Genetics News And Research - February 2012 Archives

Genes may travel from plant to plant to fuel evolution (2/29/2012)

Evolutionary biologists at Brown University and the University of Sheffield have documented for the first time that plants pass genes from plant to plant to fuel their evolutionary development. The researchers found enzymes key to photosynthesis had been shared among plants with only a distant ancestral relationship. The genes were incorporated into the metabolic cycle of the recipient plant, aiding adaptation. Results appear in Current Biology. ...> Full Article

When is a gene not a gene? (2/28/2012)

This release outlines the development of a high-quality reliable catalog of loss-of-function variants designed by Sanger Institute researchers. The catalog is needed to find new disease-causing mutations and will help us to better understand the normal function of human genes. ...> Full Article

Spatial proximity plays important role in chromosome translocation (2/27/2012)

A new study published online in the journal Cell by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston, offers the first conclusive evidence that the three dimensional structure of the chromosome strongly influences patterns of chromosome rearrangements and translocations. This finding sheds light on fundamental processes related to cancer and our understanding of cancer genomics. ...> Full Article

Computer sleuthing helps unravel RNA's role in cellular function (2/26/2012)

Computer engineers may have just provided the medical community a new way of figuring out exactly how one of the three building blocks of life forms and functions. University of Central Florida Engineering Assistant Professor Shaojie Zhang used a complex computer program to analyze RNA motifs ? the subunits that make up RNA. ...> Full Article

Noncoding RNAs alter yeast phenotypes in a site-specific manner (2/25/2012)

A team of scientists from Whitehead Institute and other institutions has shown for the first time how two long intergenic noncoding RNAs in brewer's yeast contribute to a location-dependent switch for the yeast FLO11 gene to toggle between active and inactive states. ...> Full Article

New molecule can tangle up DNA for more than 2 weeks (2/24/2012)

Chemists at the University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported. ...> Full Article

The developing genome? (2/23/2012)

Dr. Ehud Lamm of Tel Aviv University says that a genome, rather than a static collection of information, is a dynamic structure itself, responding to stress and contributing to our genetic development. His re-conception of the genome has the potential to provide deeper insight into how all living organisms evolve. ...> Full Article

A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell (2/22/2012)

Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric mitosis. ...> Full Article

Researchers uncover extensive RNA editing in a human transcriptome (2/21/2012)

In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demonstrating the need for new robust methods to identify important post-transcriptional editing events. ...> Full Article

The proteins ensuring genome protection (2/20/2012)

Researchers from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, have discovered the crucial role of two proteins in developing a cell "anti-enzyme shield." This protection system, which operates at the level of molecular "caps" named telomeres, prevents cells from treating chromosome ends like accidental DNA breaks and "repairing" them. Joining chromosome ends would, indeed, lead to tumor formation. This study will be published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop gene therapy to boost brain repair for demyelinating diseases (2/19/2012)

Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes -- antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin, a material that forms a protective cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin becomes damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis, leaving neurons without their sheaths. Researchers from Caltech now believe they have found a way to help the brain replace damaged myelin. ...> Full Article

DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack (2/18/2012)

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research, in mice, appears online Feb. 8 in Nature. ...> Full Article

Genetic Rosetta Stone unveiled (2/17/2012)

Scientists have developed a new community resource that may act as a Rosetta stone for revealing the genetic basis of traits and disease. ...> Full Article

Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins (2/17/2012)

Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings, published Feb. 3 in Cell, may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and provide insight into certain cancers. ...> Full Article

How DNA finds its match (2/16/2012)

It's been more than 50 years since James Watson and Francis Crick showed that DNA is a double helix of two strands that complement each other. But how does a short piece of DNA find its match, out of the millions of 'letters' in even a small genome? New work by UC Davis researchers shows how it's done. ...> Full Article

Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed (2/15/2012)

Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail -- more insight into predicting how an animal's genes affect physical or behavioral traits -- now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine. ...> Full Article

Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye (2/14/2012)

Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able to navigate obstacles in low-light situations. ...> Full Article

The governance of synthetic biology (2/13/2012)

The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center is launching a new online scorecard to track efforts to better govern synthetic biology research and development. ...> Full Article

Researchers weigh methods to more accurately measure genome sequencing (2/12/2012)

Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences evaluate some current methods to sequence individual genomes -- a study that serves as a "stress test" of the efficacy of these practices. ...> Full Article

Male and female behavior deconstructed (2/11/2012)

Now a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has uncovered many genes influenced by the male and female sex hormones testosterone and estrogen that, in turn, govern several specific types of male and female behaviors in mice. ...> Full Article

Collective action (2/10/2012)

Genetic switches called enhancers and the molecules that activate them can be used to draw a cell's family tree, EMBL scientists have found. ...> Full Article

Whole exome sequencing identifies cause of metabolic disease (2/9/2012)

Sequencing a patient's entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease is not routine, but geneticists are getting close. A case report shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an "executive summary" scan of the genome to diagnose a severe glycosylation disorder. ...> Full Article

Gene related to fat preferences in humans found (2/8/2012)

A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. ...> Full Article

New RNA-based therapeutic strategies for controlling gene expression (2/7/2012)

Small RNA-based nucleic acid drugs represent a promising new class of therapeutic agents for silencing abnormal or overactive disease-causing genes, and researchers have discovered new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity. A comprehensive review article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc., details these advances. ...> Full Article

Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner (2/6/2012)

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany, are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants. ...> Full Article

Automated cDNA preparation system accelerates CAGE analysis on a single molecule sequence (2/5/2012)

Researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center have developed a robotic workflow for sample preparation on the HeliScope single molecule sequencer which drastically reduces sample preparation time to from 42 days to only eight days. The workflow uses Cap Analysis of Gene Expression, a unique method developed at the OSC for determining transcriptional starting sites in the genome and their expression levels. ...> Full Article

What are your views on what happens to your genomic information? (2/4/2012)

An ethics team from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute today launches an online survey to capture the views of as many people as possible: they hope it will be the largest collection of opinions gathered to date. ...> Full Article

Genetics study reveals how bacteria behind serious childhood disease evolve to evade vaccines (2/3/2012)

Genetics has provided surprising insights into why vaccines used in both the UK and US to combat serious childhood infections can eventually fail. The study, published today in Nature Genetics, which investigates how bacteria change their disguise to evade the vaccines, has implications for how future vaccines can be made more effective. ...> Full Article

That which does not kill yeast makes it stronger (2/2/2012)

Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. In their latest study, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research were able to show that under stressful conditions yeast genomes become unstable, readily acquiring or losing whole chromosomes to enable rapid adaption. ...> Full Article

Study pinpoints genetic variation that raises a risk linked to bisphosphonates (2/1/2012)

Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors. The discovery paves the way for a genetic screening test to determine who can safely take these drugs. ...> Full Article