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Genetics news
Medical research
James Watson helped crack DNA's code, sparking medical advances and ethical debates
On a foggy Saturday morning in 1953, a tall, skinny 24-year-old man fiddled with shapes he had cut out of cardboard. They represented fragments of a DNA molecule, and young James Watson was trying to figure how they fit together ...
10 hours ago
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Genetics
Alternate proteins from the same gene can contribute differently to health and rare disease
Around 25 million Americans have a rare genetic disease, and many of them struggle with not only a lack of effective treatments, but also a lack of good information about their disease. Clinicians may not know what causes ...
Nov 7, 2025
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Genetically altered hair cells show how inner ear structures are organized
Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered how a specific type of cell in the inner ear plays a commanding role in shaping the cellular landscape of the organ responsible for hearing, according to a study published in ...
Nov 6, 2025
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Maternal type 1 diabetes may protect children through epigenetic changes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the body's own insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas, leaving patients with a lifelong dependency on external insulin.
Nov 6, 2025
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Key histone variant may explain some forms of infertility
An epigenetic factor that is essential for producing mature egg cells in mice has been identified by RIKEN researchers for the first time. This discovery could aid research into cases of infertility caused by immature eggs.
Nov 6, 2025
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Marker that predicts cell death in kidneys identified
When the kidneys are damaged—after surgery, cardiac arrest, or as a side effect of certain medications—doctors often face one crucial question: Will the kidneys recover, or is the damage permanent?
Nov 6, 2025
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Breast cancer relapse: Key cellular resistance mechanism discovered
Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. It can initially respond well to therapeutic combinations of chemotherapy, but a tiny minority of tumor cells may manage to tolerate ...
Nov 6, 2025
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Missing enzyme may explain impaired bone growth
Chondrocytes play a crucial role in skeletal development. Many bones, such as those in the arms and legs, are formed through endochondral ossification, in which chondrocytes assemble to create a cartilage scaffold that is ...
Nov 6, 2025
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Hundreds of genes act differently in the brains of men and women
Differences between men and women in intelligence and behavior have been proposed and disputed for decades.
Nov 6, 2025
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Bowel cancer's 'Big bang': How a crucial moment determines future growth
Like the astronomical explosion that kickstarted the universe, bowel cancer has a "Big Bang" moment which determines how it will grow, according to new research.
Nov 5, 2025
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Missing a common protein could affect how muscles respond to testosterone
Lacking a common protein may affect how muscles respond to testosterone, potentially affecting athletic performance and age-related muscle loss, according to a new study.
Nov 5, 2025
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Experimental drug blocks key protein to trigger cancer cell self-destruction in lung tumors
NYU Langone Health researchers found that a type of cell death caused by a buildup of highly reactive molecules suppresses lung tumor growth.
Nov 5, 2025
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Two main gene discovery methods reveal complementary aspects of biology
The two main approaches for discovering disease genes reveal distinct aspects of biology, a new study shows. While both methods are widely used, the research found that they identify different genes with major implications ...
Nov 5, 2025
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CRISPR screen identifies new regulator of androgen receptor in prostate cancer
A poorly characterized protein, historically thought to be a chaperon or enzyme, may actually be a key player in prostate cancer. In a systematic CRISPR screen, scientists from Arc Institute, UCSF, and the Fred Hutchinson ...
Nov 5, 2025
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DNA discovery could help identify mothers at risk of pre-eclampsia
The human genome is riddled with relics of viral infections—bits of DNA from viruses that have been inserted in human DNA over millions of years and never left. Most are silent but some have taken on functional roles, particularly ...
Nov 5, 2025
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Study identifies key genes linked to aggressive prostate cancer in people of African descent
New prostate cancer research from an international team led by the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has yielded discoveries that could improve screening and treatment for patients of African ...
Nov 5, 2025
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Reactivating a fetal gene enables adult heart cells to regenerate after injury
Around the globe, heart disease remains one of the top causes of death. Once patients begin to suffer from serious heart problems, like heart attacks and heart failure, the heart muscles become damaged and are difficult to ...
Hidden nuclear droplets link multiple leukemias and reveal a new therapeutic target
A hidden structure inside the cell is rewriting how scientists understand leukemia. Beneath the microscope, what looked like disorder turned out to follow a simple physical rule—one that connects several major mutations ...
Nov 4, 2025
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Japanese public expresses strong reluctance to donate cells for human brain organoid research
Research on human brain organoids (HBOs) is directly challenging how biobanks and biomedical institutes recruit volunteers. That is what a new study by Japanese researchers in Frontiers in Genetics concludes after finding ...
Nov 4, 2025
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Specific human gene can help the heart repair itself from heart attack or heart failure
A naturally occurring gene called Cyclin A2 (CCNA2), which turns off after birth in humans, can actually make new, functioning heart cells and help the heart repair itself from injury, including a heart attack or heart failure, ...
Nov 3, 2025
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Protein plays unexpected dual role in protecting brain from oxidative stress damage
New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that the enzyme biliverdin reductase A (BVRA) plays a direct protective role against oxidative stress in neurons, independent of its role producing the yellow pigment bilirubin.
Nov 3, 2025
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How a tiny RNA molecule in the kidney triggers a deadly autoimmune disease
Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have discovered how a small, naturally occurring RNA molecule in the kidney activates a mutated immune receptor, triggering a chain reaction.
Nov 3, 2025
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Safe new target against acute myeloid leukemia discovered
Targeting a specialized group of histones is safe and opens new therapeutic opportunities for treating blood cancers. This is the main finding of the latest research by Dr. Marcus Buschbeck and Dr. René Winkler, researchers ...
Nov 3, 2025
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A new tool for understanding chromosome abnormalities in the eggs of older women
Human egg cells are often prone to chromosomal errors. As women age, the error rate increases sharply—and can contribute to infertility, pregnancy loss, and genetic disorders. Yet why this sudden rise happens remains unknown.
Nov 3, 2025
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Genomic identification method provides diagnoses for 145 families with rare conditions
A new genomic method has enabled multiple people with rare conditions to receive diagnoses that were previously unattainable by identifying complex structural genetic changes that are often missed by standard tests.
Nov 3, 2025
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