Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Latest Genetics and Genomics News and Research

Study shows potential avenues of COVID-19 vulnerability in patients with diabetic kidney disease

People with diabetes -- especially the 20 to 40 percent with diabetic kidney disease -- are among the most at risk for serious complications and death from COVID-19.

27 Oct 2020

Targeting DEL-1 molecule could be an effective way to treat autoimmune disease

Immune response is a balancing act: Too much can lead to inflammatory or autoimmune disease; too little could lead to a serious infection. Regulatory T cells, or Tregs, are important players in striking this balance, acting as "brakes" on the immune response so it doesn't go overboard.

27 Oct 2020

Ketogenic diets can prevent or reverse heart failure caused by metabolic process

Research from Saint Louis University finds that high fat or "ketogenic" diets could completely prevent, or even reverse heart failure caused by a metabolic process.

27 Oct 2020

Increased weight is causally protective for breast and prostate cancer

Although a recent campaign by Cancer Research UK emphasized obesity as a risk factor for cancer on par with smoking, the scientific literature on the relationship between increased weight and cancer risk is not so clear.

27 Oct 2020

Researchers identify new potential therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection

To identify new potential therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists at the New York Genome Center, New York University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed a genome-scale, loss-of-function CRISPR screen to systematically knockout all genes in the human genome.

27 Oct 2020

Exploiting CRISPR systems for the fast detection of SARS-CoV-2

A paper published on medRxiv describes a repurposed type III CRISPR-Cas system that can detect the virus from nasopharyngeal swabs in less than an hour.

26 Oct 2020

Researchers propose new way to exploit the weaknesses of cancer cells

Each cell in the human body continuously divides to create new cells. This process occurs without humans’ knowledge.

26 Oct 2020

Experimental AI platform predicts best approach to cancer treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given final approval to only 4% of all cancer therapeutic drugs being developed.

26 Oct 2020

Study shows how genetic variability may shape mathematical performance in children

According to a study, DNA variation in a gene is linked to early anatomical variations in a region of the brain that plays a crucial role in quantity representation.

26 Oct 2020

Study links gut hormone to Parkinson’s dementia

A team of researchers have discovered that a gut hormone, called ghrelin, is a crucial regulator of new nerve cells that form in the adult brain.

26 Oct 2020

Scientists explain the role of transcription factors in genetic diseases

Transcription factor proteins can be described as the light switches of the human genome. These proteins bind to DNA and allow genes to turn “on” or “off.”

26 Oct 2020

Study indicates underlying molecular sources in COVID-19 variability

Humans have different susceptibilities to SARS-CoV-2, and eventually develop varying degrees of fatigue, fever, and breathing problems.

26 Oct 2020

Experimental vaccine shows promise for treating and preventing cancer in mice

An experimental vaccine, designed to enlist the body's own immune system to target cancer cells, has shown promise for treating and preventing cancer in mice.

23 Oct 2020

Study: Early travel restrictions have significantly limited the spread of COVID-19 virus

The coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has one official name--SARS-CoV-2. But according to virologists, mutations lead to hundreds of genetically-distinct versions of the virus.

23 Oct 2020

Scientists develop lab-grown lung model to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of Duke University researchers has developed a lab-grown living lung model that mimics the tiny air sacs of the lungs where coronavirus infection and serious lung damage take place. This advance has enabled them to watch the battle between the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and lung cells at the finest molecular scale.

23 Oct 2020

Research demonstrates an agriculturally amenable epigenetic breeding method

Novel grafted plants -- consisting of rootstock epigenetically modified to "believe" it has been under stress -- joined to an unmodified scion, or above-ground shoot, give rise to progeny that are more vigorous, productive and resilient than the parental plants.

23 Oct 2020