Over the past decade, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system has revolutionized genetic engineering, allowing scientists to make targeted changes to organisms’ DNA. While the system could potentially be useful in treating a variety of diseases, CRISPR-Cas9 editing involves cutting DNA strands, leading to permanent changes to the cell’s genetic material. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3wHPIsY
Latest
- New, reversible CRISPR method can control gene expression while leaving underlying DNA sequence unchanged
- DNA methylation regulator QSER1 identified
- Research shows cytonemes distribute Wnt proteins in vertebrate tissue
- Energy transmission by gold nanoparticles coupled to DNA structures
- How to tame a restless genome
DNA methylation regulator QSER1 identified
A team of researchers from a number of institutions in the U.S. has identified a DNA methylation regulator called QSER1. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes studying the valleys of unmethylated DNA and their discovery of a new regulator. Tianpeng Gu and Margaret Goodell with the Baylor College of Medicine, […]
Research shows cytonemes distribute Wnt proteins in vertebrate tissue
Scientists have made a pivotal breakthrough in understanding the way in which cells communicate with each other. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3d1BKu7
Energy transmission by gold nanoparticles coupled to DNA structures
Using DNA structures as scaffolds, scientists hae shown that precisely positioned gold nanoparticles can serve as efficient energy transmitters. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/2Ro7Hoh
How to tame a restless genome
LTR retrotransposons are small stretches of DNA that can move around the genome. Researchers figured out how cells keep these ‘jumping genes’ anchored, preventing them from landing in the wrong place. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/2Ro7pxH
Living fossils: Microbe discovered in evolutionary stasis for millions of years
Research has revealed that a group of microbes found deep underground in three continents have been at an evolutionary standstill for millions of years. The discovery could have significant implications for biotechnology applications and scientific understanding of microbial evolution. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3accLCL
Biologists create better method to culture cells for testing drug toxicity
Researchers have discovered that by changing two components of the media used to culture the cells, they can make liver cancer cells behave more like normal liver cells. Rather than using standard serum containing glucose, they used serum from which the glucose had been removed using dialysis and added galactose to the media. This changes […]
Complete chromosome 8 sequence reveals novel genes and disease risks
The full assembly of human chromosome 8 is reported this week in Nature. While on the outside this chromosome looks typical, being neither short nor long or distinctive, its DNA content and arrangement are of interest in primate and human evolution, in several immune and developmental disorders, and in chromosome sequencing structure and function generally. […]
Molecule could beat antibiotic-resistant infections
By using their knowledge of how bacteria co-exist and compete with one another in nature, Western University researchers have discovered a compound that can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a deadly bacterium that can cause pneumonia and sepsis and is resistant to many antibiotics. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3wEgVNi
New method advances single-cell transcriptomic technologies
Single-cell transcriptomic methods allow scientists to study thousands of individual cells from living organisms, one-by-one, and sequence each cell’s genetic material. Genes are activated differently in each cell type, giving rise to cell types such as neurons, skin cells and muscle cells. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3d0MwAO