Searching old stem cells that stay young forever

Sea anemone regulates stem cells through evolutionarily conserved genes

23-Aug-2024 - The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells ...

Brief heat stress can have health benefits

Biologist Dr. Wenjing Qi from the University of Freiburg has discovered a genetic long-term effect in nematodes that influences the body’s stress response

02-Aug-2023 - Heat stress is not always harmful. “It depends on the dose. Brief episodes of heat stress can even have positive aspects, such as a visit to the sauna,” says Dr. Wenjing Qi, group leader at the Chair of Bioinformatics and Molecular Genetics at the University of Freiburg. The fact that stresses ...

Is there a connection between musical engagement and mental health problems?

Musically Active People Have a Slightly Higher Genetic Risk for Certain Mental Illnesses

09-Feb-2023 - Intuitively, people commonly believe that making music is good for their mental health. Music therapies also rely on a positive influence of music on mental health problems. However, compared to musically inactive people, musicians more often seem to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders. ...

Genes that influence dyslexia

A large-scale gene study identifies series of DNA variants linked to dyslexia

31-Oct-2022 - An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen (Netherlands), has for the first time pinpointed a large number of genes that are reliably associated with dyslexia. Around a third of the 42 ...

The discovery of ancient Salmonella

Oldest reconstructed bacterial genomes link agriculture and herding with emergence of new disease

25-Feb-2020 - Using Salmonella enterica genomes recovered from human skeletons as old as 6,500 years, an international team of researchers illustrates the evolution of a human pathogen and provides the first ancient DNA evidence in support of the hypothesis that the cultural transition from foraging to farming ...

Seeing memories being made

03-Sep-2019 - Researchers at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern have developed a novel tool for tracking and manipulating long-term memories as they are stored in the brains of fruit flies. The tool, reported recently in the journal PLOS Biology, will help investigate how memory works at the molecular ...

Interactive zebrafish brain

03-Jul-2019 - If zebrafish larvae used the internet, they might soon be able to download a map of their entire brain. "We're not at that point yet", explains Michael Kunst from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. "Nevertheless, our first atlas detailing over 2,000 neurons is now available online." As ...

New biomarker links cancer progression to genome instability

High level of specific protein in tumors indicates prognosis

14-Jan-2019 - Our DNA is under constant attack. The delicate molecule that contains our genetic information is extremely vulnerable to everything from environmental agents, such as radiation, to the chemicals in the air we breathe and the food we eat. Genome instability can lead to genetic disorders, chronic ...

Faulty immune receptor could be reason why many face HIV complications

10-Jan-2019 - For HIV patients, treatments that control the infection have come a long way. But many still struggle with a host of other disease-related complications such as neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular issues, diabetes and chronic inflammation. Why these complications occur isn't exactly known, ...

Unraveling a genetic network linked to autism

06-Nov-2018 - Donnelly Centre researchers have uncovered a genetic network linked to autism. The findings will facilitate developing new therapies for this common neurological disorder. As part of a collaborative research program focusing on autism led by Benjamin Blencowe, a professor in the University of ...