Cerebral cavernous malformations occur in 0.5% of the population; 85% are sporadic, and 15% are familial or radiation-induced. Several genetic variants, including variants in CCM, drive their development. Read the full review:
Review Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — Cavernous Malformations of the Central Nervous System.
A genetically modified cow has produced milk containing human insulin, according to a new study. The proof-of-concept achievement could be scaled up to, eventually, produce enough insulin to ensure availability and reduced cost for all diabetics requiring the life-maintaining drug.
Unable to rely on their own supply due to damaged pancreatic cells, type 1 diabetics need injectable insulin to live. As do some type 2 diabetics. The World Health Organization estimates that of those who require insulin, between 150 and 200 million people worldwide, only about half are being treated with it. Access to insulin remains inadequate in many low-and middle-income countries – and some high-income countries – and its cost and unavailability have been well-documented.
In a newly published study led by the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Universidade de São Paulo, researchers say they may have developed a way of eliminating insulin scarcity and reducing its cost using cows. Yep, cows.
A newly developed “GPS nanoparticle” injected intravenously can home in on cancer cells to deliver a genetic punch to the protein implicated in tumor growth and spread, according to researchers from Penn State. They tested their approach in human cell lines and in mice to effectively knock down a cancer-causing gene, reporting that the technique may potentially offer a more precise and effective treatment for notoriously hard-to-treat basal-like breast cancers.
A groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications reveals how maternal and fetal genes, influenced by food availability, play a crucial role in the growth of a baby’s cerebral cortex, linking higher birth weight to an enlarged brain area. This research highlights the significant impact of genetics and environment on early brain development.
For the survival of life on Earth, the process where plants perform photosynthesis to generate oxygen and chemical energy using sunlight is crucial. Scientists from Göttingen and Hannover have now achieved a breakthrough by creating a high-resolution 3D visualization of the chloroplasts’ copying mechanism, the RNA polymerase PEP, for the first time. This intricate structure offers fresh perspectives on the operation and evolutionary history of this vital cellular apparatus, instrumental in interpreting the genetic blueprints for proteins involved in photosynthesis.
Without photosynthesis, there would be no air to breathe – it is the basis of all life on Earth. This complex process allows plants to convert carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy and oxygen using light energy from the sun. The conversion takes place in the chloroplasts, the heart of photosynthesis. Chloroplasts developed in the course of evolution when the ancestors of today’s plant cells absorbed a photosynthetic cyanobacterium. Over time, the bacterium became increasingly dependent on its “host cell”, but maintained some significant functions such as photosynthesis and parts of the bacterial genome. The chloroplast therefore still has its own DNA, which contains the blueprints for crucial proteins of the “photosynthesis machinery”
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In a recent review published in the Journal of Human Genetics, a group of authors explored the potential of deep learning (DL), particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), in enhancing predictive modeling for omics data analysis, addressing challenges and future research directions.
Study: Advances in AI and machine learning for predictive medicine. Image Credit: NicoElNino/Shutterstock.com.
Charles Darwin described evolution as “descent with modification.” Genetic information in the form of DNA sequences is copied and passed down from one generation to the next. But this process must also be somewhat flexible, allowing slight variations of genes to arise over time and introduce new traits into the population.
But how did all of this begin? In the origins of life, long before cells and proteins and DNA, could a similar sort of evolution have taken place on a simpler scale? Scientists in the 1960s, including Salk Fellow Leslie Orgel, proposed that life began with the “RNA World,” a hypothetical era in which small, stringy RNA molecules ruled the early Earth and established the dynamics of Darwinian evolution.
Continue reading “Modeling the origins of life: New evidence for an ‘RNA World’” »
Myeloid cells are a population of cells classified to denote a specific lineage. “Myeloid” specifically refers to granulocytes and monocytes generated from the bone marrow. Many cells under this term share common progenitors from which they derive including, macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils. In the context of cancer, many of these cells become ‘pro-tumorigenic’. More specifically, they suppress the immune system to allow the tumor to proliferate and progress. Each myeloid cell type is associated with antitumor immune suppression. Myeloid cells suppress antitumor immune activity by blocking T cell activation, aid in angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) to increase metastasis, and producing cytokines or proteins that activate suppressive activity in other cells. Unfortunately, myeloid cells make up a major percentage within the tumor microenvironment, so targeting these cells is crucial. Many researchers are currently working on different ways to target these cell populations.
A recent article in Nature by Dr. Miriam Merad and her team demonstrated how protein signaling drives pro-tumor myeloid cell generation. Merad is a physician scientist, Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and Director of the Mount Sinai Human Immune Monitoring Center (HIMC). While her work focuses on targeting myeloid cells (particularly macrophages) to lower their suppressive phenotype and improve cancer treatment, her current publication identifies specific drivers of immunosuppressive myeloid states, previously undefined.
Merad and her team used advanced single cell sequencing to analyze non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lesions from both humans and mice. Single cell sequencing is commonly used to identified up-and downregulated genes in a variety of cell types. By sequencing the tumor lesions the team discovered that interleukin 4 (IL-4) was a predictive driver of macrophages that infiltrated the tumor. Researchers used various genetically modified mouse models to conclude that the IL-4 receptor is necessary for tumor progression. Interestingly, they concluded that deletion of the IL-4 receptor in the progenitor phase reduced tumor growth compared to IL-4 deletion in mature macrophages which had little effect.
