Category Biology/Biotechnology

This “Manhattan plot” shows the locations of the 44 major depression loci on the human genome. The vertical axis shows statistical significance. The higher the more significant. Everything shown above the red horizontal line is statistically significant.

A new meta-analysis of more than 135,000 people with major depression and more than 344,000 controls has identified 44 genomic variants, or loci, that have a statistically significant association with depression. Of these 44 loci, 30 are newly discovered while 14 had been identified in previous studies. In addition, the study identified 153 significant genes, and found that major depression shared six loci that are also associated with schizophrenia.

Results from the multinational, genome-wide association study were published April 26 ...

Histological sections of liver from control mice treated with saline (left) and the CRISPR/Cas9 epigenetic repression system in which cholesterol levels were lowered (right) show generally normal and healthy tissue. Credit: Charles Gersbach, Duke University

Technique allowed researchers to reduce blood cholesterol levels in adult mice for six months following a single treatment. Biomedical engineers at Duke University have used a CRISPR/Cas9 genetic engineering technique to turn off a gene that regulates cholesterol levels in adult mice, leading to reduced blood cholesterol levels and gene repression lasting for six months after a single treatment.

This marks the first time researchers have delivered CRISPR/Cas9 repressors for targeted therapeutic gene silencing in adult animal models...

1) Fasting or obesity induces SDF-1 expression in adipocytes. 2) Its autocrine action activates ERK signaling. 3) SDF-1-induced ERK signal concomitantly induces serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 protein, and degrades IRS-1 protein. This attenuates 4) insulin-mediated Akt phosphorylation and 5) glucose uptake. Credit: Osaka University

Scientists at Osaka University discovered that Stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1) secreted from adipocytes reduced the effectiveness of insulin in adipocytes and decreased insulin-induced glucose uptake. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas and helps cells to take in glucose from the blood. Insulin binds to insulin receptors to activate Insulin Receptor Substrate 1 (IRS-1), taking in sugar through phosphorylation of Akt...