A new butterfly species, Satyrium curiosolus, has been discovered in Alberta. Isolated for millennia, it shows unique traits and faces conservation risks due to low genetic diversity. In Canada’s Rocky Mountains, a modest yet remarkable butterfly has gone largely unnoticed by science for years. W
Urban rats spread a deadly bacteria as they migrate within cities that can be the source of a potentially life-threatening disease in humans, according to a six-year study by Tufts University researchers and their collaborators that also discovered a novel technique for testing rat kidneys.
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by a type of bacteria often found in rats. It’s spread through their urine into soil, water, or elsewhere in the environment, where it becomes a source of infection and contamination for humans, dogs, and other species. While it’s prevalent worldwide, it’s more common in tropical regions, though a changing climate means it could become more common in colder regions as they warm.
In Boston, leptospirosis persists in local rat populations, and different strains of the bacteria move around the city as groups of rats migrate, according to a new study by Marieke Rosenbaum, M.P.H., D.V.M., assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, along with co-authors at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, their genetic analysis of a 2018 human leptospirosis case in Boston strongly suggests a link to rats as the source.
Myofibroblasts generate fibrotic scars after spinal cord injury (SCI). This is typically regarded as an impediment to nerve regeneration. Understanding the heterogeneous characteristics of fibrotic scars might help to develop strategies for remodeling fibrotic scars after SCI. However, the composition, origin and function of fibrotic scars have been a subject of ongoing debate in the field.
A recent study led by Profs. Dai Jianwu and Zhao Yannan from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences employed a combination of lineage tracing and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to demonstrate the heterogeneous distribution, source, and function of meningeal fibroblasts and perivascular fibroblasts in fibrotic scars.
Their research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
New research from the University of Bristol has uncovered striking links between immune system proteins and neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. By analyzing large genetic datasets using Mendelian randomisation, scientists identified 29 immune-related proteins potentially playing a causal role in these disorders.
The findings suggest that mental health conditions may not be isolated to the brain but involve the entire body, potentially reshaping future treatment strategies. This video explores how inflammation and immune pathways could be the next frontier in neuropsychiatric care.
#mentalhealth #immunesystem #neuroscience #health #psychology #depression
Four children have gained life-changing improvements in sight following treatment with a pioneering new genetic medicine through Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
The work was funded by the NIHR Research Professorship, Meira GTx and Moorfields Eye Charity.
The 4 children were born with a severe impairment to their sight due to a rare genetic deficiency that affects the ‘AIPL1’ gene. The defect causes the retinal cells to malfunction and die. Children affected are only able to distinguish between light and darkness. They are legally certified as blind from birth.
The new treatment is designed to enable the retinal cells to work better and to survive longer. The procedure, developed by UCL scientists, consists of injecting healthy copies of the gene into the retina through keyhole surgery. These copies are contained inside a harmless virus, so they can penetrate the retinal cells and replace the defective gene.
The condition is very rare, and the first children identified were from overseas. To mitigate any potential safety issues, the first 4 children received this novel therapy in only one eye.
The eye gene therapy was delivered via keyhole surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The children were assessed in the NIHR Moorfields Clinical Research Facility, and the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre provided infrastructure support for the research.
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Mitochondrial diseases affect approximately 1 in 5,000 people worldwide, causing debilitating symptoms ranging from muscle weakness to stroke-like episodes. Some of these conditions result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the genetic material housed in these organelles. For patients with the common m.3243A>G mutation, which can cause MELAS syndrome (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) and diabetes mellitus, treatments remain limited.
Viruses are known to use the genetic machinery of the human cells they invade to make copies of themselves. As part of the process, viruses leave behind remnants throughout the genetic material (genomes) of humans. The virus-like insertions, called “transposable elements,” are snippets of genetic material even simpler than viruses that also use host cell machinery to replicate.
Nearly all these inserted elements have been silenced by our cells’ defense mechanisms over time, but a few, nicknamed “jumping genes,” can still move around the human genome like viruses. Just one, called long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1), can still move by itself.
As an element type that behaves like the retrovirus HIV, the LINE-1 “retrotransposon” is first copied into a molecule of RNA, the genetic material that partners with DNA, and then the RNA LINE-1 copy is converted back into DNA in a new place in the genome.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have completed a first-in-human clinical trial testing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique to help the immune system fight advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The results, recently published in The Lancet Oncology, show encouraging signs of the safety and potential effectiveness of the treatment.
“Despite many advances in understanding the genomic drivers and other factors causing cancer, with few exceptions, stage IV colorectal cancer remains a largely incurable disease,” said Emil Lou, MD, Ph.D., a gastrointestinal oncologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Masonic Cancer Center and M Health Fairview, and clinical principal investigator for the trial. “This trial brings a new approach from our research labs into the clinic and shows potential for improving outcomes in patients with late-stage disease.”
In the study, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to modify a type of immune cell called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). By deactivating a gene called CISH, the researchers found that modified TILs were better able to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Insomnia, depression, and anxiety are the most common mental disorders. Treatments are often only moderately effective, with many people experiencing returning symptoms. This is why it is crucial to find new leads for treatments. Notably, these disorders overlap a lot, often occurring together. Could there be a shared brain mechanism behind this phenomenon?
Siemon de Lange, Elleke Tissink, and Eus van Someren, together with their colleagues from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, investigated brain scans of more than 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank. The research is published in the journal Nature Mental Health.
Tissink says, “In our lab, we explore the similarities and differences between insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Everyone looks at this from a different perspective: some mainly look at genetics and in this study, we look at brain scans. What aspects are shared between the disorders, and what is unique to each one?”
