Genetics & Molecular Biology

VAMP7: Study Identifies New Genetic Cause Of Male Reproductive Birth Defects

Researchers have defined a previously unrecognized genetic cause for two types of birth defects found in newborn boys  "Cryptorchidism and hypospadias are among the most common birth defects but the causes are usually unknown," said Dr. Dolores ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 1 2014 - 9:34pm

Fructose Block Prevents Fatty Liver Disease In Mice

Researchers have found a way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, in mice. By blocking a path that delivers dietary fructose to the liver, mice were prevented from developing the condition, ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2014 - 2:00am

Molecular On-Off Switch For Burning Stored Fat Found

A molecular pathway called mTORC1 controls the conversion of unhealthy white fat into beige fat, an appealing target for increasing energy expenditure and reducing obesity, according to a new study. The team also found that a protein, Grb10, serves as the ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 5 2014 - 11:30pm

Synthetic Bone Regeneration- Now With More Beer

Researchers have developed biomaterials for bone regeneration from beer brewing waste. ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2015 - 5:45pm

Mexican Genetics: So Much Variation In Ancestry There Basically Are No Mexicans

In the most comprehensive genetic study of the Mexican population to date, researchers from  Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), UC San Francisco and Stanford University, have identified tremendous genetic diversity. So much di ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 12 2014 - 4:55pm

Kidneys Aren't Static: Renal Regeneration Explained

The kidney, unlike its neighbor the liver, was once understood to be a static organ once it had fully developed, but doctors have observed patients with kidney disease experiencing renal regeneration.   A new study conducted by researchers at Sheba Medica ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2014 - 3:08pm

Transmitophagy?

Some basic biology may need revising. It's broadly assumed that cells degrade and recycle their own old or damaged organelles, but researchers writing in PNAS say that some neurons transfer unwanted mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside cells, t ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2014 - 5:58pm

Three Person IVF Has Risks- And Now Perhaps A Solution

Mitochondria are cell organelles located within animal and human cells. They produce energy for the organism, possess their own genetic material- mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)- and are transmitted exclusively by the mother. Depending on their activity and tas ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 17 2014 - 10:02am

Inflammation Can Be Good: In Fat Tissue. It Helps Prevent Metabolic Disease

Chronic tissue inflammation is typically associated with obesity and metabolic disease, but new research finds that a level of "healthy" inflammation is necessary to prevent metabolic diseases, such as fatty liver. ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2014 - 8:20am

Australian Sheep Blowfly Gets A Genetic Modification Solution

Researchers have developed a new technique to control populations of a major livestock pest in Australia and New Zealand. They genetically modified lines of female Australian sheep blowflies (Lucilia cuprina), making female flies dependent upon a common a ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2014 - 12:34pm