Evanston, IL (Scicasts) – Northwestern University scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock.
Norwich, UK (Scicasts) – The toxin that causes botulism is the most potent that we know of. Eating an amount of toxin just 1000th the weight of a grain of salt can be fatal, which is why so much effort has been put into keeping Clostridium botulinum, which produces the toxin, out of our food.
Los Angeles, CA (Scicasts) – A team of 70 scientists from the U.S., China, Australia and Japan has reported having sequenced and annotated the genome of the "sacred lotus," which is believed to have a powerful genetic system that repairs genetic defects, and may hold secrets about ageing successfully.
Japan (Scicasts) – Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan have identified the first gene to be associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (also called AIS) across Asian and Caucasian populations. The gene is involved in the growth and development of the spine during childhood.
Irapuato, Mexico/Buffalo, NY (Scicasts) – Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of a genetic material known as noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities.
Boulder, CO (Scicasts) – A particular tumour suppressor gene that fights cancer cells does more than clamp down on unabated cell division -- the hallmark of the disease -- it also can help make cells more fit by allowing them to fend off stress, says a University of Colorado Boulder study.
La Jolla, CA (Scicasts) – Scientists have long known that control mechanisms known collectively as "epigenetics" play a critical role in human development, but they did not know precisely how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA contribute to development.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY (Scicasts) – Two teams of investigators led by Professor Gregory Hannon of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have publish studies revealing many previously unknown components of an innate system that defends sex cells – the carriers of inheritance across generations – from the ravages of transposable genetic elements.
La Jolla, CA (Scicasts) – A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has found how to boost or inhibit a gene-silencing mechanism that normally serves as a major controller of cells’ activities.
University Park, PA (Scicasts) – A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep vein thrombosis -- the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein.
Hinxton, UK (Scicasts) – Researchers have reported tracking changes in an entire bacterial population following the introduction of a vaccine. They discovered that incidence of disease substantially reduced but the bacterium population has, unexpectedly, remained largely unchanged.
Munich, Germany (Scicasts) – The Research Group headed by molecular biologist Andrea Pichler from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has made an important discovery in meiosis research.
San Francisco, CA (Scicasts) – The tick-borne Lone Star virus has been conclusively identified as part of a family of other tick-borne viruses called bunyaviruses, which often cause fever, respiratory problems and bleeding, according to new research led by scientists at UC San Francisco (UCSF).
Durham, NC (Scicasts) – People have long taken for granted that glasses and contact lenses improve vision for nearsightedness, but the genetic factors behind the common condition have remained blurry.
Cambridge, MA (Scicasts) – Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically altered animal models are created and perhaps even redefining what species may serve as models.
Philadelphia, PA (Scicasts) – RNA, once considered a bit player in the grand scheme by which genes encode protein, is increasingly seen to have a major role in human genetics.
San Francisco, CA (Scicasts) – A UC San Francisco-led research team has identified a genetic mutation that is strongly linked with a typical form of migraine.