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Microbes can control their animal hosts by manipulating the molecular machinery of their cells, triggering patterns of gene expression that consequently contribute to health and disease, new research shows. The work, which was conducted in zebrafish and mice cells, could have implications for human inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The loss of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN has been linked to tumor growth and chemotherapy resistance in the almost invariably lethal brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Now, Ludwig researchers have shown that one way to override the growth-promoting effects of PTEN deletion is, surprisingly, to inhibit a separate tumor suppressor gene.

As animals increasingly acquire interacting mutations that result in loss of gene function, the relative decline in their fitness may only be exacerbated, a new study in humans and fruit flies suggests.

Novel proteins, created from scratch with no particular design in mind, can sometimes do the work of a natural protein. The discovery may widen the toolkit of synthetic biologists trying to build bespoke organisms.

Sedentary mice given the drug ran longer without training.

Cigarette smoking accounts for about one fifth of cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), one of the leading causes of death worldwide, but precisely how smoking leads to CHD has long been unclear. Now, a team has uncovered a molecule that may at least partly explain the smoking-CHD connection.

A permanent cure for HIV infection remains elusive due to the virus's ability to hide away in latent reservoirs. But now, scientists show that they can excise HIV DNA from the genomes of living animals to eliminate further infection.

Using CRISPR technology, a team of researchers rewired stem cells' genetic circuits to produce an anti-inflammatory arthritis drug when the cells encounter inflammation. The technique eventually could act as a vaccine for arthritis and other chronic conditions.

Understanding the roles of genes in eating behaviors and food preferences could lead to personalized diets that are easier to follow

A new study describes new method to transform immune cells, while inside the body, into leukemia-fighting powerhouses.