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Possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome

The first evidence for a possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome, one of the leading inherited causes of mental retardation, has emerged from experiments with a mutant fruit fly that exhibits characteristics of the disorder.

2 Mar 2005

Cells can regenerate without becoming "younger"

It has long been thought that cells that regenerate tissue do so by regressing to a developmentally younger state. Now two University of Washington researchers have demonstrated that cells can regenerate without becoming "younger."

1 Mar 2005

Genetic link to kidney damage after heart surgery

Specific variants of genes involved in inflammation and blood vessel constriction are strongly associated with kidney damage in patients undergoing major heart surgery, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found.

1 Mar 2005

Virologists make major step towards understanding the process of HIV infection

A working group of virologists headed by Professor Hans-Georg Kräusslich at Heidelberg University Hospitals, jointly with Professor Hanswalter Zentgraf, Division of Applied Tumor Virology of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), have been the first to label Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV) for visual investigations without inhibiting the functional characteristics of the virus.

28 Feb 2005

Methylphenidate linked to chromosomal changes

In a small but startling preliminary new study, Texas researchers have found that after just three months, every one of a dozen children treated for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the drug methylphenidate experienced a threefold increase in levels of chromosome abnormalities—occurrences associated with increased risks of cancer and other adverse health effects.

27 Feb 2005

Exposure of expectant mothers to urban air pollution may alter the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb

A new study of 60 newborns in New York City reveals that exposure of expectant mothers to combustion-related urban air pollution may alter the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb.

15 Feb 2005

Findings could lead to new asthma treatment based on individual genetic profiles

Children who suffer from acute asthma attacks share a genetic profile that appears to be unique to these children, according to a new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The discovery opens the door to the possibility of designing treatments specifically tailored to children who suffer from the severest forms of asthma.

7 Feb 2005

Scientists unravel first step in translating genetic information in order to build a protein

Timing is everything, it seems, even in science. A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has unraveled the first step in translating genetic information in order to build a protein, only to find that it's not one step but two.

24 Jan 2005

Human Genome Project may have made traditional race-based measurements of human differences obsolete

New and sophisticated methods for studying the relationship between human genetic differences, the environment, health and behavior, all made possible by the completion of the Human Genome Project, have made traditional race-based measurements of human differences obsolete

17 Jan 2005

FDA go ahead for first of kind genetic lab test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of the first laboratory test system that will allow physicians to consider unique genetic information from patients in selecting medications and doses of medications for a wide variety of common conditions such as cardiac disease, psychiatric disease, and cancer.

27 Dec 2004

Pharmacogenomics, has the potential to spark a major, technology-driven restructuring of the health care and pharmaceuticals industries

Pharmacogenomics, the study of genetic variability in the way individuals respond to medicines, has the potential to spark a major, technology-driven restructuring of the health care and pharmaceuticals industries

21 Dec 2004

Gene expression analysis software

Case Western Reserve University has announced that its BAMarray™ software is now available for download and licensing. The statistical software analyzes gene expression data -- one of the hottest areas of biology research.

20 Dec 2004

New theory driving evolutionary changes

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have used canine DNA to identify a genetic mutation mechanism they believe is responsible for rapid evolutionary changes in the physical appearance of many species.

14 Dec 2004

New technology will advance our understanding of role of complex sugar chains decorating the surface of cells in the body

An international consortium of scientists lead by Dr. James Paulson of The Scripps Research Institute has created a technology that will advance our understanding of the role of complex sugar chains (glycans or carbohydrates) that decorate the surface of cells in the body.

8 Dec 2004

Scientist develops way to deliver promising genetic tool into living cells

By exploiting an HIV protein that readily traverses cell membranes, Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed a new way to introduce a gene-like molecule called a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) directly into live mammalian cells, including human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

6 Dec 2004

Gene decoding revealed at atomic level

A recent finding by a North Carolina State University biochemist advances the fundamental biology of how genetic information, encoded in DNA, is decoded for the production of proteins.

4 Dec 2004

African Americans more likely to carry genetic variants known to stimulate inflammatory response

Specific variants in genes that encode proteins regulating inflammation may hold a key to explaining a host of disease processes known to cause increased risk of illness and death among African Americans, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH).

1 Dec 2004

New genetic test has proven useful as a prognostic tool for ovarian cancer

The identification of a gene expression profile using microarray technology may help clinicians better determine the prognosis of patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer and may eventually help provide targeted therapies for this hard-to-treat disease, according to a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

18 Nov 2004

New insight into how our body cells block the development of cancer

Scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Cell Unit, at the University of Cambridge, have revealed a new insight into how our body cells block the development of cancer.

11 Nov 2004

Research aims to understand how genetic information translates into biological activity

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new $6.25 million, five-year program to explore and address challenges in measurement, validation and quality control for the rapidly growing field of gene expression profiling.