Biology Genetics

News

01 Dec 2022
Research led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) involving the use of a pioneering female sterility technique has led to a breakthrough in the production of hybrid rice seeds. Compared to the commonly used “three-line” male sterility technique in hybrid rice seeds production, the novel approach enhances the efficiency of hybrid rice production by eliminating rice seeds that have been produced due to the self-pollination of the “restorer line”. The novel technique enables fully automatic harvesting of hybrid seeds by machines, which can substantially reduce harvesting costs.
30 Nov 2022
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers introduced seven proteins, thought to let bacteria swim by switching the direction that their helical bodies spiral, into a strain of synthetic bacterium with minimal genetic information. As a result, they confirmed that the synthetic bacterium named syn3, which is normally spherical, formed a helix that could swim by spiraling. Further investigation revealed that only two of these newly added proteins were required to make syn3 capable of minimal swimming. This swimming synthetic bacterium can be said to be the smallest mobile lifeform genetically, as it contains the fewest number of genes.
06 Oct 2022
Giants in History: Archana Sharma (16 February 1932 - 14 January 2008) conducted research into plant and human genetics that expanded the understanding of both botany and human health.
Editor's Choice
29 Sep 2022
Linked lanthanides shine light on crystal engineering, New technique reveals hidden genome, Red, white and blue alerts for dangerous bacteria & Windows gain competitive edge over global warming. Read all in the September's Editor's Choice plus this month's Asia Research News 2022 magazine pick - Floating sensors to gather ocean data.
31 Aug 2022
Scientists understand genes related to intellectual disabilities, but are often unsure of how mutations in these genes cause developmental disorders. Now, a research group led by two Tohoku University researchers has uncovered the role of CHAMP1—a gene whose mutations are associated with intellectual disability—in neuronal development.
IMAGE
23 Aug 2022
Two new approaches could help scientists use existing sequencing technology to better-distinguish RNA changes that affect how their genetic code is read.
Experimental approaches
26 Apr 2022
Researchers set out to find new ways to artificially induce mRNA to respond in ways that could eventually lead to therapeutic outcomes, expanding on the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and opening up new possibilities across a host of possible genetic therapies.
IMAGE
25 Apr 2022
Examination of endangered species’ stem cells unveils ancient genetic links between mammals.
Rice flower and ovule
04 Feb 2022
Rice has long been a staple food for more than half the global population. The United Nations even declared 2004 the International Year of Rice to raise awareness and encourage action to protect and advance the crop for a rapidly growing population. The genetic guidance rice uses to grow and reproduce, however, is still not fully understood. Now, a research team based in Japan is learning more, including how critical one gene is for the plant to develop grains of rice, which serve as both seeds and food.
23 Dec 2021
By searching for the protein transglutaminase 1 (TGM1) among patients with various autoimmune skin diseases, researchers have successfully identified a separate disease that can be linked to autoimmunity against TGM1. This backward method demonstrates a new way of identifying autoantigens as markers for various diseases. By letting autoantigens point to the disease, diagnosis and treatment can be facilitated, according to the study now published in PNAS.
22 Dec 2021
We have succeeded in establishing a mouse model that develops gastric cancer closely resembling advanced human gastric cancer. Using this model, we have discovered gastric cancer stem cells, i.e. Lgr5+ gastric cancer cells, essential for the development, maintenance, and metastasis of cancer. Our study provides an experimental system that enables detailed analysis of highly malignant gastric cancer and is expected to lead to the development of a breakthrough treatment for advanced human gastric cancer.
27 Oct 2021
Giants in History: Maqsudul Alam (14 December 1954 – 20 December 2014) was a biologist from Bangladesh who is renowned for his research on genome sequencing.
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13 Sep 2021
iCeMS scientists and colleagues have designed a molecular code that powers up cancer-fighting immune cells.
Yuan Longping - father of hybrid rice
11 Sep 2021
