A breakthrough in understanding how a single-cell parasite makes ergosterol (its version of cholesterol) could lead to more effective drugs for human leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts about 1 million people and kills about...
Combining bioinformatics and experimetal approaches, researchers have discovered replication hubs for human norovirus, the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis accounting for an estimated 685 million cases and approximately 212,000...
Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in extreme environments, like outer space.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer. It spreads quickly and has few treatment options. It is also serious because of its rate of recurrence.
An international research team, including researchers at Karolinska Institutet, has mapped the genes expressed in the brain cells of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The atlas, which is presented in the journal Neuron, is hoped to...
A research team found out how AHCC, a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia, might be able to suppress the progression of liver fibrosis.
SMART, a new software package, can make studying signaling processes significantly easier. Results could accelerate research in fields across the life sciences, such as systems biology, pharmacology and biomedical engineering.
When introducing genes into yeast to make it produce drugs and other useful substances, it is also necessary to reliably switch the production on or off. Researchers have found three gene regulation design principles that provide a...
Opening new doors for the development of nanotechnologies in medicine and other fields, scientists recreate and compare two natural mechanisms to better program the timescale of molecular communication and functionality.
Parasites that cause the deadly illness known as sleeping sickness can spread beyond their native Africa as a result of mutations to key genes, a study shows.
A team of researchers used a new technique, called high-resolution template matching, or HRTM, to uncover in unprecedented detail the movement of ribosomes -- the molecular structures that synthesize proteins inside cells.
A new role has been uncovered for a cell's own RNA in fending off attacks by RNA viruses. Some of the cell's RNA molecules, researchers found, help regulate antiviral signaling. These signals are part of the intricate coordination of...
Diseases marked by progressive deterioration of the brain—neurodegeneration—have proven challenging to understand and treat. These common conditions affect millions of patients and families around the world, yet efforts to develop new...
Approximately one in six couples trying to have a child experiences infertility. Each year, over five percent of children in Finland are born with the help of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), and to date, over ten million children...
Hundreds of novel genetic variants across an ancestrally diverse cohort of 195 families, including 222 people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have been identified by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, expanding the...
Research published in The American Journal of Human Genetics has identified a previously unknown genetic link to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study found that variants in the DDX53 gene contribute to ASD, providing new insights...
Peter Mac scientists have found a way to use the powerful gene editing tool CRISPR to silence cancer-causing gene mutations which, up to now, have remained off-limits to targeted drugs.
In spite of intensive research, glioblastoma remains one of the most lethal types of brain cancer. Temozolomide (TMZ) is used as the front-line medicine in its treatment.
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty in which genes often play a role. How do genes associated with dyslexia relate to brain structure in the general population? In a large-scale study published in Science Advances, a team of...
Researchers recently discovered that a virus, FloV-SA2, encodes one of the proteins needed to make ribosomes, the central engines in all cells that translate genetic information into proteins, the building blocks of life. This is the...
Adding genetic testing to the evaluation of pediatric patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) resulted in more individualized care, including changes in medication, referrals to clinical trials or specialists, and surveillance...
Pain is meant to be a defense mechanism. It creates a strong sensation to get us to respond to a stimulus and prevent ourselves from further harm. But, sometimes injuries, nerve damage, or infections can cause long-lasting, severe bouts...
Prostate cancer hijacks the normal prostate's growth regulation program to release the brakes and grow freely, according to Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The discovery, published Dec. 13 in Nature Communications, paves the way for...
Genetic testing, which has expanded in recent years with advances in technology and the development of consumer products, is on a path to widespread acceptance in the U.S., researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found. The...
New research combines two powerful imaging techniques to study the complete structure of a common aGPCR, including how its long and complex extracellular region interacts with the transmembrane region embedded in the cell surface. The...
Researchers have revealed some of the precise mechanisms by which erroneous cells are recognized, marked for removal, and eliminated via apoptosis in developing zebrafish. Notably, they found that the protein Foxo3 may be a universal...
A study shows how a single gene in Atlantic salmon can dramatically influence the timing of puberty -- a key factor for salmon life cycle and survival.
Near-gap-free and near-error-free genomes of a susceptible bed bug strain and a superstrain with around 20,000-fold insecticide resistance offer the broadest look yet at the full scope of mutations driving their resilience.
Superbugs, bacteria that are immune to multiple antibiotics, pose a great challenge to modern medicine. Researchers have now identified a weakness in the bacterial machinery that drives antibiotic resistance adaptation.
Scientists now have a better genetic understanding of the insect. The research offers an updated genome analysis of the common bedbug Cimex lectularius, providing new insight for those working to prevent bedbug infestation, develop...
Food allergies affect millions of people worldwide, and flavonoids are promising natural compounds to help modulate the immune response and treat inflammation caused by these allergies. In a recent study, researchers have identified that...
Microbes living in our guts help us digest food by reshaping the bile acids that our livers produce for breaking down fats. It turns out that two of these microbially-modified bile acids may affect our risk -- in opposite directions --...
To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilizing its genome, made up of RNA molecules. But the challenge is daunting: each RNA molecule is...
A new study from Cedars-Sinai Cancer reveals a potential way to overcome tumor resistance to a common chemotherapy drug called cisplatin. The study, published in Science Advances, could improve the effectiveness of the widely used...
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital and collaborating institutions have gained new insights into the molecular changes leading to Rett...
Researchers have uncovered unexpected diversity in the genetic processes that determine the sex of the African clawed frog, a significant discovery in what was already one of the most widely studied amphibians in the world.
A 14-year-old girl was having back pain after a car accident and visited an orthopedic clinic at Boston Children's Hospital. In the course of her care, she joined the Children's Rare Disease Collaborative (CRDC), a hospital-wide effort...
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. The findings reveal lamin A's unique role and its...
Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they now discovered that these motors also...
An international team of researchers has identified a key genetic mechanism that regulates the formation and migration of cranial neural crest cells, which are essential for developing facial structures.
Microorganisms produce a wide variety of natural products that can be used as active ingredients to treat diseases such as infections or cancer. The blueprints for these molecules can be found in the microbes' genes, but often remain...
Intermittent fasting has proven benefits for metabolic health, but a new study shows that it could slow hair growth -- at least in mice. Researchers report that mice subjected to intermittent fasting regimes showed improved metabolic...
A new study of plant-based drinks reveals a common issue: they are lacking in proteins and essential amino acids compared to cow's milk. The explanation lies in their extensive processing, causing chemical reactions that degrade protein...
Researchers at the University of Bergen have used advanced stem cell technology to develop mini-brains, also called brain organoids, that can mimic disease processes caused by mitochondrial failure. This could open new avenues for...
Led by researchers from the University of Oxford's Leverhulme Center for Demographic Science and the University of Iceland, a review, published in Nature Aging, explores how genetic variations can explain differences in reproductive...
Two researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) have discovered a gene variant found in high-altitude Andean populations that they believe could be a new biomarker for predicting the severity of diseases...
A team at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) has developed a comprehensive set of innovative genetic tools and mouse lines, called iFlpMosaics, designed to enhance the study of gene function and its...
Nearly all living organisms use the same genetic code, a complicated mechanism by which genetic information is translated into proteins, the building blocks of life. A new study suggests conventional wisdom about how the code evolved is...
Why does the COVID-19 virus make some people sicker than others? For years, scientists have looked to a critical piece of immune system machinery—known as the interferon pathway—for answers. There, when our cells sense an infection, they...