Genomics

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Study challenges the assumption that all South African Bantu speakers are a single genetic entity

Almost 80% of South Africans speak one of the SEB family languages as their first language. Their origins can be traced to farmers of West-Central Africa whose descendants over the past two millennia spread south of the equator and finally into Southern Africa.

20 Apr 2021

Researchers develop new mathematical model to predict the onset of diseases

A myriad of genetic factors can influence the onset of diseases like high blood pressure, heart diseases, and type 2 diabetes.

20 Apr 2021

New algorithm uses online learning to speed up analysis of massive cell data sets

The fact that the human body is made up of cells is a basic, well-understood concept. Yet amazingly, scientists are still trying to determine the various types of cells that make up our organs and contribute to our health.

19 Apr 2021

Study reveals why intellectual disability risk for younger siblings is low

Intellectual disability is most often caused by changes to the genome that take place in early fetal development and are not found in the parents’ DNA.

19 Apr 2021

Protein-coding gene may worsen tau protein tangles associated with Alzheimer's

In a new paper published in Nature Communications, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators report the protein-coding gene SERPINA5 may worsen tau protein tangles, which are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and advance disease.

19 Apr 2021

Novel CRISPR-based technology may lead to powerful epigenetic therapies

Scientists have figured out how to modify CRISPR's basic architecture to extend its reach beyond the genome and into what's known as the epigenome -- proteins and small molecules that latch onto DNA and control when and where genes are switched on or off.

17 Apr 2021

Genetic variants that impact protein binding in immune cells can cause autoimmune diseases

Certain genetic variants that cause modified protein binding in immune cells, are also seen in those at high risk of some autoimmune diseases, new research has found.

16 Apr 2021

Study shows how proteins work in concert to resolve DNA double-strand breaks

From cancer treatment to sunlight, radiation and toxins can severely damage DNA in both harmful and healthy cells. While the body has evolved to efficiently treat and restore damaged cells, the mechanisms that allow this natural repair remain misunderstood.

16 Apr 2021

HP1a is a key epigenetic regulator that maintains chromosome integrity

The information of the human genome is encoded by approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs and packaged into 23 pairs of chromosomes.

16 Apr 2021

Study reveals new genes that program stem cells to make dendritic cells

Using a new single-cell technique, WEHI researchers have uncovered a way to understand the programming behind how stem cells make particular cell types.

16 Apr 2021

CityU researchers identify super-enhancers that stimulate the activity of breast cancer genes

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer with a high fatality rate. Currently, chemotherapy is the major treatment option, but the clinical result is unsatisfactory.

15 Apr 2021

DNAJC9 protein plays a key role in safeguarding histones, shows study

In the cell nucleus histones play a crucial role packaging DNA into chromatin. Histones are however very sticky to both DNA and RNA, so to ensure they are transported to the cell nucleus after synthesis and bind to the right portion of DNA to organize the chromatin, they are guarded by complexes of histone chaperones.

15 Apr 2021