Genetics News And Research - March 2009 Archives

A splice of life (3/30/2009)

Groundbreaking study reveals intermediary steps of genetic encoding for the first time ...> Full Article

DNA repair mechanisms relocate in response to stress (3/29/2009)

Some DNA repair enzymes can relocate to the part of the cell that needs their help, a team of scientists has found. The signal that prompts relocation is oxidative stress, an imbalance of cellular metabolism connected with several human diseases. The study resulted in a new level of understanding of the cell's response to genetic damage ad could lead to new targets for anti-cancer drugs that interfere with DNA repair. ...> Full Article

Gene exchange common among sex-manipulating bacteria (3/28/2009)

Certain bacteria have learned to manipulate the proportion of females and males in insect populations. Now Uppsala University researchers have mapped the entire genome of a bacterium that infects a close relative of the fruit fly. The findings reveal extremely high frequencies of gene exchange within this group of bacteria. In the future sex-manipulating bacteria may be used as environmentally friendly pesticides against harmful insects. ...> Full Article

Mutated gene in zebrafish sheds light on blindness in humans (3/27/2009)

Among zebrafish, the eyes have it. Inside them is a mosaic of light-sensitive cells whose structure and functions are nearly identical to those of humans. There, biologists at The Florida State University discovered a gene mutation that determines if the cells develop as rods (the photoreceptors responsible for dim-light vision) or as cones (the photoreceptors needed for color vision). ...> Full Article

Proteins by design: biochemists create new protein from scratch (3/26/2009)

Approach could 1 day be used to make artificial blood ...> Full Article

Researchers find tiny genetic change keeps nicotine from binding to muscle cells (3/25/2009)

Research provides insight into the way nicotine works in the brain ...> Full Article

New technique used to profile anthrax genome (3/24/2009)

Scientists at Georgia Tech have used a new approach, known as RNA-Seq, to profile the gene expression of the bacterium that causes anthrax. Their study marks the first time any bacterial transcriptome has been comprehensively defined, and provides a much more detailed view of how bacteria regulate their gene expression. ...> Full Article

Redefining DNA: Darwin from the atom up (3/24/2009)

In a dramatic rewrite of the recipe for life, scientists from Florida describe the design of a new type of DNA with 12 chemical letters instead of the usual four. This artificial genetic system already is helping to usher in the era of personalized medicine for millions of patients with HIV, hepatitis and other diseases, they say. Their study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. ...> Full Article

Covering the bases: Quantum effect may hold promise for low-cost DNA sequencing, sensor applications (3/23/2009)

A ghostly property of matter, called quantum tunneling, may aid the quest for accurate, low-cost genomic sequencing, according to a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology Letters by Stuart Lindsay and his collaborators at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University. ...> Full Article

Yeast biology yields insights into human knowledge expansion (3/23/2009)

How does human knowledge expand over time? Intriguing as the question is, it's not easy to investigate, due to the difficulty of measuring knowledge and its spread. ...> Full Article

MicroRNA undermines tumor suppression (3/22/2009)

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the National University of Singapore have discovered the first microRNA capable of directly tamping down the activity of the well known tumor-suppressor gene, p53, While p53 functions to prevent tumor formation, the p53 gene is thought to malfunction in more than 50 percent of cancerous tumors. ...> Full Article

Elephant shark genome sequence leads to discovery of color perception in deep-sea fish (3/21/2009)

The elephant shark, a primitive deep-sea fish that belongs to the oldest living family of jawed vertebrates, can see color much like humans can. This discovery, published in the March 2009 issue of Genome Research, may enhance scientists' understanding of how color vision evolved in early vertebrates over the last 450 million years of evolution. ...> Full Article

Catching the common cold virus genome (3/20/2009)

A new study by Brigham Young University researchers on the virus behind nearly half of all cold infections explains how and where evolution occurs in the rhinovirus genome and what this means for possible vaccines. ...> Full Article

