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Genetics news

Genetics

Is aging an act of genetic sabotage? Scientists find a gene that turns off food detection after reproduction

When roundworms stop reproducing, they can still move and function normally but lose their ability to detect certain food odors that once led them to their meals.

Genetics

Hidden 'switches' in DNA reveal new insights into Alzheimer's disease

A tiny percentage of our DNA—around 2%—contains 20,000-odd genes. The remaining 98%—long known as the non-coding genome, or so-called 'junk' DNA—includes many of the "switches" that control when and how strongly genes ...

Oncology & Cancer

Subtyping colorectal cancer may improve patient outcome predictions

Colorectal cancer, or CRC, is the world's second most lethal cancer based on the number of deaths, and is the third most prevalent malignant tumor. Doctors and patients have long been hoping for better diagnostics for prognosis, ...

Genetics

Cell defect in exosomes linked to development of Alzheimer's

They're tiny particles—with potentially huge human consequences. Researchers from Aarhus University have identified a defect in the production of so-called exosomes in cells, associated with a mutation seen in dementia ...

Oncology & Cancer

Surprising new roles discovered for known blood cancer gene DNMT3A

A gene called DNMT3A is important for guiding blood stem cells into forming all the cell types present in blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. When this gene accumulates mutations—which might ...

Oncology & Cancer

New treatments found for tough blood cancers

Researchers from King's have identified a new way to treat certain blood cancers using existing drugs, by turning a once-dismissed part of our DNA into a therapeutic target.

Medical research

Missing Y gene linked to male infertility

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa scientists have uncovered a direct link between a missing Y chromosome gene and male infertility. Their new research reveals that deleting this single gene in mice not only caused infertility ...

Genetics

Discovery reveals how chromosome ends can be protected

Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that safeguards the chromosome ends from being mistakenly repaired by the cell. While DNA repair is vital for survival, attempts to repair the chromosome ends—called ...

Genetics

How DNA damage can lead to motor neuron disease

Researchers at the University of Bath have discovered how DNA damage caused by a faulty DNA protection and repair system can lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as motor neuron disease (MND).