by Public Library of Science The reason why we sleep remains an unresolved question of the 21st century. Research by Sara Marie Ulv Larsen, Sebastian Camillo Holst and colleagues from the Neurobiology Research Unit at the University Hospital Copenhagen, published this week in the open access journal PLoS Biology, now shows that the depth of...
Tag: <span>Genetics</span>
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Parkinson’s discovery implicates “second brain” in the gut
By Nick Lavars A growing body of evidence is forging a stronger and stronger connection between the onset of Parkinson’s disease and the gut. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have thrown further weight behind this theory, with an investigation of cellular behavior in the nervous...
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Scientists explore links between genetics, gut microbiome and memory
A new study is among the first to trace the molecular connections between genetics, the gut microbiome and memory in a mouse model bred to resemble the diversity of the human population. While tantalizing links between the gut microbiome and brain have previously been found, a team of researchers from two U.S. Department of Energy...
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New MDS subtype proposed based on presence of genetic mutation
In a special report published today in the journal Blood, an international working group of experts in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) proposes – for the first time – the recognition of a distinct subtype of MDS based on the presence of a nonheritable genetic mutation that causes the disease. The mutation is found in approximately one...
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Researchers uncover genetic cause behind glaucoma
by Queen Mary, University of London Acute angle closure glaucoma of the right eye (intraocular pressure was 42 in the right eye). Credit: James Heilman, MD/Wikipedia New research has identified a genetic mutation linked to a type of glaucoma, known as primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), which could open up new avenues for the early detection...
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New approach to curing HIV
New treatment method being tested in clinical study. Hamburg-based researchers are seeking to improve future treatment of HIV patients using a new gene and cell method. Under the umbrella of Hamburg biotech startup Provirex, they are developing a new therapeutic approach that uses ‘gene scissors’ to cut out the blueprint of the AIDS pathogen HIV...
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Researchers identify unique glucose-sensing neurons that regulate blood sugar
by Baylor College of Medicine Low blood sugar levels, known as hypoglycemia, can be a life-threatening situation, especially for people with type 1 diabetes who rely on intensive insulin therapy to prevent blood sugar from going too high. Solutions to this problem may come from a better understanding of the basic mechanisms keeping blood sugar...
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Researchers are making recombinant-protein drugs cheaper
The mammalian cell lines that are engineered to produce high-value recombinant-protein drugs also produce unwanted proteins that push up the overall cost to manufacture these drugs. These same proteins can also lower drug quality. In a new paper in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of California San Diego and the Technical University of Denmark...
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A small piece of genetic material could be key to diagnosing, treating high blood pressure
by University of Glasgow A small piece of genetic material could hold the key to diagnosing and treating high blood pressure earlier, according to new research by scientists at the University of Glasgow, who found that a small piece of genetic material could explain why arteries become increasingly stiff (which happens in high blood pressure)...
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Jumping genes’ help stabilize DNA folding patterns
Long understood as source of novel genetic traits, jumping genes also provide genomic stability WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE “Jumping genes” — bits of DNA that can move from one spot in the genome to another — are well-known for increasing genetic diversity over the long course of evolution. Now, new research at Washington University...