A new study has uncovered a biological clock circuit that may explain why people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia can become more agitated or aggressive in the early evening. People with Alzheimer’s can feel more agitated during the evening. The researchers hope that their findings will lead to new treatments that help...
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Gene that makes humans eat more sugar can also lower body fat
Credit: CC0 Public Domain You are what you eat, the old saying goes. But it turns out that may be backward. What if, in fact, you eat certain things because of who you are? Scientists have known since 2013 that a common version of the gene FGF21 makes us consume more carbohydrates. Now, for the...
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Study identifies new molecular target for treating deadly lung disease IPF
In this microscopic photo of tissue from mouse lung with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), extensive fibrosis and collagen deposits (shown in red) have extensively infiltrated the tissue. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s report Scientists searching for a therapy to stop the deadly and mostly untreatable lung disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), found a new molecular target...
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Discovery sheds new light on how neurodegenerative diseases might occur
Neuronal synapse. Credit: University of Leicester Researchers from the University of Leicester have shed new light on how neurons in the brain communicate with one another. This could potentially help in our understanding of how and why a range of neurodegenerative diseases occur. The team, led by Dr Joern Steinert from the MRC Toxicology Unit...
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Multiple Myeloma Study Links More Than Three Dozen Genes to Disease
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Researchers have identified 40 genes that can be disrupted in the early stages of multiple myeloma. While multiple myeloma is characterized by known recurrent chromosomal changes, how the disease first develops isn’t clear. In 2017, there were 30,280 new multiple myeloma cases in the US and 12,590 deaths due to the...
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Loss-of-Function KIF5A Mutations Linked to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Researchers have linked loss-of-function mutations in the KIF5A gene to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects about 14,500 people in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An international team of researchers led by John Lander...
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UCLA Researchers Use CRISPR Approach to Profile Genomic Variants in High-Throughput Manner
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Measuring the functional effects of genomic variants in a high-throughput manner has been a challenge for researchers. But in a new study published today in Nature Genetics, a team from the University of California, Los Angeles detailed its efforts to develop a CRISPR-library-based approach for highly efficient and precise genome-wide variant engineering that...
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Help for when you’re wide-eyed at 3 a.m.
(HealthDay)—Something like this has happened to most of us: You wake up, wide awake, only to discover that it’s 3 a.m. Suddenly your mind fills with worry about how hard tomorrow will be if you don’t get more sleep. The problem is, you toss and turn and can’t get back to sleep. What to do? First, don’t...
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Large-scale study links PCOS to mental health disorders
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common hormone condition among young women, are prone to mental health disorders, and their children face an increased risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. PCOS...
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Alzheimer’s Disease Gene Successfully Removed From Human Brain: Is This The Cure We’ve Been Waiting For?
Scientists were able to successfully remove a gene that caused Alzheimer’s disease from the human brain, possibly paving the way for a new kind of treatment against the dreaded illness. Scientists were able to successfully remove apoE4, a gene that caused Alzheimer’s disease, from the human brain. The research might be science’s best shot at...