New Genes

An Arctic seed vault on Norway's Spitsbergen island received new samples last week from the largest number of depositors since 2020, reflecting fear about the threat of conflict and climate change to food security.

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory, Broad Institute, and Yale University use AI to identify DNA sequences that control gene activation in specific cells. This AI model decodes patterns in DNA regions called cis-regulatory elements (CREs), guiding synthetic DNA switches for cell-specific gene activity. Early testing in animal models showed succes...

A recent study from UC Davis and UC Berkeley has unveiled a groundbreaking mRNA delivery method capable of editing genes in fetal brain cells. By administering mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles, researchers successfully targeted genetic disorders such as Angelman syndrome before birth. This approach, which minimizes risks of inflammation, of...

Recent research has shed light on how "selfish DNA," particularly LINE-1 transposons, plays a key role in early human development. Once viewed primarily as harmful, these elements have now been found to be essential for the normal formation and specialisation of cells during the embryo's early stages. Blocking their activity causes developmental di...

Tibetan women living on the Tibetan Plateau have developed extraordinary adaptations to thrive in extreme high altitudes. New research from Case Western Reserve University highlights unique physiological traits, including blood and heart characteristics that optimise oxygen delivery. These adaptations are linked to the EPAS1 gene, passed down from ...

A new paper searches huge human data sets for gene variants that throw the 1:1 sex ratio off balance, and test the biological and theoretical rules of sex ratio.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering microRNA and its crucial role in gene regulation. Their groundbreaking research, which began with tiny worms, has uncovered how microRNAs regulate protein production, impacting areas such as cancer, eye diseases, and even microbial interac...

Neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases (NPD), such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and depression, have a negative impact on individuals, families, and society. Unfortunately, effective therapies are often lacking.

The human Y chromosome, crucial for male development in the embryo, has been steadily losing its genes over millions of years. Currently, the chromosome is down to just 45 genes from an original count of 1438, with scientists estimating that it could disappear entirely within 11 million years. This genetic deterioration has raised concerns about th...

Recent research has revealed that LUCA, the last universal common ancestor of all life, lived around 4.2 billion years ago. This new estimate pushes back the timeline for the origin of life by 300 million years. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, involved analysis of genes from 700 species of bacteria and archaea, as well as ancien...

Y chromosome has significantly reduced in size over millions of years, raising the possibility of evolving new sex-determination systems and the emergence of different human species in the distant future.

A recent breakthrough in genetic research offers new hope for saving the world’s banana supply from fusarium wilt, a devastating disease that threatens the Cavendish variety. This study, detailed in Nature Microbiology, sheds light on how this disease, which previously wiped out the Gros Michel bananas in the 1950s, is now affecting Cavendish ban...

An 18-month-old British girl who was born completely deaf is believed to be the youngest person to have their hearing restored after undergoing groundbreaking new gene therapy.

Six genes have been found to be at the heart of emotional response and meaning perception, in turn making up one's personality, including their outlook and functioning, according to new research.

The latest findings covering 82 individual studies by COVID-19 HGI have been published in the journal Nature.

An Arctic seed vault on Norway's Spitsbergen island received new samples last week from the largest number of depositors since 2020, reflecting fear about the threat of conflict and climate change to food security.

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory, Broad Institute, and Yale University use AI to identify DNA sequences that control gene activation in specific cells. This AI model decodes patterns in DNA regions called cis-regulatory elements (CREs), guiding synthetic DNA switches for cell-specific gene activity. Early testing in animal models showed succes...

A recent study from UC Davis and UC Berkeley has unveiled a groundbreaking mRNA delivery method capable of editing genes in fetal brain cells. By administering mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles, researchers successfully targeted genetic disorders such as Angelman syndrome before birth. This approach, which minimizes risks of inflammation, of...

Recent research has shed light on how "selfish DNA," particularly LINE-1 transposons, plays a key role in early human development. Once viewed primarily as harmful, these elements have now been found to be essential for the normal formation and specialisation of cells during the embryo's early stages. Blocking their activity causes developmental di...

Tibetan women living on the Tibetan Plateau have developed extraordinary adaptations to thrive in extreme high altitudes. New research from Case Western Reserve University highlights unique physiological traits, including blood and heart characteristics that optimise oxygen delivery. These adaptations are linked to the EPAS1 gene, passed down from ...

A new paper searches huge human data sets for gene variants that throw the 1:1 sex ratio off balance, and test the biological and theoretical rules of sex ratio.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering microRNA and its crucial role in gene regulation. Their groundbreaking research, which began with tiny worms, has uncovered how microRNAs regulate protein production, impacting areas such as cancer, eye diseases, and even microbial interac...

Neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases (NPD), such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and depression, have a negative impact on individuals, families, and society. Unfortunately, effective therapies are often lacking.

The human Y chromosome, crucial for male development in the embryo, has been steadily losing its genes over millions of years. Currently, the chromosome is down to just 45 genes from an original count of 1438, with scientists estimating that it could disappear entirely within 11 million years. This genetic deterioration has raised concerns about th...

Recent research has revealed that LUCA, the last universal common ancestor of all life, lived around 4.2 billion years ago. This new estimate pushes back the timeline for the origin of life by 300 million years. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, involved analysis of genes from 700 species of bacteria and archaea, as well as ancien...

Y chromosome has significantly reduced in size over millions of years, raising the possibility of evolving new sex-determination systems and the emergence of different human species in the distant future.

A recent breakthrough in genetic research offers new hope for saving the world’s banana supply from fusarium wilt, a devastating disease that threatens the Cavendish variety. This study, detailed in Nature Microbiology, sheds light on how this disease, which previously wiped out the Gros Michel bananas in the 1950s, is now affecting Cavendish ban...

An 18-month-old British girl who was born completely deaf is believed to be the youngest person to have their hearing restored after undergoing groundbreaking new gene therapy.

Six genes have been found to be at the heart of emotional response and meaning perception, in turn making up one's personality, including their outlook and functioning, according to new research.

The latest findings covering 82 individual studies by COVID-19 HGI have been published in the journal Nature.