Category: Genetics
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The Inactive X is Shown to be Active Behind the Scenes
The human genome typically contains two sex chromosomes, and males usually have an X and a Y chromosome while most women have two X chromosomes. In women, one of the X chromosomes usually doesn’t express genes; it is inactivated. But the same X chromosome is not inactivated in every cell, and although the X chromosomes…
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A New Layer of Gene Regulation is Revealed in mRNA
Recent work reported in Nature highlighted the importance of methylation on messenger RNA (mRNA). Methyl tags that are added to mRNA can have a dramatic impact on the fate of mRNA transcripts. Now an unrelated study in Science has unraveled even more about the effect of methylation on mRNA. Active genes are transcribed into mRNA…
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Prehistoric Archaeological Site in the Negev Desert of Israel Reveals a Taste for Ostrich Eggs
Archaeologists working in the rugged Negev Desert in Southern Israel have made an exciting discovery among the Nitzana dunes. This region lines the Israeli-Egyptian border and continues yielding important archaeological discoveries highlighting the breadth of historical human geography and movement. They discovered the remains of a campsite that dates from between 4,000-7,500 years ago. This…
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For the First Time, a Potential Treatment for DMD: Vamorolone
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is an disease where the muscle experiences “dystrophy,” meaning muscle loss. It is a recessive genetic disease that rests on the X chromosome.1 Since biological males only have one X chromosome (XY), they are more susceptible to experiencing symptoms of an X-based recessive chromosomal disease. Biological females have two “X” chromosomes…
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What is love to a Neandertal?
Neandertals, historically, have gotten a bad rap (which they do not deserve!). In her 2020 book, Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art, Rebecca Wragg Sykes reflects on the Neandertal legacy, highlighting the important work that Jean Auel did in her fiction series Earth’s Children (perhaps best known by the first book in the series,…
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Major New Insights Into NASH – A Severe Type of Fatty Liver Disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is very common; as many as 25 percent of adults around the world are impacted by the disorder. In NAFLD, liver cells die, damaging the organ. NALFD can also progress to a more severe form in which cell death accelerates, which can cause scarring in the liver and cirrhosis. Several…
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Errors in the Genetic Data of Oft-Cited Cancer Studies are Revealed
In 2016, a survey of hundreds of researchers suggested that many branches of science are facing a reproducibility crisis. While there is debate about the scope of the problem, many scientists agree that it’s an issue. There could be a variety of reasons for the problem. One aspect may involve errors in genetic sequences either…
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Report: 41% of Infant Deaths Are Due to Genetic Disease
A new study has highlighted the impact of genetic disease on infants, and showed that whole genome sequencing (WGS) or advanced diagnostic testing could save lives. The research, reported in JAMA Network Open, analyzed 112 cases of infant death and determined that 41 percent of the deaths were due to a genetic disease. For 30…
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The Origins of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theories on His 214th Birthday
“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are…
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The Musically Active Have a Slightly Higher Risk of Some Mental Illness
Music can be great for our mental health, and music is sometimes used as a form of therapy. But it can also seem like creative people including musicians experience more mental health issues than others. Using data from a large Swedish biobank, researchers showed in a 2019 Scientific Reports publication that people who are musically…