Genetic Analysis Techniques News and Research

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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

Differences in how HIV virus infects males and females

A genetic analysis of viral RNA from 10 heterosexual couples, in which one partner has sexually transmitted HIV to the other, provides the first documentation of some differences in how the virus infects males and females.

27 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

Blips and AIDS therapy

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have concluded that sudden, temporary spikes in the amount of HIV in the body, commonly called blips, do not always mean the virus is developing resistance to AIDS drugs.

14 Feb 2005

Temperature sensing protein implicated in mediating thermotaxis

The songwriter Noel Coward once declared that only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun. MIT biologists Mark Rosenzweig, Paul Garrity and their colleagues now have a third candidate for the lyric—fruit flies with defects in a gene called dTrpA1.

4 Dec 2004

Genetic research offers insight into Sjögren's syndrome and the general developmental machinery of the immune system

By knocking out a single gene in mice, immunologists at Duke University Medical Center have mimicked a little-understood autoimmune disorder in humans.

21 Oct 2004

Laboratory test of evolutionary theory confirms the importance of connections between populations

Researchers studying the evolutionary dynamics of bacteria and viruses in bubbling glass tubes have confirmed an evolutionary theory of central importance to ecologists studying more familiar flora and fauna in the wild.

13 Oct 2004

New imaging analysis techniques to probe causes of dyslexia

Using sophisticated new software that integrates a variety of imaging methods, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers will probe the mystery of what causes dyslexia with a four-year, $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

20 Sep 2004

Researchers make discoveries on West Nile virus, monkeypox, and yellow fever

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston present significant new discoveries on West Nile virus, monkeypox, and yellow fever

4 Sep 2004

Scientists have uncovered the identity of the last of eight genes known to contribute to Bardet-Biedl syndrome

The identification of the BBS3 gene ends the search for primary BBS-causing genes in families studied for years by a team of scientists from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. However, the scientists are still hunting for other, less obvious genetic influences in these families.

16 Aug 2004

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

5 Aug 2004

People with extremely early or extremely late sleep times may suffer from Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder

You probably know "night owls," those people not ready to fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. And, you may also know "larks," those early risers who wake before the sun comes up and are ready for bed right after dinner. People with extremely early or extremely late sleep times may suffer from Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder (CRSD).

11 Jun 2004

Good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia

There is good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia. The disease prevalence is higher among blood relatives than non-related people and males are affected more frequently than females.

26 May 2004

Scientists believe that the dog genome holds a wealth of information that will benefit human health

Recently completed genetic analysis reveals that half of the more than 300 inherited canine disorders — including a number of cancers — resemble specific diseases of man; many scientists believe that the dog genome holds a wealth of information that will benefit human health.

20 May 2004

Father's sperm packs more than just a fertilizer

The major function of a man's sperm was fertilization, scientists once thought. True, sperm contains the father's chromosomes; but new studies from Wayne State University show that RNAs critically important to early growth of an embryo are also delivered.

13 May 2004

Molecular analyses of leukemia patients suggest strategies for better treatments

The cure rate for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) might continue to rise with improved use of conventional therapies. But even more effective and less toxic therapies based on genetic and pharmacogenetic studies might one day push the success rate close to 100 percent, according to an article published by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the April 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Apr 2004

Analysis of Bacterial Genomes Begins to Unravel Complex Story of Metabolic Evolution

In a paper published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution , Arizona State University biochemists Jason Raymond, Christopher Staples and Robert Blankenship and Rice University's Janet Siefert do an analysis of the genomes of a large group of bacteria and archaea, comparing in particular similar genes that produce the protein nitrogenase.