By destroying the regulatory genes of the AIDS virus HIV-1 using the genome editing system CRISPR/Cas9, a Japanese research group has succeeded in blocking the production of HIV-1 by infected cells. Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection is a chronic disease affecting more than 35 million people worldwide. The infection can be controlled by antiretroviral therapy (ART), but...
Category: <span>Genetics</span>
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Hi-C Maps Used to Inexpensively Generate Chromosome-Length Genome Assemblies
COLD SPRING HARBOR, NY (GenomeWeb) – By relying on the Hi-C approach to map interactions between chromatin regions, researchers have been able to assemble de novo mammalian genomes for less than $1,000. Olga Dudchenko, a postdoc in Erez Lieberman Aiden’s lab at the Baylor College of Medicine, said during her talk at the Biology of Genomes meeting here that...
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Gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency yields promising results
New Rochelle, NY, May 1, 2018–During the first 18 months after treatment with ali-pogene tiparvovec, a gene therapy recently approved in Europe to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), the first patient to receive the treatment had no abdominal pain or episodes of pancreatitis, following a history of 37 pancreatitis attacks. The patient was able to...
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Gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency yields promising results
New Rochelle, NY, May 1, 2018–During the first 18 months after treatment with ali-pogene tiparvovec, a gene therapy recently approved in Europe to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), the first patient to receive the treatment had no abdominal pain or episodes of pancreatitis, following a history of 37 pancreatitis attacks. The patient was able to...
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Largest-ever study of thyroid cancer genetics finds new mutations, suggests immunotherapy
University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers recently completed the largest-ever study of thyroid cancer genetics, mining the data of 583 patient samples of advanced differentiated thyroid cancer and 196 anaplastic thyroid cancers. In addition to the identification of specific genes that may drive these cancers and thus provide attractive targets for treatment, the researchers found that in several samples...
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Researchers use CRISPR to edit DNA outside of the cell for the first time
Delaware’s Gene Editing Institute discovery could rapidly advance personalized cancer care IMAGE: DIRECTOR OF THE GENE EDITING INSTITUTE AND PRINCIPAL AUTHOR OF THE STUDY Wilmington, DE, April 19, 2018 – Scientists at Christiana Care Health System’s Gene Editing Institute have developed a potentially breakthrough CRISPR gene-editing tool. It could allow researchers to take fragments of DNA extracted from human...
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Enigmatic gene critical for a healthy brain
A cross section of the mouse olfactory bulb. Green is electroporated neuroblasts born in the sub ventricular zone that migrated into the olfactory bulb. Blue is a DAPI nuclear counterstain. Credit: Francis Szele New research has shown how an unusual gene is needed for brain development in young mice. Since the human genome was first sequenced in...
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New mutation behind heart failure identified
An international research team involving Karolinska Institutet has identified a new mutation in South Asians that, in combination with a known mutation in the same gene, increases the risk of cardiomyopathy and heart failure. The finding, published in the scientific journal JAMA Cardiology, can lead to improved treatment options for a large number of patients. Four...
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First seeds of kidney cancer sown in adolescence
Insights from this study present an opportunity to develop approaches for early detection and early intervention in kidney cancer The earliest critical genetic changes that can lead to kidney cancer have been mapped by scientists. The first key genetic change occurs in childhood or adolescence, and the resulting cells follow a consistent path to progress...
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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...