Genetics

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a nose to sniff out Parkinson's, the end of foggy glasses, and hidden salt in some medications.

Giants in History: Barry Paw (29 August 1962 – 28 December 2017) was a biologist and oncologist born in Myanmar who discovered several novel genes and their functions in red blood cells.

Giants in History: Eminent Filipina scientist and educator Clara Lim-Sylianco (18 August 1925 – 23 July 2013) is remembered for her extensive research on mutagens – often-carcinogenic agents that permanently alter genetic materials such as DNA – antimutagens and bioorganic mechanisms.

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.

Giants in History: Rapee Sagarik (4 December 1922 – 17 February 2018) was Thailand’s renowned expert on orchids. Sagarik dedicated his career to the research of native orchids in Thailand.

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.

Researchers at the Department of Microbiology at The University of Hong Kong have succeeded in the isolation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant from clinical specimens. This is the first known research team in Asia that has succeeded in isolating the Omicron variant. The isolated variant will enable the development and production of vaccines against Omicron, which has been designated as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

Researchers from DGIST explore the role of symbiotic skin bacteria in wound healing for different fish species

The world’s largest analysis of gastric tumour cells provides a launch pad for scientists to plan more effective therapies.

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.

Researchers reveal correlation between ribotype (RT) strains of Cutibacterium acnes, which are found in human skin, and the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Strains RT4 and 8, which are associated with acne in human skin, shortened the lifespan of the nematode, while RT6, which are predominantly found in healthy human skin, did not. Also, it was found that the healthy skin-related RT6 strain of C. acnes improved C. elegans resistance to the pathogenic organism Staphylococcus aureus.

Coral reefs, comprising some of the most diverse and delicate ecosystems under water, are under immense stress. From global warming to pollution to pathogens, many of the reef-building coral species are listed as threatened or endangered. But, according to researchers in Japan, the corals may have an unlikely ally: bacteria.

A long-standing hypothesis, the dual-structure model, posits that Japanese populations derive dual ancestry from indigenous Jomon hunter-gatherer-fishers and succeeding Yayoi farmers. We conduct paleogenomic analyses of people of the Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods from Japanese archaeological sites. We identify a later influx of East Asian ancestry in the Kofun period and clarify that the genome of the modern Japanese population is composed of three ancestral components, proposing a tripartite model of Japanese origins.

Researchers from DGIST explain how DNA is compacted to a million-times its full length in sperm cell nuclei

New research published in Stem Cell Reports has found elevated cholesterol supply from astrocytes to neurons in the model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, suggesting that modulating brain cholesterol could be explored in the search of treatment options for the devastating, degenerative disease.

iCeMS scientists and colleagues have designed a molecular code that powers up cancer-fighting immune cells.

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.

Magnetic patterns in meteorites, Treating mitochondrial diseases, underwater sensors and a broad COVID-19 vaccine in the September Editor's Choice. Plus, what's it like to communicate vaccine research in a pandemic and Asia Research News 2022.

A multi-functional, small molecule can tag mutant genetic sequences inside mitochondria for removal.

Researchers have found a way to enhance radiation therapy using novel iodine nanoparticles.

Researchers from Hiroshima University now have a better understanding of the mechanism underlying how certain bacteria can transfer genetic material across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists. Their work, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, could have applications in changing how bacteria perform certain functions or react to changes in their environment.

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.

High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression.

Scientists from Japan, Europe and the USA have described a pathway leading to the accelerated flowering of plants in low-nitrogen soils. These findings could eventually lead to increases in agricultural production.

Single-cell gene studies are clarifying the roles of the brain’s specialised immune cell in Alzheimer’s disease and offer new avenues for treatment of this incurable condition.

A simple tool allows researchers to track how different subpopulations of the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite are changing over time.

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.

New national body established to further research insights, improve patient outcomes and create new economic opportunities for the biomedical technology industry.

An ‘eat-me’ signal displayed on cell surfaces requires activation of a lipid-scrambling protein by a nuclear protein fragment.

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.