Scienceblogtwo

The Tob gene, which was initially discovered at Prof. Tadashi Yamamoto's old group in Japan in 1996, is well known for its connection to cancer. Previous studies have shown that it also plays a role in controlling the cell cycle and the immunological response of the body. Now, scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have discovered that this gene also has a significant role in lowering depression, fear, and anxiety in a multidisciplinary study that blends molecular biology with neuroscience. The Translational Psychiatry journal published their research. Lead author Dr. Mohieldin Youssef, a former PhD candidate in Prof. Yamamoto's Cell Signal Unit at OIST, stated that the study's focus was on understanding stress-resilience. The gene contributes to stress resilience when it is present, while depression, fear, and anxiety rise when it is not. The Japanese verb "tobu," which means to soar or jump, inspired the name "Tob." This...

Using innovative synthetic DNA technologies and genomic engineering in stem cells, researchers at New York University have manufactured artificial Hox genes, which regulate and dictate where cells go to develop tissues or organs. Their research, which was published in Science, supports how Hox gene clusters assist cells in learning and remembering their location within the body. An anterior-posterior axis, or a line that extends from the head to the tail, is a feature shared by almost all species, including people, birds, and fish. Hox genes serve as architects during development, laying out the blueprint for where cells will go along the axis and what body parts they will form. Hox genes control where organs and tissues grow, making the thorax or giving wings their proper anatomical placement. Hox genes can malfunction due to dysregulation or mutation, leading to cell loss that can contribute to certain malignancies, birth abnormalities, and miscarriages. According to co-senior author...

Our knowledge of what can be inherited from our parents and how their life experiences may impact us could be completely rewritten if a fundamental finding concerning a factor driving healthy development in embryos were made. According to recent findings, mother to child transmission of epigenetic information, which is generally reset between generations and sits on top of DNA, may occur more frequently than previously believed. We now know a lot more about which genes are affected by the unusual epigenetic process that is passed from mother to child thanks to the study, which was directed by scientists from WEHI in Melbourne, Australia. We also now know more about which proteins are crucial for regulating this peculiar process. One set of genetic instructions can produce hundreds of different cell types in our body, and epigenetics studies how our genes are turned on and off to do this. Environmental factors, such as our nutrition, can affect epigenetic alterations, but DNA is not alt...