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Category: genetics – Page 7

Inside the World’s First Age Reversal Trial | Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair — S2, Ep. 4

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In this episode of Lifespan, Dr. David Sinclair, A.O., Ph.D. – Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and pioneer in longevity research – explores the science of eye aging, vision loss, and emerging strategies to preserve vision throughout life.

Dr. Sinclair shares an inside update on ER-100, including his team’s successful restoration of vision in non-human primates and the launch of the world’s first FDA-cleared age reversal human clinical trial. This Phase 1 clinical trial will evaluate the safety of epigenetic cellular restoration as a therapy.

Additionally, drawing on decades of research, Dr. Sinclair explains why the eyes may offer one of the earliest windows into biological aging, how everyday factors such as sleep position, alcohol consumption, and intraocular pressure influence long-term eye health, and what the latest evidence reveals about nutrition, supplements, and the connection between the eyes and the brain.

Continue reading “Inside the World’s First Age Reversal Trial | Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair — S2, Ep. 4” | >

Programmable platform enables on-demand design of plant immune receptors against crop pathogens

Crop production faces threats from plant pathogens. Traditional disease-resistance breeding relies heavily on natural plant resistance genes that encode immune receptors adapted to particular pathogens. However, rapidly evolving pathogens frequently overcome these natural defenses, and the limited diversity of naturally occurring immune receptors makes it difficult to develop crops with durable resistance.

Now, a team led by Professor Gao Caixia at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a programmable platform for the on-demand design of synthetic plant immune receptors (SPIRs) that recognize proteins from diverse plant pathogens.

The study was published online in Science on July 23.

Three genetic modifiers may alter inherited Alzheimer’s onset and progression

Autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD) is a genetically inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease that accounts for only about 1% of Alzheimer’s disease cases. However, because individuals with the gene mutations are extremely likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease at an early age, and because the mutation is highly heritable, ADAD is widely studied by Alzheimer’s disease researchers.

A new study by WashU Medicine researchers and collaborators, published in The Lancet Neurology, identified variants in three other genes that seem to change how Alzheimer’s disease presents in people with ADAD mutations. Pinpointing these and other genetic factors that affect Alzheimer’s disease development and progression may allow investigators to provide more effective genetic counseling for families, design clinical trials and develop new treatments to prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease in the larger population.

Previous studies had already identified three key genes—amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin 1 (PSEN1) and presenilin 2 (PSEN2)—that are associated with ADAD, as well as 279 variants in those genes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. What remains unclear, however, is what leads to differences in disease onset and progression among individuals who have a disease-causing variant. For instance, even if a person carries an APP, PSEN1 or PSEN2 mutation and is therefore very likely to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s, there is variability in when symptoms of cognitive decline might begin, even among individuals who have the same disease-causing mutation.

Rogue DNA can move from cell to cell and change how they function

“We were looking at this in a two-dimensional culture, but in actual human tissue where cells are packed together very tightly, you might anticipate that this would occur even more frequently,” said Gary Gorbsky, OMRF professor and study co-author. “This opens up the possibility of a new process of genetic transfer of information.”

What effect did rogue DNA have on the new cell?

To test whether this new DNA that came from another cell had a functional impact on the new cell, the scientists engineered donor cells with resistance to a specific antibiotic. After combining donor and recipient cells in culture and inducing chromosome damage, they found that recipient cells acquired the same antibiotic resistance – direct evidence that mammalian cells can trade genetic material through simple cell-to-cell contact.

Genome tool places large genetic sequences precisely in rice and tobacco without DNA breaks

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a new way to add large pieces of genetic information to plants, overcoming a challenge that has limited plant biotechnology for decades. The advance could help scientists build more complex traits into plants in the future, supporting research into areas such as crop resilience, sustainable agriculture, biotechnology and the use of plants as scalable platforms for producing therapeutics and biologics.

Published in Nature Biotechnology, the study introduces a new genome engineering approach that allows scientists to place large genes into specific locations within plant genomes. The approach was successfully demonstrated in both tobacco and rice, opening new possibilities for future research in agricultural biotechnology, synthetic biology and plant-based biomanufacturing.

New tool uncovers overlooked disease-linked genes by accounting for ancestry and family ties

Every person’s DNA tells a unique story. To unlock the full potential of genetic research, scientists need tools that reflect the complexity of the people they study.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) have developed a new computational method that enables scientists to more accurately identify genetic changes linked to disease by accounting for the ancestry and family relationships found in real-world populations.

Published in Nature Genetics, the new approach, called Tractor-Mix, addresses a longstanding challenge in genetic research. Many existing methods struggle to accurately analyze people whose DNA reflects ancestry from more than one ancestral population, as well as relatives participating in the same study. As a result, researchers often must simplify their data or exclude participants altogether.

Same carcinogen, different tumors: Mouse study reveals the role of genetic background

Why do cancers develop differently in different people—even when they are exposed to the same risk factors? An international research group, including the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), has demonstrated in mice that an organism’s genetic makeup significantly influences the course of cancer development.

The findings, published in Nature, provide new insights into the earliest stages of tumor development and could, in the long term, represent an important step toward more precise, personalized cancer medicine.

Gut microbial metabolites may shape vulnerability to stress-related mental disorders

Gut microbiome-derived metabolites may influence stress-related mental disorders through neural, immune, endocrine, and epigenetic pathways. Evidence is strongest for depression and preclinical models, while larger longitudinal human studies are needed to establish causality and clinical value.

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