A common genetic signature has been linked to an increased risk of substance use disorders from smoking addiction to addiction to narcotics. The findings could pave the way to the development of new therapies for substance use disorder and may help diagnose those at risk to multiple substance use disorders.
Girls born to mothers with obesity may be at increased risk of becoming obese themselves, a new study reveals.
Blood stem cells use an unexpected method to remove misfolded proteins, and the pathway's activity declines with age. However, boosting the aggrephagy pathway could help prevent age-related diseases.
Using a highly versatile form of CRISPR gene editing, researchers successfully restored vision in mice with retinitis pigmentosa.
DNA designer therapeutics restored levels of a protein critical to motor neuron function, restoring the activity that is impaired as a result of ALS.
Using the genetic material from two male mice, researchers were able to successfully create baby mice. The advancement may eventually enable same-sex partners to have their own biological children.
Researchers identified 11 areas of DNA that were linked to depression in women and one in males. They also found depression was associated with metabolic disease in women, providing an important new aspect to consider when treating depressive symptoms.
A new study has identified two novel genes associated with schizophrenia, and a third new gene linked to an increased risk of autism and schizophrenia.
Genome and transcriptome analysis revealed BTBR autism mouse models have increased levels of endogenous retrovirus genes. BTBR/R models of ASD showed differences in the expression of a variety of genes that are indicative of endogenous retrovirus activation. BTBR/R mice exhibit autistic-like behaviors without reduced learning abilities.
M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) dependent LTP and LTD share a common AMPA trafficking pathway. Either the upregulation of neurotransmitter receptor genes or suppression of the downregulation could improve synaptic dysfunction associated with age-related neurodegeneration. The findings could assist in the creation of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease that target synaptic plasticity.
Targeting and reducing the methylation of a key mRNA promoted the migration of macrophages in the brain and can improve cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
In adults, levels of GDF11, a gene that is key to the regeneration of murine neural stem cells, are inversely related to depressive episodes. Administering the GDF11 proteins to aging mice reduced depressive states and improved cognition.