DNA

Delivery systems in body continuously move materials between cells. Hijacking these systems allowed scientists to improve loading and delivery of therapeutic proteins. Biophysical principles could be used to enable more cost-effective loading of biological cargo into cell-derived delivery systems. Engineered molecules loaded up to 240 times more protein than other loading methods. Each cell in

Liquid-liquid phase separation is not a precursor to formation of amyloid fibrils, a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease, shows study. Rather, the formation of protein into liquid droplets may help to dissolve aggregated protein. The study deepens our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases linked to protein aggregation and could help develop new therapies. Liquid-liquid phase separation

Researchers have used gene editing to restore hearing in adult mice with a type of inherited hearing loss. They showed that shutting down a damaged copy of a gene called a microRNA (miRNA) enabled the animals to regain hearing. The approach may eventually lead to potential treatments for inherited hearing loss in people. Researchers have

In order for immune cells to effectively kill cancer cells, a triad of three cells are necessary -- a dendritic cell, a cytotoxic 'killer' T cell, and a helper T cell, researchers have found. The discovery could alter the way doctors administer immunotherapies. There's a frustrating fact about today's immunotherapies for cancer. While sometimes they

Researchers reveal how a gene called SH2B1 works in the brain to regulate food intake. Obesity is a complicated condition, caused by a combination of genetics, the food environment, behavior, and other factors. For millennia, getting enough food to survive and thrive was difficult. For most people, it's now as easy as opening a refrigerator.

A new study finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) could be attributed to modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet

Researchers have mapped the exact variants in a gene that dramatically increase a person's risk of developing several types of cancer. This could lead to improved early detection and targeted treatment across diverse populations. Over 5,000 genetic variants that enable certain cancers to thrive have been identified by scientists, along with a potential therapeutic target

The American Journal of Human Genetics recently published a perspective piece on the need for an equitable and inclusive future for DNA and ancient DNA (aDNA) research in Africa. The paper highlights the fact that, while DNA from ancient and living African peoples is increasingly critical to the study of human evolution, African scientists remain

Researchers have determined whether a specific chemical modification of a protein that packages the genome called a histone affects gene activity and cell proliferation. Researchers have determined whether a specific chemical modification of a protein that packages the genome called a histone affects gene activity and cell proliferation according to the paper, "Drosophila melanogaster Set8

Using genomes from 2,000 living humans as well as three Neanderthals and one Denisovan, an international team mapped the gene flow between the hominin groups over the past quarter-million years. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were discovered in 1856, people have wondered about these ancient hominins. How are they different from us? How much

RNA drugs are the next frontier of medicine, but manufacturing them requires an expensive and labor-intensive process that limits production and produces metric tons of toxic chemical waste. Researchers report a new, enzyme-based RNA synthesis method that can produce strands of RNA with both natural and modified nucleotides without the environmental hazards. While the COVID-19

A new study has found that prolonged nerve injury (in an experimental model of chronic pain) reduces the expression of the transcription factor, Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2C (MEF2C) in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region that regulates emotion, reward and pain processing. Chronic pain affects approximately 20% of the United States population and 30% of