Genetics & Molecular Biology

Mexican Genetics: So Much Variation In Ancestry There Basically Are No Mexicans

In the most comprehensive genetic study of the Mexican population to date, researchers from  Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), UC San Francisco and Stanford University, have identified tremendous genetic diversity. So much di ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 12 2014 - 4:55pm

Kidneys Aren't Static: Renal Regeneration Explained

The kidney, unlike its neighbor the liver, was once understood to be a static organ once it had fully developed, but doctors have observed patients with kidney disease experiencing renal regeneration.   A new study conducted by researchers at Sheba Medica ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2014 - 3:08pm

Transmitophagy?

Some basic biology may need revising. It's broadly assumed that cells degrade and recycle their own old or damaged organelles, but researchers writing in PNAS say that some neurons transfer unwanted mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside cells, t ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2014 - 5:58pm

Three Person IVF Has Risks- And Now Perhaps A Solution

Mitochondria are cell organelles located within animal and human cells. They produce energy for the organism, possess their own genetic material- mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)- and are transmitted exclusively by the mother. Depending on their activity and tas ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 17 2014 - 10:02am

Inflammation Can Be Good: In Fat Tissue. It Helps Prevent Metabolic Disease

Chronic tissue inflammation is typically associated with obesity and metabolic disease, but new research finds that a level of "healthy" inflammation is necessary to prevent metabolic diseases, such as fatty liver. ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2014 - 8:20am

Australian Sheep Blowfly Gets A Genetic Modification Solution

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 cuprina), making female flies dependent upon a common a ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2014 - 12:34pm

Giving Worms Anorexia Doubles Their Lifespan In Study

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 restriction- mice weaned on starvation diets live long and  ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2014 - 5:10pm

Mitochondrial Mutation Linked To Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome Identified

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 new report identifies a gene defect in mitochondria, spec ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 22 2014 - 12:30am

Osteoporosis: MicroRNA That Blocks Bone Destruction Could Be New Therapeutic Target

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 to a family of small molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 25 2014 - 10:30pm

Cdk5 Discovery: Blocking Key Enzyme Minimizes Stroke Injury

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 Neuroscience, because aberrant Cdk5 activity causes nerve cell de ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 26 2014 - 11:00pm