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Ancient Gene Discovery Unlocks Secrets of Memory Formation

5/15/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A groundbreaking discovery by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation reveals that a nine-amino acid microexon in the DAAM1 gene plays a vital role in memory formation. When this microexon was deleted in mice, their memory performance plummeted by 40%, alongside a significant reduction in synaptic spines. Remarkably, this microexon has remained unchanged for over 400 million years, seen in both sharks and humans.

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Story summary

A groundbreaking discovery by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation reveals that a nine-amino acid microexon in the DAAM1 gene plays a vital role in memory formation. When this microexon was deleted in mice, their memory performance plummeted by 40%, alongside a significant reduction in synaptic spines. Remarkably, this microexon has remained unchanged for over 400 million years, seen in both sharks and humans.