https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Research co-led by King's College London and Sidra Medicine, Qatar, has produced the most detailed map to date of large-scale genetic differences in the Qatari population, providing a clearer picture of the genetic diversity of Arabs and the relationships between genetic variations and health and disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-qatari-genetic-reveals-variants.html Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:20:28 EST news688141202 A whole-genome sequencing approach shows early promise over current commercial methods for identifying more patients likely to benefit from PARP inhibitor cancer treatments, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The findings suggest further development of this approach is merited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-genome-sequencing-optimize-parp-inhibitor.html Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:24:54 EST news687457442 The blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers are protective systems that prevent harmful substances from entering the brain and eyes. These barriers are created by cells that are joined tightly together by proteins. Dysfunctional barriers can cause a range of diseases, including stroke, brain tumors and blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-uncovering-occludin-protein-blood-brain.html Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:13:28 EST news687453181 A new study indicates that noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) performed using a low-cost form of whole genome sequencing can detect the risk in pregnant mothers of transmitting cytomegalovirus (CMV)—a common herpes infection that can cause permanent hearing loss—to their developing babies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-noninvasive-prenatal-screening-permanent-loss.html Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:25:27 EST news687021901 Antibody-based therapies are used to treat numerous diseases, from cancer to rheumatic disorders and multiple sclerosis. Antibodies recognize and bind to very specific structures. This allows them to direct active substances to exactly the right target structure in the body, for example. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-individual-genetic-differences-antibody-based.html Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:04:26 EST news685206242 Colibactin is a powerful toxin produced by Escherichia coli and other bacteria living in the human gut. This highly unstable bacterial product causes mutations in DNA that have been linked to colorectal cancer. Because it breaks down quickly, isolating and studying it has been difficult, but now scientists in the U.S. have discovered exactly how colibactin attacks DNA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-gut-bacteria-hidden-toxin-dna.html Fri, 05 Dec 2025 12:00:01 EST news684158195 Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have performed a comprehensive evaluation of five artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on genomic sequences, known as DNA foundation language models. These comparisons provide valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses and offer a framework for selecting appropriate models based on specific genomic tasks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-dna-language-optimal-ai-genomics.html Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:46:25 EST news683916361 After a spinal cord injury, cells in the brain and spinal cord change to cope with stress and repair tissue. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Neuroscience, shows that this response is controlled by specific DNA sequences. This knowledge could help develop more targeted treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-nervous-spinal-cord-injury.html Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:32:26 EST news683908322 All the cells in an organism have the exact same genetic sequence. What differs across cell types is their epigenetics—meticulously placed chemical tags that influence which genes are expressed in each cell. Mistakes or failures in epigenetic regulation can lead to severe developmental defects in plants and animals alike. This creates a puzzling question: If epigenetic changes regulate our genetics, what is regulating them? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-epigenetic-gene-epigenetics.html Sun, 23 Nov 2025 14:31:58 EST news683130694 Mice pups conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the lab have slightly increased rates of DNA errors, or mutations, compared to pups conceived naturally, a new study on artificial reproductive technologies suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-fertility-treatments-linked-higher-mutations.html Mon, 17 Nov 2025 09:13:04 EST news682593182 Genome sequencing has been used to determine how much genes influence human characteristics including height and weight, and susceptibility to diseases like type 2 diabetes, in a study co-led by University of Queensland researchers and collaborators at genomic technology company Illumina, Inc. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-nature-nurture-sequencing-quantifies-genetic.html Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:24:02 EST news682179841 The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available. Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a new genetic technique that enables targeting of tumor cells with elevated levels of such proteins. The technique could be used to eliminate cells responsible for tumor relapse. The hope is to develop an effective drug against recurrence of this disease within a few years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-genetic-technique-enable-precision-treatment.html Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:10:06 EST news682002602 Understanding the interaction between immune cells and cancer cells has important implications for cancer immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitor drugs and cell-based therapies, as well as newer treatments like cancer vaccines. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-quantifying-viral-mimicry-repetitive-dna.html Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:20:04 EDT news679058401 If UC Berkeley's Wenjun Zhang has her way, no one will ever have to brush or floss again. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-good-bacteria-mouth-probiotic-cavity.html Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:37:05 EDT news676222622 Colorectal cancer is unique in having its own microbial "fingerprint," according to new research from the University of East Anglia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-dna-analysis-colorectal-cancer-unique.html Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:20:55 EDT news676178449 Increased testosterone levels are a consistent hormonal abnormality in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A study has identified specific DNA variants in the gene DENND1A, which increase testosterone production in PCOS. Using human PCOS cell models, researchers demonstrated that activating these DNA switches turns on DENND1A and drives testosterone production. This provides the first direct evidence that inherited DNA changes can cause the hormone imbalance at the core of PCOS. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-dna-variants-testosterone-production-pcos.html Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:50:05 EDT news675688443 Researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Institute have identified two specific types of brain cells that are altered in people with depression. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-depression-linked-specific-brain-cells.html Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:23:03 EDT news675595381 A new AI system that creates simulated cancer genomes could reshape the tools used to analyze tumors, helping bring about more accurate cancer diagnosis and ultimately more effective treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-ai-generated-genomes-precision-medicine.html Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:44:03 EDT news674995441 Animals that hibernate are incredibly resilient. They can spend months without food or water, muscles refusing to atrophy, body temperature dropping to near freezing as their metabolism and brain activity slow to a crawl. When they emerge from hibernation, they recover from dangerous health changes similar to those seen in type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-hibernator-superpowers-hidden-human-dna.html Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:00:06 EDT news673169928 Age often brings a gradual decline in the ability to learn new things and retain memories. This phenomenon, often associated with the elderly, is linked to the brain's deteriorating capacity to generate new neurons—a process that primarily occurs in the hippocampus—as neural stem cells (NSCs) divide and mature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-key-gene-loss-trigger-premature.html Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:30:05 EDT news672650591 Cells depend on the precise reading of DNA sequences to function correctly. This process, known as gene expression, determines which genetic instructions are activated. When this fails, the wrong parts of the genome can be activated, leading to cancers and neurodevelopmental disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-proteins-toxic-cancer-treatments.html Tue, 24 Jun 2025 11:34:40 EDT news669983674 Human exposure to toxic particles drives various diseases. Examples include gout, an acute arthritis driven by monosodium urate crystals, or MSUc; CPPD disease, another inflammatory joint disease driven by calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals, or CPPDc; and the lung disease silicosis, driven by inhaled silica-derived nanoparticles. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-macrophages-elicit-pathways-inflammation-lysosomal.html Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:11:04 EDT news669917461 A team led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick engineers has developed a portable device capable of detecting rare genetic mutations from a single drop of blood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-portable-device-rare-mutations.html Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:15:04 EDT news668690102 Researchers still do not have a comprehensive picture of the factors that influence gene expression in human cancers. Understanding gene expression in cancer is important because it can reveal how the disease begins, develops and potentially how to control it or eliminate it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-uncovers-source-genetic-variation-childhood.html Fri, 23 May 2025 09:49:04 EDT news667212542 Researchers in Japan have developed a predictive model that could improve treatment decisions for advanced pancreatic cancer patients. By combining tumor marker readings with patients' genetic information, their model predicts patient survival outcomes with greater accuracy and better identifies candidates who would benefit from surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-genetic-based-tool-surgery-good.html Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:44:04 EDT news665149441 The way DNA folds inside the nucleus of brain cells may hold the key to understanding a devastating form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, suggests a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The findings, published April 3 in Molecular Cell, offer a new way to think about cancer beyond gene mutations, based on the way that genes are connected and regulated in three-dimensional space. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-3d-gene-hubs-dna-brain.html Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:55:09 EDT news664538104 A new, error-corrected method for detecting cancer from blood samples is much more sensitive and accurate than prior methods and may be useful for monitoring disease status in patients following treatment, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center investigators. The method, based on whole-genome sequencing of DNA, also represents an important step toward the goal of routine blood test-based screening for early cancer detection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-strategy-enable-cancer-blood.html Sat, 12 Apr 2025 05:28:20 EDT news663654479 New research has uncovered more about the complexity of human gene regulation by identifying certain sequences of proteins called transcription factors that bind to DNA and regulate the expression of human genes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-transcription-factor-illuminates-human-pathways.html Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:50:04 EDT news663429001 A team of researchers at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Kiel Campus, the Kiel University, and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, have developed an innovative method for real-time molecular genetic classification of brain tumors during surgery. This approach combines DNA methylation analysis with advanced machine learning technologies to provide detailed information about the tumor type during surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-real-dna-analysis-neurosurgery-personalized.html Sat, 01 Mar 2025 10:30:01 EST news659964121 Thousands of single changes in the nucleotides that make up the human genome have been associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. But until now, it's not been clear which are directly responsible for the uncontrolled cellular growth that is the hallmark of the disease and which are simply coincidences or minor players. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-inherited-cancer-large-scale-screen.html Mon, 17 Feb 2025 14:30:04 EST news659025001