Genetics News & Research
The discovery reveals that the protein MRG15, which previously had been known to affect cell growth and aging, also directs the gene-splicing machinery. As people or animals age, this machinery can go awry, producing nonsense proteins. The finding thus has potential implications for therapies to treat both cancer and aging.
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 | Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell's nucleus. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, however, have shown that some of the pores' constituent proteins, called nucleoporins, pull double duty as transcription factors regulating the activity of genes active during early development. ...> Full Article |
Singapore and US scientists have mapped major components of the epigenome and DNA methylation for the entire human DNA sequence, and compared three cell types representing three stages of human development.
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University of Michigan researchers have shown that tension on DNA molecules can affect gene expression -- the process at the heart of biological function that tells a cell what to do.
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There remains a lack of consensus amongst the medical and scientific communities about any cancer risk from low level radiation, particularly low-dose radiation delivered from computed tomography (CT) scans. However, the study of epigenetics may play a role in determining whether or not future trends of diseases can in fact be linked to utilization of CT, according to an article in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
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 | Scientists have created a new computational model that can be used to predict gene function of uncharacterized plant genes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The network, dubbed AraNet, has over 19,600 genes associated to each other by over 1 million links and can increase the discovery rate of new genes affiliated with a given trait tenfold. It is a huge boost to fundamental plant biology and agricultural research. ...> Full Article |
The Cell Biology in Environmental Toxicology research team at the Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology at the University of the Basque Country has decoded the transcriptome for the gray mullet. The director of the research project was Mr Ibon Cancio.
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Revegetation seems like a beneficial strategy for conserving and restoring damaged ecosystems, and using a variety of species can help increase biodiversity in these systems. But what risks are involved with introducing seeds from other locations to plants located near the damaged site? When new, foreign genes are introduced to a damaged site, neighboring populations may experience initial negative effects; however, over time, the negative effects may diminish and the maladapted foreign genes will decrease.
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The Genetics Society of America announces the recipients of its five awards for distinguished service to the field of genetics. The five awardees are: Alexander Tzagoloff, Ph.D., Columbia University; Thomas Cline, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; Barbara J. Meyer, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; William M. Gelbart, Ph.D., Harvard University; and, Utpal Banerjee, Ph.D., UCLA.
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Researchers at Ohio State University have found a new way to study how enzymes move as they repair DNA sun damage -- and that discovery could one day lead to new therapies for healing sunburned skin. Ultraviolet (UV) light damages skin by causing chemical bonds to form in the wrong places along the DNA molecules in our cells.
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Researchers have developed a new tool to deliver DNA in gene therapy. DNA delivered to the retina with a peptide called PEG-POD was expressed 215 times more efficiently than delivery of DNA alone. The finding highlights PEG-POD as a tool for non-viral gene therapy treatments for eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
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 | Researchers in Manchester have successfully carried out the first rewire of genetic switches, creating what could be a vital tool for the development of new drugs and even future gene therapies. ...> Full Article |
Scientists have identified a gene family that plays a key role in one of the earliest stages of development in which an embryo distinguishes its left side from the right and determines how organs should be positioned within the body. The finding in mice likely will lead to a better understanding of how certain birth defects occur in humans.
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The BC Centre for Disease Control has launched an influenza genome sequencing project to better understand how the pandemic H1N1 flu virus has evolved in British Columbia, and may continue to evolve in the coming months.
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Bioengineers from UC Berkeley and Stanford are ramping up efforts to characterize the thousands of control elements critical to the engineering of microbes so that eventually, researchers can mix and match these "DNA parts" in synthetic organisms to produce new drugs, fuels or chemicals. Their new lab, called BIOFAB, was seeded with funds from NSF, and will provide tools, standardized parts, support and legal and ethical guidelines to further the field of synthetic biology.
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