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Category: genetics – Page 59

Subtle molecular changes in brain cells may be linked to autism and schizophrenia

A team of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi has uncovered a key mechanism that helps shape how our brains are wired, and what can happen when that process is disrupted.

In a new study published in Cell Reports, the RNA-MIND Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, led by Professor of Biology Dan Ohtan Wang, with Research Associate Belal Shohayeb, reveals how a small molecular mark on messenger RNA, called m6A methylation, regulates the production of essential proteins inside growing neurons. This process plays a critical role in the development of axons, the long extensions that neurons use to connect and communicate with each other.

The study shows that this molecular mark controls the production of a protein called (APC), which helps organize the internal structure of nerve cells and is needed to locally produce β-actin, a key building block of the cytoskeleton to support axon growth. Importantly, the team also found that linked to autism and schizophrenia can interfere with this process, potentially affecting how the brain develops.

How efficient, multi-pathogen PCR testing could transform diagnostics

“We need diagnostic methods that are more rapid, reliable and capable of detecting multiple pathogens simultaneously,” explains Thai, who is one of the grant recipients of the 2023–24 Seegene Open Innovation Programme. “We also need to ensure that these tools are widely accessible and effectively integrated into clinical and laboratory workflows.”

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which rose to worldwide fame during the COVID-19 pandemic, amplify tiny snippets of genetic material from pathogens in samples to levels that can be easily detected.

Seegene, a molecular diagnostics company based in Seoul, South Korea, has developed ‘syndromic multiplex PCR’ technology capable of detecting up to 14 pathogens in a single test.

Fast targeted gene transfection and optogenetic modification of single neurons using femtosecond laser irradiation

Year 2013 face_with_colon_three Basically this is the light based nanotransfection version that can eventually be put on a simple smartphone or smartwatch that can be an entire hospital in one touch healing the entire body in one touch or just areas that need healing.

Antkowiak, M., Torres-Mapa, M., Witts, E. et al. Sci Rep 3, 3,281 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03281

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Blood Test #4 in 2025: 17y Younger Biological Age

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Gene therapy delivery device could allow for personalized nanomedicines on-demand

A new gene therapy delivery device could let hospital pharmacies make personalized nanomedicines to order. This democratized approach to precision medicine, as published in Frontiers in Science, could revolutionize how hospitals treat rare diseases, even in low-resource settings.

Rare diseases affect millions worldwide, yet the one-size-fits-all model of drug development leaves patients with few treatment options. Now a European research project called NANOSPRESSO aims to tip the balance in patients’ favor by boosting access to low-cost bespoke gene and RNA therapies.

The prototype NANOSPRESSO device combines two proven technologies— and lipid nanoparticles—into a portable manufacturing unit. Hospital pharmacists could use the unit to prepare sterile, injectable nanomedicines tailored to the specific genetic abnormality causing the patient’s condition, bypassing the need for centralized drug production.

Two classes of FOXA1 mutations found to drive prostate cancer and therapy resistance

A new study from the University of Michigan Rogel Health Cancer Center, published in Science, sheds light on how two distinct classes of mutations in the FOXA1 gene—commonly altered in prostate cancer—drive tumor initiation formation and therapeutic resistance.

FOXA1, a key transcription factor that facilitates binding to DNA, is mutated in 10–40% of hormone-dependent prostate cancers. While common, the exact ways these mutations alter cancer cells have remained elusive—until now.

Rogel researchers, including Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology and Urology, and Abhijit Parolia, Ph.D., Rogel Fellow and Assistant Professor of Pathology, used mouse models to understand the mechanisms underlying two major classes of FOXA1 mutations.

A potential replacement for bone marrow sampling: New blood test may detect leukemia risk

What if a blood test could reveal the pace of our aging—and the diseases that may lie ahead? The labs of Profs. Liran Shlush and Amos Tanay at the Weizmann Institute of Science have been conducting in-depth studies into the biology of blood to better understand the aging process and why some people become more susceptible to disease over the years.

Their research teams, made up of physicians, biologists and , have been tracking changes in the , including the emergence of genetic changes in these cells in about one-third of people over the age of 40. These changes not only increase the risk of blood cancers such as leukemia, but have also been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other age-related conditions.

In a new study published today in Nature Medicine, Shlush and Tanay present findings that may lead to an innovative for detecting a person’s risk of developing leukemia. This test may potentially replace the invasive diagnostic procedure of bone marrow sampling.

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