Genetics & Molecular Biology

It is common in some fields to infer that differences in one area will ultimately reflect differences in the end product. Though the real abuse and misuse is with neuroscience and tools like fMRI imaging, they are not alone.  Geneticists have also commonly suggested that RNA differences will mean differences in proteins but  the majority of RNA expression differences between individuals have no connection to the abundance of a corresponding protein, finds a new study. Instead, there is likely a yet-unidentified cellular mechanism that regulates gene expression and RNA…

Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell and are summoned to fight infections or injury in any tissue or organ in the body, regardless of cellular and biochemical composition. How do neutrophils, the body's all terrain vehicles, move in these confined spaces?  A team from Brown University's School of Engineering and the Department of Surgery in the Warren Alpert Medical School collaborated find out. Their technique involved two hydrogel sacks sandwiched together with a minuscule space in between. Neutrophils could be placed in that space, mimicking the confinement they experience…

Previous studies of hair loss have identified signals from the skin that help prompt new phases of hair growth and a new study reveals a new way to spur hair growth.  The group from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has discovered an unexpected connection - a link between the body's defense system and skin regeneration. It turns out that macrophages are involved. These are cells from the immune system that are in charge of devouring invading pathogens, a process called phagocytosis. The authors report that macrophages induce hair growth by surrounding and activating…

Enzymes are crucial for assisting virtually all biological processes, but there has been little consensus on how they work. Molecular processes crucial to life are made possible by these but beyond that less is known.  Chemists looking inside a working enzyme have found that local electric fields focused at the active site might play a big role in helping it accelerate reactions. The electrostatic field within an enzyme accounts for the lion's share of its success, they conclude. Without enzymes, life wouldn't be possible. Nearly every process in cells – DNA replication, protein…

There is a running joke in America that there are three times as many people in the U.S. claiming to be Irish as there are actual people in Ireland.  Though it's nice to claim to be Irish because of a last name, America is a melting pot. And it is so melted that the genetic ancestry of racial and ethnic groups varies significantly even across different geographic regions in the United States. A paper in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers analyzed the genomes of more than 160,000 African-Americans, Latin-Americans and European-Americans, providing insights into the subtle…

A new paper has found that inhibiting or blocking stem cells ability to make a specific decision, leads to better cell growth and could lead to defined ways to differentiate stem cells. Th authors say their research is the first comprehensive analysis of a pathway important for stem and cancer cell decisions known as Erk. As a result, they hope the work could contain clues to cancer treatment as well as helping to establish a platform to make stem cell treatments for gut related disorders like the pancreas or the liver.  As embryonic stem cells can become any cell type in the body,…

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a strong oxidizer. You may know it as a wound disinfectant or as a bleaching agent for hair and teeth but it is also created naturally in our bodies, as part of our cellular oxidation. H2O2 belongs to a group of natural chemicals called reactive oxygen species (ROS) and when the process gets out of hand, too much oxidation can have a damaging effect on cells and their components. Unchecked free radicals, the most well-known ROS, are believed to play a role in carcinogenesis, degenerative diseases, and even aging. To prevent that, our cells also contain antioxidant…

Diseases of dysfunctional mitochondria, also known as mitochondrial diseases, have a prevalence of  up to 1 in 2,000 people and predominantly affect children, though adult-onset disorders are also recognized. An international collaboration has discovered that mutations in the GTPBP3 gene cause defects in protein synthesis in mitochondria and are associated with a devastating disease. Mitochondria are compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells and are responsible for generating almost all of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and to grow. In…

As a consumer and as an agricultural scientist, I’m looking forward to the introduction of the Arctic® apple. It is possibly nearing approval by regulators in the US and Canada which could mean that supplies might finally be available in a few more years. These apples could give consumers the possibility of buying apples that maintain their flavor, appearance and vitamin content after cutting, and which can also be used to make beautiful dried apple slices without the need for sulfites (something that can be a problem for some people). This is an excellent example of how plant biotechnology…

Two compounds appear to block the cardiac damage caused by the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, according to a report in Science Translational Medicine which indicates that inhibiting the action of the enzyme MDH2, which is key to the generation of cellular energy in mitochondria, could prevent doxorubicin-induced damage to cardiac cells without reducing the drug's anti-tumor effects.  "Doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy limits the amount of the drug a patient can receive - which limits the ability to treat cancer - and even low, safer doses can lead to heart failure in up to 8…