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Genetic Mutations May Be Behind Epigenetic Clock of Aging

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have published results that shed new light on an old question: what causes aging at the molecular level? Their findings, published in Nature Aging, describe a never-before-seen link between the two most accepted explanations: random genetic mutations and predictable epigenetic modifications.

22 Jan 2025

Study Unveils Surprising Cause of Brain Cell Death in Huntington's Disease

Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have discovered a surprising mechanism by which the inherited genetic mutation known to cause Huntington's disease leads to the death of brain cells.

17 Jan 2025

Inflammasome Helps Block Malignancy in Blood Stem Cells

A group of immune proteins called the inflammasome can help prevent blood stem cells from becoming malignant by removing certain receptors from their surfaces and blocking cancer gene activity, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

17 Jan 2025

Unrepaired DNA Damage Can Persist for Years and Lead to Cancer Mutations

While most known types of DNA damage are fixed by our cells’ in-house repair mechanisms, some forms of DNA damage evade repair and can persist for many years, new research shows. This means that the damage has multiple chances to generate harmful mutations, which can lead to cancer.

15 Jan 2025

Base Editing Technique Extends Lifespan in Prion Disease Mouse Model

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have developed a gene-editing treatment for prion disease that extends lifespan by about 50 percent in a mouse model of the fatal neurodegenerative condition.

15 Jan 2025

The Role of Genetics and Environment in Plant Domestication

University of Southampton researchers have suggested that certain wild plant species possess specific traits that make them more suitable for human cultivation than others.

15 Jan 2025

Researchers Discover How Protein Instability Drives Heritable Diseases

Most mutations which cause disease by swapping one amino acid out for another do so by making the protein less stable, according to a massive study of human protein variants published today in the journal Nature.

10 Jan 2025

New Gene Editing Therapy Shows Promise for Treating Stargardt Disease

Researchers have developed a highly efficient gene editing therapy that could potentially treat Stargardt disease, the most common form of inherited macular degeneration.

10 Jan 2025

New Gene Editing Tool Combines Multiple Functions for Treating Genetic Diseases

Influential inventions often combine existing tools in new ways. The iPhone, for instance, amalgamated the telephone, web browser and camera, among many other devices.

9 Jan 2025

Unexpected Role for CDKN2A Gene in Esophageal Cancer Progression

Scientists from the Barts Cancer Institute and the Francis Crick Institute have demonstrated that a genetic flaw that has long been thought to cause esophageal cancer may actually protect against the disease in its early stages.

6 Jan 2025

Researchers Discover Key Factor Behind Disease Resistance in Gene Carriers

New work by Columbia researchers has turned a textbook principle of genetics on its head and revealed why some people who carry disease-causing genes experience no symptoms.

3 Jan 2025

Bumetanide Treatment Alters Early and Late Social Behaviors in Fragile X Mice

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Hirosaki University have uncovered critical new insights into the developmental trajectory of social behaviors in fragile X syndrome, the leading genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder.

30 Dec 2024

Research Reveals Regulatory Role of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase in Mitophagy

Mitophagy is a selective form of autophagy via which the damaged mitochondria are cleared via the autophagy-lysosome pathway.

30 Dec 2024

New Gene Editing Tool Targets Alzheimer's by Skipping Disease-Causing Gene Segments

A new gene editing tool that helps cellular machinery skip parts of genes responsible for diseases has been applied to reduce the formation of amyloid-beta plaque precursors in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report.

24 Dec 2024

Researchers Uncover Lamin A's Role in DNA Repair and Premature Aging Disease

Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have discovered how a protein called lamin A helps repair the protective barrier around a cell's DNA.

16 Dec 2024

Deadly Mould Strains Highly Likely to Acquire Resistance to New Drugs

Scientists have identified strains of one of the world’s most dangerous fungal pathogens, already resistant to our most effective antifungal drugs, which are also 5-times more likely to acquire resistance to desperately needed new treatments in development.

From The University of Manchester 16 Dec 2024