Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Mount Sinai and Rumi Scientific join hands to initiate autism drug discovery pipeline

The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Rumi Scientific announced today that they will team up to initiate a drug discovery pipeline for rare genetic disorders that carry a high risk of autism.

6 Jan 2021

Scientists create first international consensus definition of fermented foods

Humans have consumed different types of fermented foods - from kimchi to yogurt - for thousands of years. Yet only recently, with the availability of new scientific techniques for analyzing their nutritional properties and microbiological composition, have scientists begun to understand exactly how the unique flavors and textures are created and how these foods benefit human health.

6 Jan 2021

Study: Decreased activation of LEF1 gene disrupts ordinary neuronal function

Lithium is considered the gold standard for treating bipolar disorder (BD), but nearly 70 percent of people with BD don't respond to it.

5 Jan 2021

Danes are not as good as Chinese at discerning bitter tastes, studies show

Two studies from the University of Copenhagen show that Danes aren't quite as good as Chinese at discerning bitter tastes. The research suggests that this is related to anatomical differences upon the tongues of Danish and Chinese people.

5 Jan 2021

Researchers discover new metabolic vulnerability in a highly aggressive form of lung cancer

Researchers at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered a new metabolic vulnerability in a highly aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jan 2021

Genetic risk score can be used to determine risk of developing prostate cancer

Some racial and ethnic groups suffer relatively more often, and fare worse, from common ailments compared to others. Prostate cancer is one disease where such health disparities occur: risk for the disease is about 75 percent higher, and prostate cancer is more than twice as deadly, in Blacks compared to whites.

4 Jan 2021

Researchers resolve mysteries about the function of key gene-silencing protein

A long-running debate over how an important gene-silencing protein identifies its targets has been resolved by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

4 Jan 2021

Six clearly distinguishable subtypes of prediabetes identified

All prediabetes is not the same: in people in the preliminary stages of type 2 diabetes, there are six clearly distinguishable subtypes, which differ in the development of the disease, diabetes risk, and the development of secondary diseases.

4 Jan 2021

Tissue healing after brain injury could spur tumor growth

The healing process that follows a brain injury could spur tumor growth when new cells generated to replace those lost to the injury are derailed by mutations, Toronto scientists have found.

4 Jan 2021

Scientists trace genetic roots of Chiari 1 malformation

About one in 100 children has a common brain disorder called Chiari 1 malformation, but most of the time such children grow up normally and no one suspects a problem.

28 Dec 2020

Polygenic risk scores from multi-population data could improve IBD predictions

Using genetic data from nearly 30,000 people, Mount Sinai researchers have built risk scores from a combination of datasets representing distinct ancestral populations that improve prediction of risk for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The study was published in Gastroenterology on December 24.

24 Dec 2020

Thymus gland works to prevent miscarriage, diabetes in pregnant women

An international research team led by the University of British Columbia (UBC) has uncovered for the first time the importance of a small gland tucked behind the sternum that works to prevent miscarriage and diabetes in pregnant women.

24 Dec 2020

Study presents novel gene therapy for deafness

A new study from Tel Aviv University presents an innovative treatment for deafness, based on the delivery of genetic material into the cells of the inner ear.

23 Dec 2020

Forward genetics used to identify gene linked to autism spectrum disorder

UT Southwestern scientists have adapted a classic research technique called forward genetics to identify new genes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

23 Dec 2020

Genetic analysis reveals novel traits associated with COVID-19 severity

Researchers in the United States have conducted genetic correlation studies revealing novel traits associated with the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Dec 2020

COVID-19 severity could be linked to genetic variance

A new study describes some potentially important genetic factors in the host that may shape the clinical symptoms and signs of the disease.

23 Dec 2020

Modulating BST2 expression on blood stem cells may help regulate cell activation during chronic infections

When a person has an infection, the body activates immune responses to fight it. IFNγ is an inflammatory molecule produced by the immune system that helps fight infections.

23 Dec 2020

Research shows how colanic acid extends lifespan in C. elegans

Baylor College of Medicine researcher Meng Wang had already shown that bacteria that make a metabolite called colanic acid (CA) could extend the lifespan of worms in her lab by as much as 50%, but her collaboration with Rice University synthetic biologist Jeffrey Tabor is providing tools to answer the bigger question of how the metabolite imparts longer life.

22 Dec 2020

Scientists discover molecular defects associated with rare genetic disorder in children

Damien D'Amours and his team at the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology needed three years to discover the molecular defects associated with the LIC Syndrome, a serious genetic disorder that affects young children and result in acute respiratory distress, immune deficiency and abnormal chromosomes.

22 Dec 2020