What’s been going on in the life sciences world this week? Check out Week in Brief for an overview of the biggest news from the last seven days.
Researchers have developed a simple blood test that can accurately determine which type of breast cancer a patient has. Using this information, clinicians will be able to choose the most appropriate treatments and make quick decisions should the cancer type change.
In a study of over 6 million individuals, researchers have identified five families of psychiatric disorders in which different conditions have high levels of genetic overlap. These results explain why it is common to receive multiple diagnoses of mental health conditions, and could guide more effective treatment.
Scientists have identified the cause of chromothripsis, a major cancer driver. This process, which involves damaged chromosomes becoming trapped in micronuclei, leads to chromosomes being broken apart by the nuclease N4BP2, which has potential as a drug target.
Using a zebrafish model, scientists have created a reverse genetics system to generate infectious noroviruses for research. The findings obtained from this method could contribute to the development of a vaccine for norovirus, which is the leading cause of gastroenteritis globally.
A GWAS of over 1,400 individuals with substance abuse disorders has shown that there is a genetic link between addiction risk and educational attainment. However, these genes are also linked to socioeconomic deprivation, and it is unclear how exactly these traits impact one another.
Scientists have developed a computational model to determine how genes interact with each other on a previously unprecedented scale. The work sheds new light on complex traits and shows that individual genetic backgrounds can influence the impact of genetic variants.
People in the UK have been advised to wear masks should they have cold or flu symptoms this winter. This advice comes as the mutated H3N2 flu virus causes an increase in cases earlier in the season than expected.
A new strain of mpox has been found in an individual in England, comprising elements of two different mpox strains. While the significance remains unknown, officials have urged those at risk to get vaccinated.
A treatment that is currently only approved for those under two years of age could improve symptoms in older children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy. A phase 3 clinical trial has shown that the one-time gene therapy does lead to improved movement ability in those over the age of two.
Using CRISPR, researchers have modelled the different developmental stages of childhood leukaemia. They discovered that illness is often more aggressive and difficult to treat when the cancer-causing mutations occur before birth.
Check out last week’s Week in Brief here.
