Genetics News And Research - October 2009 Archives

'Moonlighting' molecules discovered (10/30/2009)

Since the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome significantly more gene-control proteins? ...> Full Article

Scientists are first to observe the global motions of an enzyme copying DNA (10/29/2009)

Scientists here have identified how the motions of an enzyme are related to correctly copying genetic instructions, setting the stage for studies that can uncover what happens when DNA copying mistakes are made. Perpetuation of DNA mistakes can cause mutations that lead to cancer and other diseases. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover mechanism that prevents 2 species from reproducing (10/28/2009)

Cornell researchers have discovered a genetic mechanism in fruit flies that prevents two closely related species from reproducing, a finding that offers clues to how species evolve. ...> Full Article

Will genomics help prevent the next pandemic? (10/27/2009)

This week, the Public Library of Science, an open-access publisher, presents the "Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease," a collection of essays, perspectives, and reviews that explores how genomics -- with all its associated tools and techniques -- can provide insights into our understanding of emerging infectious disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists first to see RNA network in live bacterial cells (10/26/2009)

New technology has given BU scientists the first look ever at RNA in a live bacteria cell -- a sight that could offer new information about how the molecule moves and works. ...> Full Article

Messenger RNA with FLASH (10/25/2009)

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a key player in a molecular process essential for DNA replication within cells. ...> Full Article

Standards for a new genomic era (10/24/2009)

A team of geneticists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, together with a consortium of international researchers, has recently proposed a set of standards designed to elucidate the quality of publicly available genetic sequencing information. The new standards could eventually allow genetic researchers to develop vaccines more efficiently or help public health or security personnel more quickly respond to potential public-health emergencies. ...> Full Article

Quick and easy diagnosis for mitochondrial disorders (10/24/2009)

Soon you could be genetically screened for mitochondrial disorders quickly and comprehensively. Research published in BioMed Central's open-access journal, Genome Medicine, outlines an innovative clinical diagnostic test for the early identification of a wide range of mitochondrial disorders. Mutations to one of the mitochondrial genes, or to a number of nuclear genes with roles in mitochondrial function, can cause diseases which have very similar symptoms, making them difficult to diagnose and treat. ...> Full Article

New research shows how mobile DNA survives - and thrives - in plants, animals (10/23/2009)

Bits of movable DNA called transposable elements or TEs fill up the genomes of plants and animals, but it has remained unclear how a genome can survive a rapid burst of hundreds, even thousands of new TE insertions. Now, for the first time, research led by plant biologists at the University of Georgia have documented the impact of such a burst in a rice strain that is accumulating more than 40 new TE insertions per plant per generation of an element called mPing. ...> Full Article

Single-stranded DNA-binding protein is dynamic, critical to DNA repair (10/22/2009)

Researchers report that a single-stranded DNA-binding protein, once thought to be a static player among the many molecules that interact with DNA, actually moves back and forth along single-stranded DNA, gradually allowing other proteins to repair, recombine or replicate the strands. ...> Full Article

Scan of Turkish infant's genome yields a surprise diagnosis (10/21/2009)

In a dramatic illustration of the power of emerging genetic technologies, Yale University researchers have reported making a clinical diagnosis for the first time using comprehensive DNA sequencing of all the protein-coding genes in the genome. The information changed the course of treatment of a baby boy suffering from symptoms of dehydration thousands of miles away in Turkey. ...> Full Article

Scientists visualize assembly line gears in ribosomes, cell's protein factory (10/18/2009)

Even as research on the ribosome, one of the cell's most basic machines, is recognized with a Nobel Prize, scientists continue to achieve new insights on the way ribosomes work. For the first time, scientists have a detailed picture of the ribosome trapped together with elongation factor G (EF-G), one of the enzymes that nudges the assembly line to move forward. ...> Full Article

What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome (10/17/2009)

Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute provide the first detailed map of the human epigenome, the layer of genetic control beyond the regulation inherent in the sequence of the genes themselves. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop genetic map for cowpea, accelerating development of new varieties (10/17/2009)

A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside has developed a high-density "consensus genetic map" of cowpea, a protein-rich legume crop, that accelerates conventional breeding severalfold and facilitates the production of new varieties of not only cowpea but also other legumes. Cowpea is immensely important in many parts of the world, particularly drought-prone regions of Africa and Asia, and plays a key role in sustaining food security for both people and their livestock. ...> Full Article

Cell death occurs in the same way in plants, animals and humans (10/16/2009)

International research teams has shown that parts of the genetic programs that determine programmed cell death in plants and animals are actually evolutionarily related and moreover function in a similar way ...> Full Article

No such thing as 'junk RNA,' say researchers (10/15/2009)

Tiny fragments of RNA previously dismissed as cellular junk are actually stable molecules that play a significant role in gene regulation, say University of Pittsburgh researchers. The findings, which appear in the online version of the Journal of Virology, represent the first examination of very small RNA products and could lead to the development of biomarkers to detect and monitor cancer. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover RNA repair system in bacteria (10/14/2009)

