Chromosome 18 News and Research

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Humans normally have 46 chromosomes in each cell, divided into 23 pairs. Two copies of chromosome 18, one copy inherited from each parent, form one of the pairs. Chromosome 18 spans about 76 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents approximately 2.7 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 18 likely contains between 300 and 500 genes.

Genes on chromosome 18 are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Discovery of common genetic variation associated with colorectal cancer

Genetics plays a key role in determining risk for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

23 Apr 2009

Chemical chaperone could open door to treatment of neurological disorder

An unexpected finding turned out to be a clue leading researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to propose a new treatment approach for Niemann-Pick disease, a rare, deadly neurodegenerative disorder.

7 Feb 2008

Discovery of new genes associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood

Researchers have localized two new genes that are associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood, according to a study published in the April 24, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Apr 2007

Specific gene found that protects some people with diabetes from severe kidney failure

A research team at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of Heidelberg has proven that a gene protects some people with diabetes from developing severe kidney failure or "end-stage renal disease."

9 Jan 2007

Researchers find two locations in the human genome that may harbor genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found two locations in the human genome that may harbor genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. If confirmed, they will be the first genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease since ApoE4 was discovered in 1993.

8 Nov 2004