Ever since the delta variant of the coronavirus exploded in India in the first half of 2021 and now around the world, researchers have been trying to understand what makes this particular SARS-CoV-2 strain so transmissible. Now, they’re narrowing down…
Read MoreMutations in overlooked DNA could have profound impact on survival for bowel cancer patients
Mutations in the DNA of the cell’s energy ‘factories’ increases the chances of survival for people with bowel cancer, according to a study published today in Nature Metabolism. Scientists funded by Cancer Research UK have found that patients with colorectal…
Read MoreThe power of mRNA, the threat of mutations and the difficulty of the last mile
When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, even some of the most informed people knew little about coronaviruses—and far less about SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that was upending the world as we knew it. But a prolonged…
Read MoreRare genetic syndrome identified, caused by mutations in gene SATB1
Advances in DNA sequencing have uncovered a rare syndrome which is caused by variations in the gene SATB1. The study, co-authored by academics from Oxford Brookes University (UK), University of Lausanne (Switzerland), Radboud University (The Netherlands), University of Oxford (UK),…
Read MoreNew gene therapy developed for treating eye disease that leads to a progressive loss of vision
Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have developed a new gene therapy approach that offers promise for one day treating an eye disease that leads to a progressive loss of vision and affects thousands of people across the globe. The study,…
Read MoreNew mutations accumulate in reproductive cells of older mice
Older mice have more new mutations—changes in DNA sequence that occur in the individual rather than being inherited from a parent—than younger mice in the genomes of their mitochondria, according to researchers at Penn State. The findings could have implications…
Read More14 mutations found in SARS-CoV-2: One strain may be more easily spread
A team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Department of Surgery has found 14 mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of which they suspect might be more easily…
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