In new papers appearing this month in Science and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Illinois biochemistry professor Raven H. Huang and his colleagues describe the first RNA repair system to be discovered in bacteria. ...> Full Article

How RNA polymerase II gets the go-ahead for gene transcription (10/13/2009)

The central dogma of molecular biology states that genes make RNAs, which then make proteins. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, led by Professor Patrick Cramer, have now discovered how the crucial first steps in RNA synthesis are executed -- and gene transcription is initiated. ...> Full Article

Bug splatter on your car's windshield is a treasure trove of genomic biodiversity (10/12/2009)

If you have ever taken a long road trip, the windshield of your car will inevitably be splattered with bugs by the time you arrive at your destination. Could the DNA left behind be used to estimate the diversity of insects in the region? In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists answered this question, utilizing a novel analysis pipeline that will accelerate future studies of biodiversity. ...> Full Article

Establishing standard definitions for genome sequences (10/12/2009)

With conservative estimates of 12,000 draft genomes hitting the public databases by 2012, researchers may be surprised to find that these datasets describe genomes that are not complete. Recognizing the problem, a group of researchers from several sequencing centers, including the DOE Joint Genome Institute has proposed four additional categories between "draft" and "finished" status that expand upon the so-called "Bermuda standard" in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Science. ...> Full Article

Jumping genes, gene loss and genome dark matter (10/12/2009)

An international team presents a new map of changes to human genome structure and a resource for researchers to look at the role of these changes in human disease. They also identify 75 "jumping genes" found in more than one location. However, they caution that they have not found large numbers of variants implicated in common diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. They suggest strategies for finding this "dark matter" of genetic variation. ...> Full Article

Scientists decipher the 3-D structure of the human genome (10/11/2009)

Scientists have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of the human genome, paving the way for new insights into genomic function and expanding our understanding of how cellular DNA folds at scales that dwarf the double helix. In a paper in the journal Science, they describe a new technology called Hi-C and apply it to answer the thorny question of how each of our cells stows some three billion base pairs of DNA while maintaining access to functionally crucial segments. ...> Full Article

Genetic effects of radiation (10/10/2009)

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are helping to lead a massive international study on the possible genetic effects of radiation and cancer drug exposures on future generations. ...> Full Article

Researcher solves mystery about proteins that package the genome (10/9/2009)

A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has solved a century-old mystery about proteins that play a vital role in the transfer of the human genetic code from one cell to another. The discovery could lead to finding new ways to help the body fight a variety of diseases, including cancer. ...> Full Article

Gene data tool advances prospects for personalized medicine (10/9/2009)

Applied to type 1 diabetes, widens net while increasing accuracy of individual risk assessments ...> Full Article

Genome sequence published for important biofuels yeast (10/8/2009)

A strain of yeast that thrives on turning sugar cane into ethanol for biofuel has had its genome completely sequenced by researchers at Duke University Medical Center. "Understanding this microbe may enable more efficient biofuel production, and also will produce even more robust industrial organisms that are versatile and capable of producing advanced biofuels from non-food crops like switchgrass," said Lucas Argueso, Ph.D., lead author, of the Duke Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. ...> Full Article

MicroRNA drives cells' adaptation to low-oxygen living (10/7/2009)

Researchers have fresh insight into an evolutionarily ancient way that cells cope when oxygen levels decline, according to a new study in the October 7 issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. In studies of cells taken from the lining of human pulmonary arteries, they show that a microRNA -- a tiny bit of RNA that regulates the activity of particular genes and thus the availability of certain proteins -- allows cells to shift their metabolic gears, in a process known as the Pasteur effect. ...> Full Article

Models begin to unravel how single DNA strands combine (10/7/2009)

Using computer simulations, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has identified some of the pathways through which single complementary strands of DNA interact and combine to form the double helix. ...> Full Article

Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features RNA analysis methods (10/3/2009)

Techniques for isolating RNA and for uncovering its interactions with proteins have taken on new importance as many laboratories define the roles of specific RNAs in the cell. The October issue of "Cold Spring Harbor Protocols" features two articles detailing methods for RNA analysis in zebrafish and the worm C. elegans. ...> Full Article

Research scientists find missing puzzle piece of powerful DNA repair complex (10/2/2009)

Understanding how serious breaks in DNA are repaired may help researchers to make cancer therapy more effective ...> Full Article

Putting the squeeze on sperm DNA (10/1/2009)

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and Grenoble, the Institut de Biologie Structurale and the Institut Albert Bonniot, both also in Grenoble, have been studying the secrets of speedy sperm. Their work, published today in Nature, shows how a protein only found in developing sperm cells, Brdt, directs tight re-packaging of sperm DNA ...> Full Article