News from

Genetics

Reset All Filters
212 Results
Fruit flies’ microbiomes shape their evolution
fruit fly close-up on a piece of vegetation

An ambitious outdoor experiment in fruit flies at Pennovation Works revealed that an altered microbiome can drive evolutionary change. (Photo: Seth Rudman)

Fruit flies’ microbiomes shape their evolution

In just five generations, an altered microbiome can lead to genome-wide evolution in fruit flies, according to new research led by Paul Schmidt and postdoc Seth Rudman of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Is treatment forever? Success of gene therapy for inherited blindness depends on timing
Top-and-bottom show fluorescent, microscopic images of layers of the eye's retina in blue, green, and red.

Canine retinas after successful gene augmentation therapy with RPE65 (red-labeling of the RPE cell layer). When eyes are treated at a stage when photoreceptor numbers are close to normal, there is an arrest of retinal degeneration, and cone (labeled in green) and rod photoreceptors retain normal structure for at least four years following treatment (upper image). If degeneration is ongoing at the time of treatment, there is substantial and progressive loss of photoreceptors in spite of robust RPE65 expression (lower image). (Image: Aguirre Laboratory/Penn Vet)

Is treatment forever? Success of gene therapy for inherited blindness depends on timing

An FDA-approved gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis, an inherited vision disorder with a childhood onset and progressive nature, has improved patients’ sight. But new research underscores the importance of further investigation to halt the progression of the disorder.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A molecular ‘atlas’ of animal development
An abstract depiction of data features an elongated shape with various projections in pixels of different colors.

Each cell of a developing nematode worm embryo is catalogued at the molecular level in a new paper out in Science. In this visualization of the dataset, each dot represents a single cell, its color represents the age of the embryo it came from (orange=early, green=mid, blue/red=late), and the dots are arranged so that cells with similar transcriptomes are near each other. Visualized this way, the data form various thin “trajectories” that correspond to tissues and individual cell types. (Image: Cole Trapnell)

A molecular ‘atlas’ of animal development

Scientists have studied the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans for decades, making essential contributions to basic science. In the latest milestone, a team uses cutting-edge technology to individually profile the genes expressed in more than 80,000 cells in a developing C. elegans embryo.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Cardiac genetic mutation may not always predict heart disease
points of light representing the human torso and the human heart signifying cardiovascular health

Cardiac genetic mutation may not always predict heart disease

Researchers at Penn Medicine and Geisinger find only 5% of patients with a mutation of the TTN gene have dilated cardiomyopathy, despite changes in heart function.

Penn Today Staff

New spinal muscle atrophy treatment gains approval
genetic sequence

New spinal muscle atrophy treatment gains approval

Zolgensma is based on a delivery system discovered by a Penn gene therapy pioneer, marking a new milestone in treating the rare disease.

Penn Today Staff

Researchers use gene editing with CRISPR to treat lethal lung diseases before birth
CRISPR-edited lung cells (green) with EGFP fluorescent protein.

CRISPR-edited lung cells (green) with EGFP fluorescent protein. Many, but not all, are alveolar type 2 cells, the target cell type for STM study. (Image: Ed Morrisey, Penn Medicine)

Researchers use gene editing with CRISPR to treat lethal lung diseases before birth

Using CRISPR gene editing, a team from Penn Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have thwarted a lethal lung disease, in which a harmful mutation causes death within hours after birth.

Penn Today Staff

Three from Penn elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Anita Allen, Daniel Rader, and Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein

Penn's Anita L. Allen, Daniel J. Rader, and Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein are among more than 200 newly elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Three from Penn elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen of the Law School and the School of Arts and Sciences, Daniel Rader of the Perelman School of Medicine, and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Perry World House join a group recognized for their world-class leadership and expertise.

Katherine Unger Baillie