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Genomics week in brief: Week ending 6th August

Check out the latest Genomics Week in Brief – full of intriguing news and research from the genomics space!

Top stories from the past week

  • A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies has revealed new genetic loci that affect susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 (Nature)
  • New study identifies centromere proteins (CENPs) as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for ovarian cancer. An integrative analysis studying genetic variation, expression patterns and prognostic value (Genomics)
  • Genome-wide association study shows that post-transcriptional RNA-editing is an underlying cause of genetic risks for common inflammatory diseases (Nature)
  • Researchers developed a machine-learning algorithm with the potential to better inform precision medicine treatment of prostate cancer (Nature)
  • New study engineered E.coli from murine and human guts for transgene delivery, allowing researchers to manipulate the gut microbiome, using bacteria as a ‘chassis’ to ‘knock in’ specific functions (Cell)
  • The non-canonical vitamin K cycle was identified as a potent suppressor of ferroptosis, which is a process prevalent in therapy-resistant cancers (Nature)
  • New study shows inhibition of ASGR1 protein lowers cholesterol by promoting proteins and processes involved in cholesterol excretion (Nature)
  • Data from the UK Biobank used in a genomics study observed an association between chronic inflammation and low Vitamin D status (International Journal of Epidemiology)
  • New study sheds light on the effect of centromere organisation on genome architecture, studying chromosome fusion and the formation of genetic compartments. (Cell)
  • Mult-omics bioinformatics study identifies small open reading frames (smORFs) in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, single-cell green algae (Genomics)
  • Long-read sequencing study reveals transcriptome variation in human tissues, identifying genetic regulatory effects that are modified by the environment around the cell (Nature)
  • New deep-learning system DeepPlnc identifies plant long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and annotates transcriptomes with high accuracy (Genomics)
  • New study shows that exposure to cold conditions shrinks tumours in mice via brown adipose tissue (Nature)

In other news:

  • New HIV drug cabotegravir is long-lasting and could revolutionise healthcare – but its expensive price tag may prove to be a significant obstacle (Nature)
  • Only 37 light years away from Earth, a new ‘super-Earth’ planet has been found near the habitable zone of a red dwarf star (Science Daily)
  • New Plesiosaur fossils found in the Sahara suggest that these dinosaurs weren’t just marine animals (Science Daily)
  • AI ‘smart’ finger can use sensors to detect common materials are made of, such as glass, silicon, wood, and more (New Scientist)
  • Hummingbird, thought extinct, has been spotted again for the first time in over a decade (Guardian)

Image credit: canva


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