genetics & DNA
October 26, 2022
UW is No. 6 in the world, according to US News Best Global Universities
The University of Washington rose from No. 7 to No. 6 on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings, released on Tuesday. The UW maintained its No. 2 ranking among U.S. public institutions.
May 28, 2020
The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA
A new study in Nature Microbiology shows that the most common organism in the world’s oceans — and possibly the whole planet — harbors a virus in its DNA. This virus may have helped it survive and outcompete other organisms. The study began as a UW School of Oceanography senior thesis.
October 29, 2019
Popular third-party genetic genealogy site is vulnerable to compromised data, impersonations
UW researchers have found that the third-party genealogy site GEDmatch is vulnerable to multiple kinds of security risks.
May 29, 2019
New study identifies patterns of growth in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
In a paper published May 29 in Nature, scientists report that the growth of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is apt to follow one of three trajectories: relentlessly upward, steadily level or something in between. The particular course the disease takes is tightly linked to the genetic makeup of the cancer cells, particularly the number of growth-spurring “driver” mutations they contain.
September 27, 2018
Lunar library to include photos, books stored in DNA
People who have submitted photos to the #MemoriesInDNA project have selected images of family members, favorite places and tasty food that will be preserved for years in the form of synthetic DNA. Now this collection will be headed to the final frontier: space.
May 7, 2018
Stomata — the plant pores that give us life — arise thanks to a gene called MUTE, scientists report
New research in plants shows that a gene called MUTE is required for the formation of stomata — the tiny pores that are critical for gas exchange, including releasing the oxygen gas that we breathe.
March 15, 2018
With new ‘shuffling’ trick, researchers can measure gene activity in single cells
Researchers at the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have developed a new method to classify and track the multitude of cells in a tissue sample. In a paper published March 15 in the journal Science, the team reports that this new approach — known as SPLiT-seq — reliably tracks gene activity in a tissue down to the level of single cells.
January 24, 2018
#MemoriesInDNA Project wants to store your photos in DNA for the benefit of science – and future generations
Researchers from the Molecular Information Systems Lab at the University of Washington and Microsoft are looking to collect 10,000 original images from around the world to preserve them indefinitely in synthetic DNA manufactured by Twist Bioscience. DNA holds promise as a revolutionary storage medium that lasts much longer and is many orders of magnitude denser than current technologies.
January 25, 2017
‘Protective’ DNA strands are shorter in adults who had more infections as infants
New research indicates that people who had more infections as babies harbor a key marker of cellular aging as young adults: the protective stretches of DNA which “cap” the ends of their chromosomes are shorter than in adults who were healthier as infants.
January 17, 2017
When it comes to mating, fruit flies can make rational choices
In a paper published Jan. 17 in the journal Nature Communications, researchers report that fruit flies — perhaps the most widely studied insect in history — show signs of rational decision-making when choosing a mate.
June 29, 2015
Researchers discover how petunias know when to smell good
A team of UW biologists has identified a key mechanism plants use to decide when to release their floral scents to attract pollinators.
June 26, 2014
Nanopore technique rapidly decodes long DNA strands
A low-cost technique may make DNA sequencing more convenient and less cumbersome, perhaps eventually replacing large lab machines with hand held devices.
February 10, 2014
Newly found tactics in offense-defense struggle with hepatitis C virus
People who are genetically equipped to stop hepatitis C viruses from turning off a type of interferon generally have a robust antiviral response. Findings on the mechanisms governing this ability suggest new avenues for treatment research.
January 29, 2014
Neanderthal lineages excavated from modern human genomes
A fossil-free method of sequencing archaic DNA may provide insight into human evolution.
January 22, 2014
Gene therapy leads to robust improvements in animal model of fatal muscle disease
The experimental treatment restored muscle function and prolonged lives in animals with a condition similar to X-linked myotubular myopathy in children
January 15, 2014
DNA detectives able to ‘count’ thousands of fish using as little as a glass of water
A mere glass full of water from a 1.2 million-gallon aquarium tank is all scientists really needed to identify most of the 13,000 fish swimming there.
December 12, 2013
Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code
Finding a second code hiding in the genome casts new light on how changes to DNA impact health and disease.
November 14, 2013
FDA-approved immune-modulating drug unexpectedly benefits mice with fatal mitochondrial defect
Rapamycin, an anti-rejection drug for organ transplant patients, has now been shown to increases survival in and delayed symptoms of Leigh’s syndrome. The drug appears to cause a metabolic switch that bypasses the mitochondrial deficiency.
November 7, 2013
Cost-effective method accurately orders DNA sequencing along entire chromosomes
The method may help overcome a major obstacle that has delayed progress in designing rapid, low-cost — but still accurate — ways to assemble genomes from scratch. It also may validate certain types of chromosomal abnormalities in cancer.
September 9, 2013
Gene for most common childhood cancer identified
In children with this form of leukemia, damage to chromosome 9 removes part of a normal copy of the gene in question, and leaves the mutated copy unopposed.
August 12, 2013
Progress made in linking some forms of epilepsy to genetics
Some epilepsy patients who have both seizures and speech abnormalities share something else in common — mutations on the same gene.
July 3, 2013
Great ape genetic diversity catalog frames primate evolution and future conservation
A model of great ape history during the past 15 million years has been fashioned through the study of genetic variation in a large panel of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
June 20, 2013
U.S. Supreme Court decision to bar gene patents opens genetic test options
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision June 13 to bar the patenting of naturally occurring genes opens up important clinical testing options for a variety of diseases.
May 14, 2013
DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization
The maternal genetic information passed down through many generations of mitochondria is still present in modern-day residents of the Lassithi plateau of Crete.
April 3, 2013
Brain cell signal network genes linked to schizophrenia risk in families
The genetic variants disturb the functioning of the same brain signal receptors affected by hallucinogenic drugs.
March 29, 2013
Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution
Bacteria speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Collisions can result in mutations.
March 26, 2013
Gene therapy may aid failing hearts
Scientists come closer to boosting heart muscle by powering its contractile machinery.
