Myopia, or nearsightedness, has reached epidemic levels worldwide, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. Orthokeratology, which involves wearing specially designed contact lenses overnight to reshape the cornea, has proven effective in slowing axial eye growth—a key factor in myopia progression. Yet not all children benefit equally. Traditional predictors like age or initial degree of myopia … Read more
New research uncovers how cannabis addiction, not casual use, is genetically tied to severe mental health conditions, raising red flags for policy, treatment, and prevention. Study: The genetic relationship between cannabis use disorder, cannabis use and psychiatric disorders. Image credit: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock.com In a recent study published in the journal Nature Mental Health, researchers in … Read more
When cancer spreads from a primary tumor to new sites throughout the body, it undergoes changes that increase its genetic complexity. A new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) provides fresh insights about how cancers evolve when they metastasize – insights that could aid in developing strategies … Read more
Researchers have uncovered that some childhood cancers have a substantially higher number of DNA changes than previously thought, changing the way we view children’s tumors and possibly opening up new or repurposed treatment options. Concentrating on a type of childhood kidney cancer, known as Wilms tumor, an international team genetically sequenced multiple tumors at a … Read more
In a first-of-its-kind genome-wide association study (GWAS) researchers have discovered two genes, RNF144B and ENPP1, that cause calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease in Americans of European and African descent. This crystalline arthritis is caused by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal deposition in joints. The findings of this novel study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, … Read more
A landmark study uncovers how a specific lung gene, FOXP4, raises the risk of persistent symptoms after COVID-19, providing fresh insight into why some people are more susceptible to long COVID than others. The 24 studies contributing to the Long COVID HGI data freeze 4 served as the discovery cohorts for the GWAS meta-analyses. Each … Read more
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition affecting the brain’s development and often affects the ability of a person to perceive sensory information and social cues and socialize with others. Recent studies have revealed that environmental factors and epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, are crucial to the development of ASD. Notably, immune activation and … Read more
A new scientific review uncovers how gut microbes passed from mother to child may hold the key to obesity’s genetic puzzle, offering fresh hope for more effective prevention strategies. Impact of the gut microbiota on BMI via hypothalamic control of appetite and metabolism, and mechanisms that underlie the transgenerational effects of the gut microbiota on … Read more
Genetic factors contribute to some 30% of breast cancer cases in SA, necessitating investment in genomic research in African contexts. A seminal genetic study published in Nature Communication has discovered two genetic variants linked to breast cancer in black South African women, deepening knowledge about the genetic basis for this disease in African populations. The genome-wide association … Read more
By creating a more true-to-life representation of DNA’s environment, researchers at Northwestern University have discovered that strand separation – the essential process a “resting” double helix undergoes before it can initiate replication or make repairs – may take more mechanical force than the field previously believed. Most biochemistry labs that study DNA isolate it within a … Read more