Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new method to help researchers identify genes that can help protect the body during the ageing process. The team developed a method of analysing genes in multiple ageing tissue types in both animals and humans.

Researchers from the University of Southern California have taken an important first step toward protecting against Huntington disease using gene therapy. Huntington Disease is an incurable neurological disorder characterized by uncontrolled movements, emotional instability and loss of intellectual faculties. It affects about 30,000 people in the United States, and children of parents with the disease have a 50 percent chance of inheriting it themselves.

Results of a genetic study offering new insights into the way that genes interact in the immune system have been published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics. Scientists previously thought that the growth of immune cells called macrophages was regulated by a few "master regulator" genes that controlled numerous processes involved in cell growth and development by giving instructions to other genes within the cell.

Bioinformatics researchers from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode." This computational biology work from the Jacobs School of Engineering's bioengineering department could lead to new ideas for curbing unwanted cell proliferation - including some cancers. This research, published in Nature Genetics, could also improve our understanding of how organs and other complex tissues develop.