Mystery solved: Tiny protein-activator responsible for brain cell damage in Huntington disease
Johns Hopkins brain scientists have figured out why a faulty protein accumulates in cells everywhere in the bodies of people with Huntington's disease (HD), but only kills cells in the part of the brain that controls movement, ...
Molecular code cracked
(Phys.org) -- Scientists have cracked a molecular code that may open the way to destroying or correcting defective gene products, such as those that cause genetic disorders in humans.
All genes in one go
The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, ...
Cheap and easy technique to snip DNA could revolutionize gene therapy
(Phys.org)—A simple, precise and inexpensive method for cutting DNA to insert genes into human cells could transform genetic medicine, making routine what now are expensive, complicated and rare procedures ...
Scientists design new delivery device for gene therapy
Scientists have designed a nanoparticle that appears to effectively deliver genetic material into cells with minimal toxic effects.
Researchers Present New Sex Evolution Theory
(PhysOrg.com) -- Harris Bernstein and Carol Bernstein have proposed a new theory on the billion-year-old mystery of sexual reproduction evolution.
A new approach to medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Connecticut researchers are exploring how to take a patient's own cells, re-engineer them, and replace them in the body.
Brain disorder suggests common mechanism may underlie many neurodegenerative diseases
A Mayo Clinic-led international consortium has found a mechanism that may help explain Parkinson's and other neurological disorders.
Miracle Aussie baby beats rare condition in world first
A "miracle" Australian baby has become the first person cured of a rare and deadly brain-melting condition after doctors gambled on an experimental drug tested only on mice, they said Thursday.
New clue why autistic people don't want hugs
Why do people with fragile X syndrome, a genetic defect that is the best-known cause of autism and inherited mental retardation, recoil from hugs and physical touch - even from their parents?
Researchers report progress using iPS cells to reverse blindness
Researchers have used cutting-edge stem cell technology to correct a genetic defect present in a rare blinding disorder, another step on a promising path that may one day lead to therapies to reverse blindness ...
Genome editing, a next step in genetic therapy, corrects hemophilia in animals
Using an innovative gene therapy technique called genome editing that hones in on the precise location of mutated DNA, scientists have treated the blood clotting disorder hemophilia in mice. This is the first time that genome ...
Blood test predicts chance of dementia
VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Belgium) researchers connected to the Born-Bunge Institute and the University of Antwerp discovered the amount of growth factor progranulin in blood is a predictor of Frontotemporal ...
Unlikely genetic suspect implicated in common brain defect
A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays ...