Genomics week in brief: Week ending 3rd July

Another month, another genomics week in brief, jam-packed with all of the latest news and research within the genomics space.

Top stories from the past week

• Scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified metabolic and glycomic signatures in the blood of a rare population of HIV-infected individuals who can naturally sustain viral suppression after antiretroviral therapy cessation. (Giron et al, 2021)
• Researchers have developed a CRISPR-Cas9-based tool that carries out efficient and long-term gene silencing by epigenetic editing. (Nakamura et al, 2021)
• A team of researchers has shown that cancer cells use a technique called micropinocytosis to survive. (Sønder et al, 2021)
• Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a ‘designer’ probiotic that can induce multiple effects for treating irritable bowel disease. (Scott et al, 2021)
• Scientists have discovered that type II alveolar cells possess unique immunologic properties that play a role in improving outcomes of respiratory viral infections. (Toulmin et al, 2021)
• A new LEGO-like technique is able to reveal the fundamental physics of how a polymer such as DNA threads through holes 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. (Chen et al, 2021)
• A team of scientists from the University of Illinois has developed a software tool that can help researchers more efficiently identify how genes are regulated in individual cells. (Gao et al, 2021)
• A recent study has identified six antibody characteristics that could help scientists identify which pregnant women are at risk of placental malaria infections. (Aitken et al, 2021)
• New findings have revealed the role of the C9orf72 gene in the development of ALS and the communication between motor neurons and muscles. (Butti et al, 2021)
• Researchers have found a new way to target the RAS protein, which when mutated has been found to be extremely resistant to treatments. (Haza et al, 2021)
• According to new research, elevated levels of three specific proteins can protect against progression of diabetic kidney disease. (Dom et al, 2021)
• New findings have moved a novel promising gene therapy to treat heart failure closer to the clinic. (Liu et al, 2021)

Events

• Join us on Thursday 8^th July at 3pm BST/4pm CEST/10am EDT for the second webinar in our ‘Multi-Omics ONLINE’ series. In this webinar, we highlight the technologies that have fuelled single-cell multi-omics studies.
• The first webinar in our ‘Clinical Microbiology ONLINE’ series starts tomorrow (Wednesday 7^th July) at 3pm BST/4pm CEST/10am EDT. This webinar will highlight the emerging molecular tools that are advancing pathogen identification and analysis.
• Make sure you register for our brand-new series – ‘Cancer Genomics ONLINE’. In the first webinar on Tuesday 13^th July at 3pm BST/4pm CEST/10am EDT, we highlight how researchers are hunting for oncogenes and tracing tumour evolution to better understand, prevent and treat cancer.