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Genetics news

Genetics

Largest genetic study to date identifies 13 new DNA regions linked to dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental condition estimated to affect between 5–10% of people living in most countries, irrespective of their educational and cultural background. Dyslexic individuals experience persistent difficulties ...

Genetics

One-time gene therapy could end lifelong transfusions for rare blood disease

Thanks to in-utero blood transfusion technology, what was once a fatal diagnosis in the womb can now result in live births. However, this medical advancement created a new challenge: a growing population of children born ...

Genetics

CRISPR approach offers hope for severe childhood brain disorder

When brain development gets off to a bad start, the consequences are lifelong. One example is a condition called SCN2A haploinsufficiency, in which children are born with just one functioning copy of the SCN2A gene—instead ...

Genetics

AI-powered CRISPR could lead to faster gene therapies

Stanford Medicine researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool to help scientists better plan gene-editing experiments. The technology, CRISPR-GPT, acts as a gene-editing "copilot" supported by AI to help researchers—even ...

Oncology & Cancer

Research links DNA replication failure to cancer therapy

A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Communications, reveals that cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) promote DNA replication licensing in human cells by relieving inhibitory signals from RB tumor suppressor ...

Genetics

Gene therapy safeguards hearing, balance in preclinical test

Scientists from the Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University introduced an innovative gene therapy method to treat impairments in hearing and balance caused by inner ear dysfunction. According to the ...

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 ...

Genetics

Predicting how an autistic child will develop cognitively

Will a child who's evaluated for autism later develop an intellectual disability? Can this be accurately predicted? Early-childhood experts in Quebec say they've have come up with a better way to find out.

Genetics

Study reveals new genetic mechanism behind autism development

Scientists from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV) have uncovered a genetic link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a rare genetic condition called myotonic dystrophy ...

Oncology & Cancer

A common diabetes drug may prevent leukemia, mouse study suggests

Metformin, a widely used and affordable diabetes drug, could prevent a form of acute myeloid leukemia in people at high risk of the disease, a study in mice has suggested. Further research in clinical trials will be needed ...

Genetics

Genetic variant reveals how cleft lip and cleft palate can arise

Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common birth defects, occurring in about one in 1,050 births in the United States. These defects, which appear when the tissues that form the lip or the roof of the mouth do not ...

Genetics

Supercharged mitochondria spark aging-related blood disorders

As we age, blood stem cells, the essential source of new blood cells in the body, can accumulate genetic mutations. These mutations can give the cells a growth advantage, laying the foundation for developing serious health ...

Oncology & Cancer

Key to the high aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer identified

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers and has one of the lowest survival rates—only 10% after five years. One of the factors contributing to its aggressiveness is its tumor microenvironment, known as the ...

Genetics

Single-cell profiling methods compared for gut biopsy analysis

Research on gastrointestinal diseases, especially cancer, has mainly focused on epithelial cells, which line the surfaces of organs, are important for various functions, and are believed to be the cells that go awry to cause ...

Genetics

Gene identified that blocks healing after spinal cord injury

An estimated 18,000 people in the United States annually suffer from new injuries to their spinal cords. Unfortunately for those afflicted, no FDA-approved therapy is currently available. Scientists at UC San Diego are looking ...