Two recent studies have identified some of the environmental factors that influence epigenetic inheritance. The first of them, published in the journal Developmental Cell on March 8, has determined that the paternal diet produces epigenetic changes in sperm proteins that can affect the development of the offspring. The second, published in PNAS on March 23, has found that certain factors, such as maternal age…
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte’s research team, in collaboration with Chinese scientists, has managed to create chimera embryos with human and monkey cells and cultivate them for 19 days. The research, which has received some criticism due to the ethical implications of chimera generation, has demonstrated the potential of human stem cells to contribute to different cell types in chimera embryos and provides new information…
An evolutionary study by researchers at Buffalo University and the University of Chicago has linked a gene, HAND2, to the onset of childbirth in humans. The work suggests that this gene may also be related to other relevant gestational processes, such as mother-fetus communication during pregnancy. Full article available in Genética Médica News.
Spanish researchers developed a drug that selectively removes metastatic stem cells. The specialists of the Network Biometric Research Center: Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) have taken a step forward in the fight against cancer. And they have communicated it to public opinion. The complete news in this link.
Read full article: Fortune.com (February 2020)
Intelligence tests analyzing genetic information, criminal investigations based on the DNA of family members or polygenic scores to predict diseases. These are some of the surprising uses of genetic data that have emerged in the last 12 months. Read full article: MIT Technology Review (January 2019)
A new study breaks down a dogma of biology by finding genetic transmission of this cell organelle via male. More information: https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/12/04/ciencia/1543930896_461294.html
Created immune cells to attack tumors quickly, accurately and cheaply US scientists have discovered how to rapidly, accurately and cheaply generate immune cells to attack cancers and infections and to correct autoimmune diseases. The advance, presented yesterday in the electronic edition of the journal Nature, has the potential to transform the so-called cell therapies and increase the number of people with cancer who benefit…
The TET2 protein is responsible for generating hidden reserves of cells that retain all their malignant potential The Institute of Oncology of Vall d’Hebron (VHIO) has discovered how to eliminate sleeping tumor cells that hide while medicine tries to end cancer with all the possible therapeutic arsenal. Those preserved cells that the chemo does not make a dent take care over time that the…
The set of bacteria of the digestive system can be key in the response of the organism to therapeutic vaccines that are in the process of development If we could take the hundreds of trillions of bacteria that inhabit our intestines and put them in single file, they would circle the Earth two and a half times. This huge and complex set of microbes,…
