Long-COVID - all a question of genes?

New study results show possible risk factor

01-Aug-2023 - Long-COVID once again raises eyebrows. Some factors that increase the risk of developing the long-term consequences of corona infection are known. Now, the results of a new study suggest that one risk factor may even be in our genes: a gene called FOXP4 may be linked to Long-Covid. Finally, most ...

How cells age: genes are read faster but less accurately with age

Slowing down RNA polymerase II extends lifespan and improves health

25-Jul-2023 - The genome of all living organisms contains information for the production of cell components, i.e. the proteins, which are necessary for the maintenance of cell function. An important step in the process of protein production is the reading and copying of this information from the genes, ...

What determines whether we become overweight?

More than just lifestyle and genes: New factor influencing excess body weight discovered

21-Jul-2023 - Aside from lifestyle, predisposition plays a role, but genes cannot fully explain the inherited propensity to accumulate excess weight. A new study by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Science Translational Medicine shows that a kind of formatting of the DNA code in one gene that is ...

Virus-like transposons wage war on the species barrier

Transposons and viruses, nature’s melting pot?

04-Jul-2023 - Scientists have known for decades that genes can be transferred from one species to another, both in animals and plants. However, the mechanism of how such an unlikely event occurs remained unknown. Now, researchers from Alejandro Burga’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of ...

DNA analysis reveals risk of post-meal insulin resistance

Targeted intervention may be possible

14-Jun-2023 - Scientists from the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), along with colleagues from the United Kingdom, have found clues as to how we maintain constant blood sugar levels after we have eaten. Analyzing the DNA of nearly 55,000 participants from different studies, they identified ten ...

Previously unknown antibiotic resistance widespread among bacteria

“We have identified new resistance genes in places where they have remained undetected until now“

14-Jun-2023 - Genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics are much more widespread in our environment than was previously realised. A new study, from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, shows that bacteria in almost all environments carry resistance genes, with a ...

Human Immune Cells React to Non-Nutritive Sweeteners

Sweeteners influence the transcription of various genes

19-May-2023 - Diet drinks often contain a mix of non-nutritive sweeteners that also enter the bloodstream after consumption. As a new pilot study shows, even dietary intake levels of saccharin, acesulfame-K and cyclamate are enough to modulate the copy rate of various genes in white blood cells. "Our data ...

Scientists “revive” Stone Age molecules

In a highly transdisciplinary study, scientists are rebuilding microbial natural products up to 100,000 years old

08-May-2023 - Breakthroughs in ancient genome reconstruction and biotechnology are now revealing the rich molecular secrets of Paleolithic microorganisms. In a new study published in Science, a transdisciplinary team of researchers led by the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection ...

Systematic depiction of previously unknown gene functions

Largest cellular proteomic study of yeast cells unlocks fundamental insights

03-May-2023 - A proteome is the entirety of all active protein molecules present within an organism, a certain type of tissue, or a cell under specific conditions and at a certain time. Now, an international team of researchers led by members from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Francis Crick ...

Sophisticated gene memory: Researchers develop new method to genetically compare hundreds of animal species

02-May-2023 - Thanks to great technological advances, the genetic material of living beings can now be sequenced at a rapid rate. Comparisons of genomes, whether of closely related or completely different species, reveal particularly interesting findings. In this way, information can be obtained on ...