe cases of childhood glaucoma, a devastating condition that runs in families and can rob children of their vision by 3 years of age.

30 Jan 2023

Evolution of mint plants' chemistry could lead to new medicines, pesticides

The mint family of herbs, which includes sage, rosemary, basil, and even woody plants like teak, offers an invigorating jolt to our senses of smell and taste.

27 Jan 2023

Scientists receive $10 million from HHMI for research on using viruses as therapeutic agents

Taking a bold step into a new era of biology, a team of scientists from the University of California San Diego, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Yale University has been awarded $10 million by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to support research on using viruses as new therapeutic agents.

27 Jan 2023

Deep-learning model for zinc finger design allows reprogramming of human transcription factors

Researchers at the University of Toronto and New York University have developed a novel technology that can engineer proteins to target any stretch of DNA in the human genome, opening a door toward gene therapies for a broader range of health conditions.

27 Jan 2023

Uncovering the secret of how plants make limonoids

Groundbreaking research has revealed the secret of how plants tend to make limonoids, a family of useful organic chemicals which incorporate bee-friendly insecticides and have the potential as anti-cancer drugs.

27 Jan 2023

Persistent tumor mutation load may help predict outcome of novel immunotherapies

Cancer experts have tried, sometimes unsuccessfully, to use the total number of mutations in a tumor, called the tumor mutation burden (TMB), to predict a patient's response to immunotherapy.

27 Jan 2023

Unboxing the mystery genome black box with the DNA sequencing method

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have described a new DNA sequencing technique that can find out where and how small molecule drugs interact with the targeted genome in a study that was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

26 Jan 2023

Figuring out how cells safeguard their genomes during replication

Cells zealously protect the integrity of their genomes, because damage can lead to cancer or cell death. The genome, a cell’s complete set of DNA, is most vulnerable while it is being duplicated before a cell divides.

26 Jan 2023

New insights into cell health and disease

Scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered a protein that not only prepares DNA for replication but also controls the replication process. The research, which was published on January 5th, 2023, in the journal Molecular Cell, resolves a puzzle that has long-baffled biologists.

26 Jan 2023

Enhancing the efficacy of CRISPR/Cas9 and related methods

The effectiveness of molecular genetic techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 and related systems has been significantly improved, and their range of applications has been expanded, by researchers from the Department of Developmental Biology/Physiology at the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University.

26 Jan 2023

Researchers use supercomputer to unveil new methods for DNA mosaic recognition

As humans, we each have trillions of cells. And each cell has a nucleus with individual genetic information –DNA – that can mutate to create an abnormality.

25 Jan 2023

New genetic condition that raises vulnerability to opportunistic infections

An international consortium co-led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center immunogeneticist Rubén Martínez-Barricarte, PhD, has discovered a new genetic disorder that causes immunodeficiency and profound susceptibility to opportunistic infections including life-threatening fungal pneumonia.

24 Jan 2023