Giants in History: Chinese agronomist Yuan Longping (7 September 1930 – 22 May 2021) developed the first varieties of the high-yield, hybrid rice that brought food security to multiple countries including China, which had been ravaged by food shortages as recently as the mid-20th century.
Schematic representation of effects of AHR agonists.
10 Sep 2021
Researchers have identified a potential reason why lower numbers of COVID cases have appeared amongst smokers compared to non-smokers, even as other reports suggest smoking increases severity of the disease.
The suggested disease model of multifocal osteomyelitis in MSMD patients
08 Sep 2021
A research team led by Hiroshima University Professor Satoshi Okada has determined that enhanced bone resorption activity due to a faulty immune response may underpin multifocal osteomyelitis — painful, chronic bone infections — in children with MSMD, a rare genetic condition resulting from a range of immune system mutations.
26 Aug 2021
A multi-functional, small molecule can tag mutant genetic sequences inside mitochondria for removal.
Model of translation initiation and its control by 5MP
17 Aug 2021
Cells translate their genetic material at rapid rates with exquisite precision to reproduce, repair damage or even combat disease. But the process can deregulate and give rise to disease. Byproducts of errant processes can build up like gunk in the gears, especially around neurons, breaking down the repair mechanisms and causing further damage and even neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
11 Aug 2021
Researchers discover a link between an increase in protein Ba of the complement immune system and the eventual development of thrombotic microangiopathy in patients who have received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
 IMAGE
14 Jul 2021
Researchers have found a way to enhance radiation therapy using novel iodine nanoparticles.
Schematic view of hypoxic transcriptome meta-analysis
09 Jun 2021
Publication bias, or the tendency of researchers and journals to not publish uninteresting findings, plagues much of the natural sciences and especially biomedical research. Hiroshima University researchers have developed a meta-analytic technique exploiting publicly available transcriptome databases that avoids the problem—and in so doing, discovered four genes previously unknown to be associated with responding to low-oxygen stress.
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31 May 2021
High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression.
long tailed macaque
13 May 2021
A simple tool allows researchers to track how different subpopulations of the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite are changing over time.
Odorrana swinhoana frog six sex chromosomes
13 Apr 2021
The O. swinhoana frog species is the first vertebrate known to retain descendant genes that now determine sex in mammals, birds, and fishes inherited from a common ancestor.
07 Apr 2021
New national body established to further research insights, improve patient outcomes and create new economic opportunities for the biomedical technology industry.
26 Mar 2021
An ‘eat-me’ signal displayed on cell surfaces requires activation of a lipid-scrambling protein by a nuclear protein fragment.
City University of Hong Kong, CityU, CityUResearch
24 Feb 2021
Many genetic variants have been found to have a linkage with genetic diseases, but the understanding of their functional roles in causing diseases are still limited. An international research team, including a biomedical scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has developed a high-throughput biological assay technique which enabled them to conduct a systematic analysis on the impact of nearly 100,000 genetic variants on the binding of transcription factors to DNA. Their findings provided valuable data for finding key biomarkers of type 2 diabetes for diagnostics and treatments. And they believe that the new technique can be applied to studies of variants associated with other genetic diseases.
Actin-dependent nuclear displacement observed in several mitotic mutants in fission yeast.
04 Feb 2021
Cells replicate their genetic material and divide into two identical clones to perpetuate life. Some cells pause in the process with a single, undivided nucleus. When the cell resumes division after such a pause, the nucleus can become caught in the fissure, splitting violently, and killing both cells. But that is not always the case. Researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan are starting to understand how active nuclear displacement rescues cell death.
28 Dec 2020
Investigations of a cellular protein have uncovered a possible link with schizophrenia.
New IRAK4 mutations discovered
21 Dec 2020
Researchers baffled by an infant’s rare encephalitis case unusual in children found unheard-of mutations and a new way to examine the “immunity gene.”

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