by Harvard University Leaky lungs are a very common side effect of heart failure, but all currently available drugs do is reduce the amount of fluid in the body, rather than plug the leak itself. A new gene therapy created at the Wyss Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital and tested in human Lung Chips blocks...
Category: <span>Genetics</span>
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New principle for activation of cancer genes discovered
by Karolinska Institutet Researchers have long known that some genes can cause cancer when overactive, but exactly what happens inside the cell nucleus when the cancer grows has so far remained enigmatic. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a new mechanism that renders one canonical driver of cancer overactive. The findings, published...
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How DNA Testing Will Accelerate Precision Medicine, Preventive Care
A little over a year after introducing DNA testing in primary care clinics, Geisinger is paving the way for precision medicine and preventive care delivery. Source: Getty Images By Jessica Kent November 22, 2019 – In May 2018, Geisinger Health System announced that it would soon include genomic sequencing in routine clinical care to advance precision medicine and improve patient...
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Gene Delivery Device to Make Engineered Cell Therapies Much Cheaper
The technology, called deterministic mechanoporation (DMP), consists of a microfluidic device that allows large numbers of living cells to be injected with genetic materials. Unlike the biochemical approaches that are typically used, the new approach is mechanical. Using fluid flow, cells are dragged toward microscopic needles within the device. The cells are pierced and immediately...
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Study sheds new light on how epigenetic events might spur disease
by C. David Allis, Rockefeller University Scientists are increasingly tracing a variety of diseases back to the so-called epigenome, a type of indexing system imposed on DNA that dictates how genes should be read by the cells. Now, a new study finds that changes in two epigenetics mechanisms—DNA and histone methylation—may interact to spur disease. The...
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CRISPR tool modifies genes precisely by copying RNA into the genome
The ultimate goal of genome editing is to be able to make any specific change to the blueprint of life. A ‘search-and-replace’ method for genome editing takes us a giant leap closer to this ambitious goal. Randall J. Platt Variation in the DNA sequences that constitute the blueprint of life is essential to the fitness...
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Genetics may determine who benefits from broccoli’s effects on kidney health
by American Society of Nephrology New research indicates that the benefits of a dietary compound on kidney health may depend on an individual’s genetics. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of JASN, may be helpful for tailoring interventions to prevent or treat kidney disease. Glutathione S-transferase mu-1 (GSTM1) is an enzyme that plays...
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In Down Syndrome Mouse Model, Scientists Reverse Intellectual Deficits with Drugs
In a surprising finding using the standard animal model of Down syndrome (DS), scientists were able to correct the learning and memory deficits associated with the condition — the leading genetic cause of cognitive disability and the most frequently diagnosed chromosomal disorder in the U.S. — with drugs that target the body’s response to cellular...
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UK PLANS TO GIVE ALL CHILDREN FULL GENOME SEQUENCE AT BIRTH
“WE WILL GIVE EVERY CHILD THE BEST POSSIBLE START IN LIFE BY ENSURING THEY GET THE BEST POSSIBLE MEDICAL CARE AS SOON AS THEY ENTER THE WORLD.” BY DAN ROBITZSKI / AN HOUR AGO The U.K. may start offering full genome sequencing to every child born in the country, an official says. Health Secretary Matt...
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Doctors try CRISPR gene editing for cancer, a 1st in the US
by Marilynn Marchione In this January 2019 image made from video provided by Penn Medicine, IV bags of CRISPR-edited T cells are prepared for administering to a patient at the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Early results released on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019 show that doctors were able to take immune system cells from the...