RNA

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Secret to Longevity? Deleting Certain Genes
Secret to Longevity?
Deleting Certain Genes
NEW STUDY

Secret to Longevity? Deleting Certain Genes

Scientists discover 238 genes linked to aging

(Newser) - Ten years into research they call "exhaustive," scientists at the University of Washington and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging are reporting in the journal Cell Metabolism that they've isolated 238 genes linked to aging in yeast cells. After working with undergrads to painstakingly delete a...

Test Can Detect Every Virus to Afflict Humans, Animals

Even uncommon viruses and ones present in low levels: scientists

(Newser) - A new test developed by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may prove an invaluable aid to doctors who can't figure out what's wrong with their patients. The test, described in a study in the Genome Research journal, is able to detect, all at...

Women Better at Fighting Disease

 Women Better 
 at Fighting 
 Disease 
STUDY SAYS

Women Better at Fighting Disease

The extra X chromosome makes them healthier

(Newser) - Ever wonder why women tend to live longer than men? Well, it turns out the fairer sex is made of stronger stuff when it comes to fighting off disease and riding out shocks to their systems, according to a study published today from Ghent University in Belgium. Researchers found that...

Scientists Seek 'Frankenstein Spark'

Synthetic life close to becoming a reality

(Newser) - Alien life may appear in a test tube on Earth long before it's found elsewhere—and by some standards, it's already here, researchers say. Multiple teams of scientists around the world are experimenting with genetic tools in an effort to create synthetic life, the New York Times finds....

'Potentially Huge' Treatment Blocks Cancer at Gene Level

New technique snips messenger RNA in half

(Newser) - Scientists think they are onto a "potentially huge" breakthrough in the fight against cancer after successfully blocking cancer cells on a genetic level for the first time in humans. In clinical trials on cancer patients, the "game-changing" form of genetic therapy snipped in half the messenger RNA inside...

HIV Genome Decoded, Raising Hopes for Treatment

(Newser) - The entire structure of the virus that causes AIDS has been decoded for the first time, a breakthrough that may eventually lead to effective treatments for the disease and others like it, Reuters reports. University of North Carolina researchers, using a new method they liken to zooming out on a...

Genetic Therapy Reverses Heart Disease in Mice

Trials in other animals have begun; humans would be up next

(Newser) - Damage to heart muscle can be stopped and maybe even reversed, but for now only in mice, the BBC reports. Blocking the activity of a specific type of genetic material that regulates gene expression, scientists found, avoided a type of cardiac scarring that leads to heart disease. "Heart function...

RNA: Secret Weapon Against Disease

Once seen as weak partner of DNA, gene helps control cells' activity

(Newser) - RNA has long been seen as DNA’s little brother, a messenger between the human genome and cells’ protein factories. But studies point to a bigger role—ribonucleic acid can “turn off” certain genes, for example, fighting a range of health problems, the New York Times reports. “This...

25 Biggest Scientific Discoveries
25 Biggest Scientific Discoveries

25 Biggest Scientific Discoveries

From the unfathomably small to the mind-blowingly huge, the most significant breakthroughs

(Newser) - The invention of the wheel was pretty good. Fire, even better. But what has science done for us lately? USA Today lists the top 25 scientific discoveries; here are the top 10:
  1. Accelerating universe
  2. Human genome
  3. Climate accord

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