Tag: Genetics

A recent research has found that genetics and pollution drive severity of asthma symptoms. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that asthma patients, with a specific genetic profile, exhibit more intense symptoms following exposure to traffic pollution. The research team also found that asthma patients that lack this genetic profile do not have

Cancer researchers struggle to identify tumor cells that are interspersed within nonmalignant tissues because tumor cells exploit the tissue environment and monopolize available resources to continue growing. Researchers attribute cancer cell’s ability to use cell signaling and metabolic pathways that override normal cell growth restrictions to complicated chemical exchanges between tissue and tumor cells. A

Decades after scientists discovered hundreds of different fatty acids in vegetable oils, two that had managed to elude detection have finally revealed themselves to a team led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Huazhong Agricultural University in China. Named for the sites of the two leading institutions, Nebraskanic acid and Wuhanic acid make up nearly

Invented over 50 years ago, flow cytometry-based cell sorting has become a widely used tool in biology labs for physically isolating cells based on their global surface marker expression profiles. But on August 27 in the journal Cell, an international, multi-institutional team of researchers unveil the next evolution in this critical process, “Image-Activated Cell Sorting,”

Every cell in our body has the same set of genes, or genome, and can potentially become any type of cell. During development, the epigenome mediates the process that leads a cell to become a skin cell or a neuron, for instance. If the genome is like computer hardware, then the epigenome is the software

An international team of researchers has uncovered a destructive mechanism at the molecular level that causes a well-known phenomenon associated with obesity, called leptin resistance. They found that mice fed a high-fat diet produce an enzyme named MMP-2 that clips receptors for the hormone leptin from the surface of neuronal cells in the hypothalamus. This

Single-cell sequencing technologies are filling in fine details in the catalog of life. Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health) and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) have identified 40 subtypes of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) along with the genetic markers and transcription factors that differentiate them. Thanks to recent advances in droplet-based single-cell

The proteins in our bodies are sophisticated structures that perform specific jobs to keep us functioning and healthy. In many cases, these tiny machines are switched on or off through a two-step process where one part of the protein sends messages to another part called the “active site,” triggering the protein to start or stop

Joanne Laird had struggled with obesity for her entire life. She’d tried every diet under the sun, but it wasn’t until last June, when she received the results of an at-home DNA test, that she was finally able to shed the extra pounds. That test was 23andme Health + Ancestry, and Laird credits it as the

Focal adhesions are large specialized proteins that are located in the area where a cell membrane meets the extracellular matrix (ECM), a collection of molecules surrounding the cells that provide support and regulate micromechanical signals to the cells. Examining focal adhesions is one of the key elements to understanding how a cell proliferates, differentiates, and

The passage of ions through the cell membrane is controlled by ion channels, which are protein complexes that regulate vital processes, such as the heartbeat, as well as being the target towards which many drugs are directed. Now a study by the University of Wisconsin, led by a Spanish researcher, presents a novel model to

Meadowfoam, a native Pacific Northwest plant cultivated as an oilseed crop, has emerged as a potential new source of protection against the sun’s harmful effects on the skin. The findings by scientists at Oregon State University are important because nearly 10,000 people a day in the United States are diagnosed with skin cancer, resulting in

As people age, their intestinal stem cells begin to lose their ability to regenerate. These stem cells are the source for all new intestinal cells, so this decline can make it more difficult to recover from gastrointestinal infections or other conditions that affect the intestine. This age-related loss of stem cell function can be reversed

Plant scientists have taken the crucial last steps in a 60-year quest to unravel the complex chemistry of Madagascar periwinkle in a breakthrough that opens up the potential for rapid synthesis of cancer-fighting compounds. The team in the laboratory of Professor Sarah O’Connor at the John Innes Centre have, after 15 years of research, located

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that can bind to proteins and change their function. They show high binding affinity, low toxicity, and are easy to synthesize, all of which makes peptides ideal for use in drug development, and many naturally occurring peptides such as insulin, oxytocin, somatostatin and the antibiotics vancomycin or polymyxin

What happens in a cell when genetic information is translated into proteins? In order to study this process, researchers take a closer look on one particular biomolecule inside the cell: messenger ribonucleic acid, mRNA for short. This biomolecule plays a major role in all cellular processes — and it is also the focus of joint

The two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease are ulcerous colitis and Crohn’s disease. These are diagnosed via endoscopy and gut biopsy. The diagnosis is often difficult, and the wrong diagnosis may have severe consequences for patients, because the treatments and medications are different between the two diseases. The development of new and improved

Researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have determined how satellite DNA, considered to be “junk DNA,” plays a crucial role in holding the genome together. Their findings, published recently in the journal eLife, indicate that this genetic “junk” performs the vital function of ensuring that chromosomes

The genetic basis of lifespan determination is poorly understood. Most research has been done on short-lived animals, and it is unclear if these insights can be transferred to long-lived mammals like humans. By comparing genes of long- and short-lived rodents, researchers from Leibniz Institute on Aging (FLI) in Jena/Germany now identified in a collaborative project

The longevity and health improvements seen in animals on sulfur amino acid-restricted diets could translate to people, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who recently conducted a review of published studies. More research is needed to confirm the benefits in people, the scientists said. Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins