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BOSTON - Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have uncovered new clues that add to the growing understanding of how female mammals, including humans, silence one X chromosome. Their new study, published in
Molecular Cell, demonstrates how certain proteins alter the architecture of the X chromosome, which contributes to its inactivation. Better understanding of X chromosome inactivation could help scientists figure out how to reverse the process, potentially leading to cures for devastating genetic disorders.
Female mammals have two copies of the X chromosome in all of their cells. Each X chromosome contains many genes, but only one of the pair can be active; if both X chromosomes expressed genes, the cell couldn t survive. To prevent both X chromosomes from being active, female mammals have a mechanism that inactivates one of them during development. X chromosome inactivation is orchestrated by a noncoding form of RNA called Xist, which silences genes
Le Bonheur and UTHSC sign agreement to obtain genetic information from 25,000 DNA samples
As research into genetic causes of disease began to grow, Le Bonheur Pediatrician-in- Chief Jon McCullers, MD, knew it was time to start building a pediatric DNA biorepository. So in 2015, Le Bonheur s Children s Foundation Research Institute (CFRI) created the Biorepository and Integrative Genomics (BIG) Initiative and began collecting DNA samples from hospitalized children at Le Bonheur with the consent of their parents. We knew then that changes in genes impact health and cause disease.
We began collecting DNA samples in the hope that at some point we would be able to sequence the DNA and use it for research, said McCullers. Five years and more than 10,000 DNA samples later, this dream is becoming a reality. Le Bonheur and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) recently signed an agreement with a leading biotechnology company to obtain genetic information from 25,000 DN
Working in night shifts may increase cancer risk, reveals study ANI | Updated: Mar 13, 2021 19:00 IST
Washington [US], March 13 (ANI): A novel study led by a team of researchers from the Washington State University has shed light on the clues as to why night shift workers may be at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer compared to those who work regular daytime hours.
Findings suggest that night shifts disrupt natural 24-hour rhythms in the activity of certain cancer-related genes, making night shift workers more vulnerable to DNA damage while also causing the body s DNA repair mechanisms to be mistimed to deal with that damage.
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IMAGE: Regions of the protein s flexibility: not very flexible (blue), moderately flexible (green/yellow) and highly flexible (red). However, both the central alpha helix and the N-terminus (start of the protein) display. view more
Credit: Adam Damry
Proteins are the key component in all modern forms of life. Haemoglobin, for example, transports the oxygen in our blood; photosynthesis proteins in the leaves of plants convert sunlight into energy; and fungal enzymes help us to brew beer and bake bread. Researchers have long been examining the question of how proteins mutate or come into existence in the course of millennia. That completely new proteins - and, with them, new properties - can emerge practically out of nothing, was inconceivable for decades, in line with what the Greek philosopher Parmenides said: Nothing can emerge from nothing (ex nihilo nihil fit). Working with colleagues from the USA and Australia, researchers from the University of Münster