Journal Club

Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs

Category Archives: Genetics

Hormones not the only drivers of sex disparities in heart health

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

Often when it comes to disease, the sexes are not equal. Dementia, chronic kidney disease, and many other conditions disproportionately affect one sex or another. Heart disease is a complex case: Males are more likely to suffer heart attacks at … Continue reading →

To find zoonotic viruses, researchers seek genomic signatures of virus adaptations to hosts

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Jyoti Madhusoodanan

In light of the ongoing pandemic, researchers have stepped up efforts to identify new zoonotic threats—viruses that could make the leap from animals to humans and cause future epidemics. Studies aiming to identify such viruses often focus on a novel … Continue reading →

Using helpers, desert birds hedge their bets to weather variable conditions

Posted on October 8, 2021 by David Adam

Unpredictable environments can help explain the evolution of cooperative behavior, according to a decade-long study of birds in the Kalahari Desert. The research showed that white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali) work to raise the offspring of other birds as a strategy … Continue reading →

Prion-like protein acts as water sensor in seeds

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Jyoti Madhusoodanan

The sprouting of a seed is clearly a crucial stage in a plant’s life. Yet one part of the process has long been shrouded in mystery: How do seeds know when there’s enough water to germinate? Researchers recently reported the … Continue reading →

Atlas identifies genome regions that regulate plant cell identity

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Amy McDermott

Zoom in on the leaf of a corn plant, and you’ll find a patchwork of about 20 different cell types. A recent study, published in Cell, provides an atlas of critical genomic regions that control cell identity in six different … Continue reading →

Categories: Agriculture | Genetics | Journal Club | Tagged corn, genome, plant biology, plant cell, protein binding, transcription | Leave a comment

Transgenic switchgrass cleans up contamination from military explosives

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

At military sites in the United States and across the globe, routine live-fire trainings produce a downpour of an explosive known as RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine). A synthetic chemical, RDX can threaten human health, damaging the nervous system if inhaled or ingested. … Continue reading →

Massive study suggests chimp populations mixed more recently than previously reported

Posted on March 19, 2021 by David Adam

A recent study in Communications Biology reports results from the largest such survey of chimpanzee genetics so far. It suggests that animals from the different groups have mixed more recently than many researchers in the field previously believed. The findings … Continue reading →

Agricultural spray could quickly deliver advantageous genes to crops mid-growing season

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

Plant breeders are masters of genome tuning, spending years developing crops with the genes to resist disease, drought, and pests. Now, a team of industry and academic researchers in Germany and the United Kingdom has developed a viral vector technology … Continue reading →

Noncoding DNA shown to underlie function, cause limb malformations

Posted on February 19, 2021 by David Adam

Genes that code for proteins make up only about 2% of the human genome. Many researchers once dismissed the other 98% of the genome as “junk DNA,” but geneticists now know these noncoding regions help to regulate the activity of … Continue reading →

Categories: Biochemistry | Genetics | Journal Club | Tagged CRISPR, EN1, gene, junk DNA, lncRNA | 2 Comments

A cellular and genetic atlas of the lung offers insights into disease and development

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Amy McDermott

Explorers need maps. That’s as true for hikers blazing trails as it is for molecular biologists striving to cure disease. A new atlas of the lungs, recently published in Nature, is the most comprehensive map ever of that vital organ. … Continue reading →

Categories: Genetics | Journal Club | Medical Sciences | Tagged bioengineering, cancer, cells, gene expression, lung, map, molecular biology, organ transplant, single-cell RNA sequencing | Leave a comment

Smaller salamander species associated with smaller genomes

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Carolyn Beans

The world’s tiniest salamanders are so small that some body parts appear to get short shrift. Those in the genus Thorius, for example, have heads that are “mind bogglingly small, maybe half the size of a pencil eraser,” says herpetologist … Continue reading →