News Release 26-Sep-2024 Peer-Reviewed PublicationVlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie Synapse loss can be observed in aged mutant flies (top image) compared to controls (bottom image)Credit: COPYRIGHT: VIB Leuven, 26 September 2024 – A team of scientists led by Prof. Patrik Verstreken (VIB-KU Leuven) has identified a new genetic mutation that may cause a form of early-onset...
Category: <span>Genetics</span>
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Single-dose gene therapy is potentially life-changing for adults with hemophilia B
Adults with hemophilia B saw their number of bleeding episodes drop by an average of 71% after a single infusion of gene therapy, according to the results of an international Phase III clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a...
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Largest-ever genetic study of epilepsy finds possible therapeutic targets
Epilepsy genetic architecture from large-scale genetic association studies. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01747-8 The largest and most diverse study to date of epilepsy’s genetic factors has revealed new potential targets for treatment, both shared by and unique to different subtypes of epilepsy. The findings point to factors involved in how neurons communicate and fire, suggesting potential...
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CRISPR-Cas13: A new frontier in RNA-editing with revolutionary therapeutic potential
News Release 25-Sep-2024 Researchers reviewed the recent therapeutic developments and upcoming challenges of CRISPR-Cas13, a cutting-edge RNA-editing technology Peer-Reviewed PublicationNanjing Agricultural University The Academy of Science In recent years, the scientific community has made significant strides in the field of gene editing, particularly through the development of the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)...
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Bacterial ‘flipping’ allows genes to assume different forms
News Release 25-Sep-2024 A gene can code for multiple bacterial features Peer-Reviewed PublicationStanford Medicine Imagine being one cartwheel away from changing your appearance. One flip, and your brunette locks are platinum blond. That’s not too far from what happens in some prokaryotes, or single-cell organisms, such as bacteria, that undergo something called inversions. A study...
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Searching for a vaccine against an ancient scourge: Syphilis genetics study points to a potential target
September 19, 2024 by University of Connecticut Accumulation of lineage-associated and population-associated missense mutations in select TPA proteins. Credit: The Lancet Microbe (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(24)00087-9Syphilis cases have surged worldwide, leaving public health officials scrounging for ways to stop the spread. Now, a large, collaborative study of syphilis genetics from four continents has found hints of...
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Scientists discover how mutations affect calcium release channel and impact muscle disorders
September 18, 2024 by Juntendo University Research Promotion Center S5 mutations disrupt RyR1 channel function, influencing both channel activity and gating mechanisms. This impacts the release of calcium and affects muscle contractions, leading to severe muscle diseases such as malignant hyperthermia and central core disease. Credit: Associate Professor Takashi Murayama from Juntendo University, Japan and...
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Genetics suggest link between ALS and Parkinson’s disease
September 16, 2024 by Dennis Thompson People with rare genetic variants linked to degenerative brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease are at increased risk of developing ALS, a new study finds. Further, having these genetic variants increases the risk of a person having faster-progressing ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and dying earlier, researchers found. The strongest link...
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100x Improvement in Sight Seen After Gene Therapy Trial
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS The vision of people with a rare inherited condition that causes them to lose much of their sight early in childhood was 100 times better after they received gene therapy to address the genetic mutation causing it. Some patients even experienced a 10,000-fold improvement in their vision after receiving the highest...
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Reading your biological age in your blood or saliva? It’s not as simple as that, study shows
August 22, 2024 by International Society for Stem Cell Research Epigenetic clocks are impacted by the differentiation stage and proliferation history of cells, as well as by age-associated changes in cell type composition. Credit: Rebecca GorelovHow old are you, really? Your chronological age is the number of years you have been alive. Your biological age...