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Originally published by Kyoto University, on February 28,2024   'epidecodeR' is a tool that can streamline the analysis of complex epigenome and epitranscriptome data, allowing for the rapid and accurate prediction of the effects of epimarks on gene expression. Credit: Mindy Takamiya/Kyoto University iCeMS Scientists have extensively researched the structure and sequence of genetic material and its interactions with proteins in the hope of understanding h ow our genetics and environment interact with diseases . This research has partly focused on ' epigenetic marks ,' which are chemical modifications to DNA, RNA , and the associated proteins (known as histones ). Epigenetic marks influence when and how genes get switched on or off . They can also instruct cells about how to interpret and use genetic information , influencing various cellular processes. Changes in epigenetic marks, therefore, significantly impact gene regulation and cellular functions, which mea

Originally published by Michaela Kane, Duke University, on December 5, 2023   Credit: Nature Chemical Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01481-5 A team of engineers at Duke University have developed a method to broaden the reach of CRISPR technologies . While the original CRISPR system could only target 12.5% of the human genome, the new method expands access to nearly every gene to potentially target and treat a broader range of diseases through genome engineering. The research involved collaborators at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Zurich and McMaster University. This work was published on October 4 in the journal Nature Communications . CRISPR-Cas is a bacterial immune system that allows bacteria to use RNA molecules and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins to target and destroy the DNA of invading viruses. Since its discovery, researchers have raced to develop an arsenal of new

Originally published by University of Nottingham, on November 8, 2023 Saccharomyces cerevisiae, SEM image. Credit: Mogana Das Murtey and Patchamuthu Ramasamy/CC BY-SA 3.0 A UK-based team of Scientists, led by experts from the University of Nottingham and Imperial College London , have completed construction of a synthetic chromosome as part of a major international project to build the world's first synthetic yeast genome . The work, which is published in Cell Genomics , represents completion of one of the 16 chromosomes of the yeast genome by the UK team, which is part of the biggest project ever in synthetic biology ; the international synthetic yeast genome collaboration. The collaboration , known as " Sc2.0 " has been a 15-year project involving teams from around the world (UK, US, China, Singapore, UK, France and Australia), working together to make synthetic versions of all of yeast's chromosomes . Alongside this paper, another nine publications h

Originally published by Anna Megdell, University of Michigan, on November 2, 2023 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Metabolites called nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and can impact cancer's sensitivity or resistance to chemotherapy and radiation in brain cancer. Findings from researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center , published in Cancer Discovery, show how a specific nucleotide metabolite , called GTP , controls responses to radiation and chemotherapy in an unexpected way. "We learned that if you increase a cell's GTP levels , it makes it really resistant to radiation or chemotherapy . Lowering GTP levels , the cell becomes much more sensitive ," said Daniel Wahl , M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at Michigan Medicine and senior author of this paper. Researchers have long known that levels of nucleotides like GTP control how fast DNA damage is repaired , which in turn controls sensitivity to ther