What's driving specific patterns of gene expression among cell types? (3/19/2009)

New map of 55,000 gene enhancers broadens scientific understanding of the human genome and what makes it work ...> Full Article

Important new model shows how proteins find the right DNA sequences (3/19/2009)

Researchers at Uppsala University and Harvard University have collaboratively developed a new theoretical model to explain how proteins can rapidly find specific DNA sequences, even though there are many obstacles in the way on the chromosomes. The findings are being published today in the scientific journal Nature Physics. ...> Full Article

Rearrangements of multifunctional genes cause cancer in children and young people (3/17/2009)

A doctoral thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that three genes that lie behind a number of malignant tumor diseases are normally involved in several fundamental processes in the cell. This may be the reason that the tumors arise early in life and principally affect children and young people. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop DNA 'patch' for canine form of muscular dystrophy (3/17/2009)

Using a novel genetic technology that covers up genetic errors, researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have developed a successful treatment for dogs with the canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a paralyzing, and ultimately fatal, muscle disease. ...> Full Article

Genomatix gets patent for comparative genomics method (3/16/2009)

Innovative approach allows for identification and assignment of functionally corresponding regulatory sequences throughout different eukaryotic genomes ...> Full Article

Researchers take first look at the genetic dynamics of inbreeding depression (3/15/2009)

Declines in reproductive success due to inbreeding are probably due to a few key genes that influence other genes, said University of Illinois animal biology professor and department head Ken Paige, who led the study. ...> Full Article

Researchers devise new way to explore DNA (3/14/2009)

New topographical approach improves detection of functional regions in the human genome ...> Full Article

Synthetic gene circuit allows precise dosing of gene expression (3/12/2009)

Researchers find negative feedback is key to tuning target gene's activity in yeast cells ...> Full Article

Recreational genomics: Will that be a paternity or cancer test today? (3/11/2009)

Commercial genetic tests, which can verify risks of cancer risks to paternity, have become commonplace in the Western societies. Yet these tests provide little information and raise a lot more questions, says Bryn Williams-Jones, a professor at the University of Montreal Department of Social and Preventive Medicine and director of bioethics programs. ...> Full Article

A new way to assemble cells into 3-D microtissues (3/8/2009)

Cellular engineers make multicellular tissues from the bottom up ...> Full Article

Cats' eye diseases genetically linked to diseases in humans (3/7/2009)

MU discovery could help identify therapy for humans and cats with forms of retinitis pigmentosa ...> Full Article

Molecule tracking reveals mechanism of chromosome separation in dividing cells (3/7/2009)

Reasons proposed for strong but dynamic attachment of spindle fibers ...> Full Article

RNA research strategy for Europe takes shape (3/6/2009)

Research into RNA, a molecule found in every cell of our bodies, could lead to remarkable advances in the treatment of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, a meeting organized by the European Science Foundation was told. ...> Full Article

With genomes, bigger may really be better (3/5/2009)

Biologists analyzing DNA in search of the molecular underpinnings of life have consistently favored species with small genomes, which are cheaper to sequence and lack the repetitive "junk" that clutters bigger genomes. But a new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists suggests that when it comes to figuring out how genes are controlled, bigger genomes are much more useful. ...> Full Article

Researchers pinpoint structure-building role for 2 non-coding RNAs (3/4/2009)

Most of the DNA in the nucleus of each of our cells is converted into RNA, but only a small fraction of these RNAs "code" for proteins. What the remaining "non-coding" RNAs (ncRNAs) do within cells is largely a mystery. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have now uncovered a unique structure-building role for two ncRNAs, MENε and MENβ. They show that these RNAs organize and maintain the structure of nuclear compartments known as paraspeckles. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover mobile small RNAs that set up leaf patterning in plants (3/2/2009)

Small RNAs act like morphogens in helping to define the boundary between the top and bottom halves of leaves ...> Full Article