Gene Expression News and Research

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Gene Expression is the process by which a gene gets turned on in a cell to make RNA and proteins. Gene expression may be measured by looking at the RNA, or the protein made from the RNA, or what the protein does in a cell.

Adding growth factor to baby formula could reduce necrotizing enterocolitis

Could it be that the most widespread and devastating gastrointestinal disease affecting premature babies could be conquered simply by adding a common polypeptide, epidermal growth factor (EGF), to infant formula? And if so, exactly how does it work, and why?

3 Apr 2005

SERPINE2 identified as novel candidate gene for COPD susceptibility

Using a combination of genetic linkage, microarray gene expression and genetic association studies, a group of Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School researchers have identified a serine protease inhibitor clade E, member 2, or SERPINE2, “as a novel candidate susceptibility gene for COPD,” according to Sorachai Srisuma

3 Apr 2005

Vical Incorporated issued two Canadian patents

Vical Incorporated announced today the issuance of two Canadian patents on the company's core technology, which involves direct administration of polynucleotide genetic material such as DNA or RNA.

29 Mar 2005

Research tool for turning off genes may eventually have therapeutic application

A research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has identified 80 new genes essential to the process of RNA interference (RNAi), a powerful new research tool for inactivating genes in plants or animals.

28 Mar 2005

Latest findings in male reproduction research

The XVIII North American Testis Workshop, chaired by Population Council senior scientist Matthew Hardy, will be held 30 March - 2 April in Seattle, Washington. Participants will discuss findings from the large body of recent research on male reproduction.

28 Mar 2005

New directions toward the treatment of bipolar disorder

While lithium treatment has proven to be a godsend for many of the two million Americans with bipolar disorder, it is not without its downside. People on the drug may develop hypothyroidism, tremors, cognitive impairment, and excessive thirst and urination and gain weight.

23 Mar 2005

Gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer

A gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer through acquired mutations and/or loss of expression, according to research at Emory University School of Medicine and its Winship Cancer Institute.

23 Mar 2005

Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells

Researchers here have used a new microscopic, three-dimensional scaffolding to coax mouse stem cells to transform themselves into fat cells, and then to function identical to how fat cells naturally do in the body.

22 Mar 2005

African-American women with advanced endometrial cancer have more aggressive tumors than Caucasian women

In two studies of African-American women with endometrial cancer, a group of investigators from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Cancer Institute has found that African-American women with advanced endometrial cancer have more aggressive tumors than Caucasian women, potentially leading to worse outcomes.

21 Mar 2005

Diabetes Busting Burgers!

Chemists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently presented a preliminary report to the 229th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, in which they say they have discovered a form of soluble cellulose that, if added to high-fat food. The new finding could soon benefit people who regularly eat fast-foods that are high in fat.

16 Mar 2005

Most comprehensive genome-wide experimental analyses of sense-antisense transcripts to date

A team of scientists led by Dr. Kuniya Abe from the RIKEN BioResource Center in Japan has performed one of the most comprehensive genome-wide experimental analyses of sense-antisense transcripts to date. Their findings are published in the April issue of the journal Genome Research.

15 Mar 2005

New way of looking at MicroRNA and how it controls gene expression

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute is reporting a discovery that sheds light on an area of research fundamental to everything from the normal processes that govern the everyday life of human cells to the aberrant mechanisms that underlie many diseases, including cancer and septic shock.

13 Mar 2005

RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have used RNA interference in transgenic mice to silence a mutated gene that causes inherited cases of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), substantially delaying both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor neuron disease.

13 Mar 2005

Proteins link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

6 Mar 2005

Researchers identify first known mutation to occur in lung cancer patients who have never smoked

Dr.Adi Gazdar, professor of pathology in the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research and senior author of the study in today's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, explains that the findings may show why certain lung cancer patients respond dramatically to a specific form of targeted therapy while others have little or no response.

2 Mar 2005

Future diabetes drugs may target new protein interaction

2 Mar 2005

How and why people become addicted to alcohol

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified several genetic changes in the brains of mice caused by ethanol, which may help researchers better understand how and why people become addicted to alcohol.

2 Mar 2005

Study describes the first known mutation to occur in lung cancer patients who have never smoked

Lung cancer patients who have never smoked are more likely than smokers to harbor one of two genetic mutations that researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have now linked to the disease.

1 Mar 2005

Secreted signaling protein called Wnt10b secret to new drugs for preventing or treating osteoporosis

Leaping tall buildings in a single bound may be out of the question, but the genetically engineered "supermice" in Ormond MacDougald's laboratory at the University of Michigan Medical School are definitely stronger than average.

22 Feb 2005

New technique to identify fetal genetic material from amniotic fluid

A preliminary report suggests that cell-free fetal messenger RNA (ribonucleic acid) can be extracted from amniotic fluid (fluid around the fetus), and then be analyzed to study gene expression changes that may reflect the well-being of the fetus, according to a paper in the February 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical applications of biotechnology.

15 Feb 2005