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New Automated Machine Learning Tool to Design and Interpret Biological Sequences

The amount of data generated by scientists today is massive, thanks to the falling costs of sequencing technology and the increasing amount of available computing power.

22 Jun 2023

Review: Role of Alternative Splicing Defects in Major Neurodegenerative Diseases

Alternative splicing, a clever way a cell generates many different variations of messenger RNAs -; single-stranded RNAs involved in protein synthesis -; and proteins from the same stretch of DNA, plays an important role in molecular biology.

21 Jun 2023

UCL Scientists Visualize the Molecular 'Nano-Machinery' That Causes Cilia to Beat

The first image of the structures that power human cilia – the tiny, hairlike projections that line our airways – has been produced by a team involving UCL researchers and could lead to much-needed treatments for people with rare cilial diseases.

14 Jun 2023

Study Links Timing of Childhood Adversity With Epigenetic Patterns in Adolescents

Childhood adversity-;circumstances that threaten to a child's physical or psychological well-being--has long been associated with poorer physical and mental health throughout life, such as greater risks of developing cardiac disease, cancer, or depression.

14 Jun 2023

Neanderthal Genes are Responsible for Certain Traits in Modern Humans

Recent scientific discoveries have shown that Neanderthal genes comprise some 1 to 4% of the genome of present-day humans whose ancestors migrated out of Africa, but the question remained open on how much those genes are still actively influencing human traits -; until now.

9 Jun 2023

Key Atomic Structures of the Actin Filament Revealed Through Cryo-EM

Actin filaments -; protein structures critical to living movement from single cells to animals -; have long been known to have polarity associated with their physical characteristics, with growing "barbed" and shrinking "pointed" ends.

9 Jun 2023

The New Player in ALS—An Ancient, Virus-Like Protein

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a deadly neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, progressively robbing individuals of their capability to speak, move, eat, and breathe.

8 Jun 2023

The Association Between Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Response and Genetic Variants

People who are at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes can be prescribed a variety of medications to decrease blood sugar levels, but it is not always apparent which people would benefit from which treatments the most.

6 Jun 2023

Identifying How a Particular Riboswitch Regulates its Synthesis

Researchers across the world are in search of ways to combat bacteria that could evade the present arsenal of antibiotics. This is done as a measure to avoid a global health crisis.

2 Jun 2023

Scientists Integrate Multiple Therapeutic Approaches to More Effectively Target Brain Metastatic Melanomas

Acting as a team, twin stem cells activate the immune system to suppress tumor growth and prolong survival in representative preclinical models.

1 Jun 2023

Study Reveals Mechanisms Behind Swallowing in Detail

Sensory cells in the vagus nerve can detect and locate food in the esophagus. Their signals help transport the food onward to the stomach. Signal failure leads to swallowing disorders, say a team led by Carmen Birchmeier at the Max Delbrück Center.

29 May 2023

Key Event that Controls the Timing of the Biological Clock Identified

Molecular clocks in our cells synchronize our bodies with the cycle of night and day, cue us for sleep and waking, and drive daily cycles in virtually every aspect of our physiology. Scientists studying the molecular mechanisms of our biological clocks have now identified a key event that controls the timing of the clock.

23 May 2023

Stimulating Cell DNA Repair Processes to Combat the Root Cause of Autism Spectrum Disorders

A new treatment option has been discovered for fragile X syndrome, which is the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorders and is defined by a hereditary repetition of certain nucleotides in the DNA sequence of the FMR1 gene. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) carried out the study, which was published in the journal Cell.

22 May 2023

Machine Learning Reveals Sex-Specific Genes, Molecular Pathways Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Progression

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative illness with genetic and environmental origins.

22 May 2023

Pancreatic Cancer Cells Use a New Nutrient Source to Grow, Study Finds

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have discovered a new nutrient source that pancreatic cancer cells use to grow.

18 May 2023

Long-Ignored Antibiotic may Provide Much-Needed Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria

An old antibiotic may provide much-needed protection against multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, according to a new study publishing May 16th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by James Kirby of Harvard Medical School, US, and colleagues.

17 May 2023

Study Demonstrates the First Molecular Link Between Circatidal and Circadian Clocks

Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole have identified the first gene-; Bmal1-; to play a crucial role in regulating circatidal behavior in the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis.

12 May 2023

Study Reveals an Immunological Strategy to Overcome Microbiome-Related Immunotherapy Resistance

Cancer immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of many types of cancer. Yet, for reasons that remain poorly understood, not all patients get the same benefit from these powerful therapies.

4 May 2023

How Bacteria Take Action to Break Out of Dormancy

Solving a riddle that has confounded biologists since bacterial spores -; inert, sleeping bacteria -; were first described more than 150 years ago, researchers at Harvard Medical School have discovered a new kind of cellular sensor that allows spores to detect the presence of nutrients in their environment and quickly spring back to life.

2 May 2023

Study Uncovers Somatic Mutations That Play a Role in Common Form of Adult Epilepsy

Epilepsy affects approximately 1-in-26 people and the most common form, known as temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), often cannot be adequately treated with anti-seizure medications.