News by Subject Biology

Researchers have eliminated caged mosquitoes using 'gene drive' technology to spread a genetic modification that blocks female reproduction.

Results of phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of the drug entrectinib in ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presented on the press program of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer show a response rate of 77.4 percent for 53 patients evaluable for response, with median duration of response of 24.6 months.

Is there a link between differences in IQ test performance and the activity of certain genes? Researchers from Charité -- Universitätsmedizin Berlin have shown that modifications in the structure of a specific gene have a negative impact on individual test performance. This suggests that environmentally-induced epigenetic changes to our genetic material have a greater impact on intelligence than previously thought. Results from this study have been published in Translational Psychiatry.

Researchers have developed a genome-editing tool for the potential treatment of mitochondrial diseases: serious and often fatal conditions which affect 1 in 5,000 people.

Long-held assumptions that stepfathers are far more likely to be responsible for child deaths than genetic parents have been challenged by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Findings suggest that differences in rates of child homicides by stepfathers and genetic fathers are considerably smaller than previous researchers have claimed, and that the relative ages of fathers implicated in these crimes is more significant than whether they are the biological father of the child.

Patients treated with more-invasive surgical techniques for a type of early-stage lung cancer are more likely to become chronic opioid users than patients treated with minimally invasive surgery.

Scientists have developed a blood test to tell whether you have skipped a night's sleep, bringing us a step closer to developing a test for driver sleepiness. The breakthrough could help police identify suspected drowsy drivers in road traffic accidents, or assist employers in assessing fitness for duty, such as in the aviation sector.