Genetics & Molecular Biology

A new study has discovered that microRNAs (miRNAs), small RNA molecules that play important roles in regulation in many types of tissue, play a major role in the distribution and determination of fat…

Sorry Malcolm Gladwell, and you positive thinking book buyers at Whole Foods, you are not going to be a world-class sprinter no matter how much you practice unless you were born with exceptional…

A new study has affirmed what most of us knew - practice makes perfect, but only if you have some ability. In the nature versus nurture debate, Usain Bolt is still going to run faster than most…

Though cultural advocates invoke cancer for their causes, genetics is the dominant risk factor in common breast, prostate and colorectal cancers.  Researchers at the Centre for Primary…

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists have shown regulatory proteins in the nucleus to adopt a kind of “Tom Sawyer” behavior when it comes to the work of…

In rodent models, a drug that blocks the action of the enzyme Cdk5 could substantially reduce brain damage if administered shortly after a stroke, according to a new paper in the Journal of…

A promising molecule that blocks bone destruction could provide a potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis and bone metastases of cancer, according to a new study. The molecule, miR-34a, belongs…

Significant progress has been made over the last 25 years to identify genetic abnormalities associated with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) but many patients remain genetically undiagnosed. A…

If you could live longer, would you be weaned on an extreme, emaciating diet? The search for the foundation of youth has been happening forever and a popular idea in recent years has been caloric…

Researchers have developed a new technique to control populations of a major livestock pest in Australia and New Zealand. They genetically modified lines of female Australian sheep blowflies (Lucilia…