Genetics & Molecular Biology

Heart attacks are often caused by conditions that affect electrical signaling in the heart. Genetic studies have linked two of these conditions, long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, to mutations in the sodium channels that let sodium ions into cells in response to electrical signals.  A multidisciplinary team has been tracking the complex of proteins thought to be at fault in some cases of sudden cardiac death and now they have finally captured images of the complex. Those images reveal the connection between some genetic mutations and electrical abnormalities of the heart and provide…

A new study finds that the inhibition of a particular mitochondrial fission protein, GTPase dynamin-related protein-1 – Drp1, could hold the key to treating Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's Disease  is a progressive neurological condition that affects movement. 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year but there is no cure and little understanding of why some people get the condition.  Research has found that the debilitating movement symptoms of the disease are primarily caused by the death of a type of brain cell that produces a chemical called dopamine. This brain…

A new biology paper sheds light on how chromatin (the complex of DNA and proteins) is organized in a cell and how plants regulate genetic material, so that some genes are turned on and others are turned off - and it could make it possible for a new generation of plants to better adapt to and survive environmental swings such as droughts or floods. The research in The Plant Cell could mean major advances for the agriculture industry.  "If you understand how plants regulate their genetic material, you can possibly manipulate that in certain circumstances so that plants can…

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)-derived cells are world's apart. iPSCs became a major research force because they are adult stem cells and lack the controversy of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) while SCNT is banned by the Obama administration even though most biologists are in favor of it. Yet that is politics. Scientifically, they have far more in common, which makes the scientization of politics issue more odd. A team led by the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute did a study comparing iPS cells and embryonic stem…

A team of scholars say genetic markers that may help in identifying individuals who could benefit from the alcoholism treatment drug acamprosate - patients carrying these genetic variants have longer periods of abstinence during the first three months of acamprosate treatment. Acamprosate is a commonly prescribed drug used to aid patients in recovery from alcoholism. Mayo researchers studied the association between variation in candidate genes and the length of sobriety in alcohol-dependent patients treated with acamprosate in community-based programs. They found that, when other…

Dalibor Levíček, CC BY-NC-SA By Mick Reed, University of New England The Jack the Ripper murders are the most potent cold case ever. More than a century on from the first killing in 1888 they are still attracting global attention. Academics of many disciplines publish on various aspects of the case; professional writers spend heavily on investigations; amateurs, often accompanied by a media frenzy, propound theories in futile attempts to declare “case closed”. Uncritical reporters fête authors, books are sold, documentaries made, films proposed. The Ripper case was important, and not only…

In 2013, when PLoS One published a research paper, Complete Genes May Pass from Food to Human Blood, anti-GMO activists claimed they had proof that GMOs can “transfer” into our bodies, and threaten human health. Now it turns out the hysteria they tried to generate was based on a study that its researchers believe went awry. Typical of the disinformation efforts that often accompany complex and controversial research, the fringe but popular website among anti-GMO activists, Sustainable Pulse — GLP has profiled the mastermind behind this anti-science propaganda site  —wrote: “A new study…

There is concern about pollution, overfishing and even climate change when it comes to reduced wild fish populations. Farmed fish is the obvious solution but critics have a response for that also - they contend that hatchery-raised fish won't be as well adapted to their new environments or that the wild population will be "tainted" by breeding with domesticated counterparts. No, nature loves us all equally, finds a study in Evolutionary Applications. She doesn't know the difference between a hybrid or any other genetically modified creature and after a few generations of breeding and natural…

Credit: SAN_DRINO/Flickr By Meredith Knight, Genetic Literacy Project Melinda developed breast cancer early in life, age 29. She tested positive for BRCA1, a gene that increases the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers significantly. So, after her treatments and chemo, when she and her husband Matt were able to consider starting their own family, the decision weighed heavily upon them. Then they learned about pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD. Melinda and Matt used in vitro fertilization to conceive a dozen embryos. Then, in a genetics lab, one cell was taken from each…

Improve your eating habits and will improve your health, common medical wisdom goes. A new article in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology finds that we might as well keep eating poorly. They contend that the effects of poor eating habits persist after dietary habits are improved. In their mouse study, even after successful treatment of atherosclerosis (including lowering of blood cholesterol and a change in dietary habits) the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle still affected the way the immune system functions. Epigenetics has become the catch-all excuse for lots of things and they…