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Uncovering the molecular drivers of liver cancer

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  Researchers discover that inflammation and aging contribute to non-viral liver cancer development. Green tea's role in reversing some of the pathway dysregulation that may contribute to the cancer development and other therapies explored. Liver cancer can arise spontaneously from healthy liver tissue. Recently, however, researchers have discovered an increasing correlation between some liver cancers and non-viral chronic liver disease (CLD). One liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is associated with CLD in about 15–25% of cases. While increasing awareness and screening of cancers has improved the ability to detect liver cancer at earlier stages when it is more effectively treated, cancer prevention is always a primary goal of both healthcare providers and biomedical researchers. The increasing prevalence of CLD with HCC suggests that this underlying condition predisposes liver tissue to cancer development. In order to investigate how healthy liver tissue differs from th...
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Rationale engineering generates a compact new tool for gene therapy

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  Researchers redesign a compact RNA-guided enzyme from bacteria, making it an efficient editor of human DNA. Scientists at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have re-engineered a compact RNA-guided enzyme they found in bacteria into an efficient, programmable editor of human DNA.  The protein they created, called NovaIscB, can be adapted to make precise changes to the genetic code, modulate the activity of specific genes, or carry out other editing tasks. Because its small size simplifies delivery to cells, NovaIscB’s developers say it is a promising candidate for developing gene therapies to treat or prevent disease. The study was led by  Feng Zhang , the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT who is also an investigator at the McGovern Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a core member of the Broad Institute. Zhang and his team reported their open-access work this month...
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Epigenetic editing expands the reach of gene therapy

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  Gene editing therapies are designed to be a one-and-done fix that cure a genetic disease and last a lifetime. Yet, they have some safety risks — chief among them the potential for off-target effects that permanently alter unrelated genes. Plus, there are ethical questions related to genetic editing of germline cells, as those mutations could be passed down to future generations (1). “Because those risks exist, why not develop alternative approaches that would stand alongside or improve on what classical gene editing can do?” said Daniel Hart, the Head of Platform at Epicrispr Biotechnologies . Rather than cutting and permanently altering the genetic code, Epicrispr Biotechnologies is one of several companies pioneering a new kind of gene therapy — epigenetic editin g. This technology is inspired by a cell’s natural epigenetic mechanisms, which work by modifying chemical tags on DNA to regulate gene expression over time. “The safety aspect is key. If one wer...
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Cannabis Leaves Molecular Marks on DNA Linked to Psychosis

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  The research also showed the effect of cannabis use on DNA is different in people experiencing their first episode of psychosis compared to users who have never experienced psychosis, suggesting there could be potential for DNA blood tests to help characterise those cannabis users at risk of developing psychosis to inform preventative approaches.  The study was funded by the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the NIHR Exeter BRC. Senior author Marta Di Forti, Professor of Drugs, Genes and Psychosis at King’s IoPPN  said: “With the increasing prevalence of cannabis use and more availability of high potency cannabis, there is a pressing need to better understand its biological impact, particularly on mental health. “Our study is the first to show high potency cannabis leaves a unique signature on DNA related to mechanisms around the immune system and energy production....
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Impact of Inherited DNA on Cancer Biology Revealed

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  A new multicenter study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute-funded Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) and colleagues around the world, has discovered that the genes we are born with—known as germline genetic variants—play a powerful, underappreciated role in how cancer develops and behaves. The findings could have major implications for how doctors treat cancer in the future. While current treatments are largely guided by the genetic makeup of a patient’s tumor, this research suggests that looking at a patient’s inherited DNA could further refine diagnosis, risk prediction, and therapy selection. Until now, most cancer research has focused on somatic mutations—changes that occur in cells over a person’s lifetime. But inherited germline variants outnumber somatic mutations by a wide margin, and their impact on cancer has remained poorly understood, say the investigators. To conduct ...
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Addiction Accelerates Brain Aging via Distinct Molecular Pathways

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  The groundbreaking study, published today in  Genomic Psychiatry , examines how different substances, such as alcohol, opioids, and stimulants, affect the brain’s aging process at the molecular level, potentially explaining why individuals with SUDs often experience early-onset age-related diseases . Accompanying the research article is an insightful editorial titled “The forgotten clockwork of the brain: Untangling accelerated aging in substance use disorders,” authored by Dr. Julio Licinio, Editor-in-Chief of  Genomic Psychiatry . Revolutionary Study Design and Methodology The research team, led by Drs. Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Gabriel Fries, and Consuelo Walss-Bass, analyzed brain tissue from 58 donors with SUDs to assess differential aging patterns using specialized epigenetic clocks designed specifically for brain tissues. Unlike previous studies that relied on more general epigenetic aging markers, this investigation employed brain-specific tools (DNAmClockCortical,...
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Using AI machine learning to map hidden molecular interactions in bacteria

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  A new study from Oregon Health & Science University has uncovered how small molecules within bacteria interact with proteins, revealing a network of molecular connections that could improve drug discovery and cancer research . The multi-disciplinary research team, led by Andrew Emili, Ph.D., professor of systems biology and oncological sciences in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, alongside Dima Kozakov, Ph.D., professor at Stony Brook University, studied Escherichia coli, or E. coli, a simple model organism, to map how metabolites—small molecules essential for life—interact with key proteins such as enzymes and transcription factors. These interactions control important processes such as cell growth , division and  gene expression, but how exactly they influence protein function is not always clear. The team used advanced tools like chemo-proteomics—developed in the Emili lab—and artificial intelligence-driven structural modeling...
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