Using a powerful data-crunching technique, Johns Hopkins researchers have sorted out how a protein keeps defective genetic material from gumming up the cellular works. The protein, Dom34, appears to “rescue” protein-making factories called ribosomes when they get stuck obeying defective genetic instructions, the researchers report in the Feb. 27 issue of Cell.

Cornell University researchers report they have discovered direct genetic evidence that a family of genes, called MicroRNA-34 (miR-34), are bona fide tumor suppressors.

Genetics plays a role, but researchers say environment still key.

Microarray analysis - a complex technology commonly used in many applications such as discovering genes, disease diagnosis, drug development and toxicological research - has just become easier and more user-friendly. A new advanced software program called Eureka-DMA provides a cost-free, graphical interface that allows bioinformaticians and bench-biologists alike to initiate analyses, and to investigate the data produced by microarrays. The program was developed by Ph.D. student Sagi Abelson of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.

Before doctors like Matthias Kretzler can begin using the results of molecular research to treat patients, they need science to find an effective way to match genes with the specific cells involved in disease. As Kretzler explains, finding that link would eventually let physicians create far more effective diagnostic tools and treatments.

University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new web-based tool to help unlock the complex genetics and biological processes behind grapevine development.

If a driver is traveling to New York City, I-95 might be their route of choice. But they could also take I-78, I-87 or any number of alternate routes. Most cancers begin similarly, with many possible routes to the same disease. A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient’s cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways.

It is well known that genes are passed from one generation to the next. In addition, new genes arise regularly, although the number of genes in a particular organism does not seem to increase. The paradox has been solved by recent research at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, which shows that newly created genes are frequently lost. The spontaneous appearance and disappearance of genes enables organisms to adapt rapidly to their environment and helps drive evolution. The work is published today in the journal eLife.

GE to expand in fast-growing Life Sciences sectors; extends bioprocessing manufacturing footprint in Asia, the Americas and Europe.