Tag: genetic mutation
Gene helps plants use less water without biomass loss
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University researchers have found a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought without losing biomass, a discovery that could reduce the amount of water required for growing plants and help plants s...
Extracting cellular ‘engines’ may aid in understanding mitochondrial diseases
Medical researchers who crave a means of exploring the genetic culprits behind a host of neuromuscular disorders may have just had their wish granted by a team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scienti...
Parents favor genetic testing for melanoma in their children
Salt Lake City, Dec.21, 2010 -- The vast majority of parents who tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases the risk of melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer) support genetic testing of their children or grandchildren. Results of...
UCI scientists decode genomes of sexually precocious fruit flies
Irvine, Calif., Sept. 16, 2010 -- UC Irvine researchers have deciphered how lowly fruit flies bred to rapidly develop and reproduce actually evolve over time. The findings, reported in the Sept. 15 online issue of Nature, contradict the long-held ...
All blue-eyed humans have common ancestor
New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor.
Essential gene for male fertility found
A gene that belongs to a family of genes implicated in heart disease has been found to be essential for male fertility but has no impact on female fertility, researchers at U of T, along with colleagues in New York and Japan, have discovered.
Scientists find evidence for crucial root in the history of plant...
If ancient plants had not migrated from the shallow seas of early Earth to the barren land of the continents, life as we know it might never have emerged. And now it appears this massive floral colonization may have been spurred by a single genetic mutation that allowed primitive plants to make lignin, a chemical process that leads to the formation of a cell wall.
Death, miscarriage linked to genetic mutation
Scientists have discovered that the genetic mutation that causes the childhood cancer retinoblastoma routinely triggers fetal death and miscarriage in laboratory animals by disrupting the normal functions of the placenta, a finding that may force researchers to reevaluate the powerful Rb gene and the role it plays in causing cancer.
Fly mutation suggests link to human brain disease
Greater insight into human brain disease may emerge from studies of a new genetic mutation that causes adult fruit flies to develop symptoms akin to Alzheimer's disease. "This is the first fruit fly mutant to show some of the outward, physical manifestations common to certain major human neurodegenerative diseases," said principal investigator Michael McKeown, a biology professor at Brown University. A research team found the mutation in a gene they named "blue cheese."
Mighty Mice Are Less Susceptible To Muscular Dystrophy Gene’s Effects
The scientists who first discovered that knocking out a particular muscle gene results in "mighty mice" now report that it also softens the effects of a genetic mutation that causes muscular dystrophy. The findings build support for the idea that blocking the activity of that gene, known as myostatin, may one day help treat humans with degenerative muscle diseases.
