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The first clinical trials of CRISPR gene editing have shown promising results

Results of clinical trials testing CRISPR suggest that treating diseases with the gene-editing tool may be on the horizon.

7 Jan 2020

Chemical reprogramming of granulosa cells to form functional oocytes

By introducing a chemical cocktail to granulosa cells, researchers in China induced the cells to transform into functional oocytes in mice.

26 Dec 2019

The evidence for BRCA1/2 or any genetic testing in breast cancer patients

A new statement by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), published in the journal Genetics in Medicine, discusses the place of germline genetic testing in breast cancer patients.

15 Dec 2019

Points to consider: Should germline genetic testing be offered to all patients with breast cancer?

Should germline genetic testing be offered to all patients with breast cancer? The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics addresses this important question in a new statement published in Genetics in Medicine, "Points to Consider: Is There Evidence to Support BRCA1/2 and Other Inherited Breast Cancer Genetic Testing for All Breast Cancer Patients? A Statement of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics."

13 Dec 2019

ACMG recommends evaluations of breast cancer patients before genetic testing

According to a statement on behalf of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) published Dec. 13 in the organization's official journal, Genetics in Medicine, there is insufficient evidence to recommend universal genetic testing for BRCA1/2 alone or in combination with multi-gene panels for all breast cancer patients.

13 Dec 2019

New approach to broadly acting, highly effective HIV vaccine

Researchers have reported a major advance in the creation of a successful HIV vaccine that is not produced by the host animal.

9 Dec 2019

Mystery surrounds gene edited babies one year on

A year back Chinese scientist He Jiankui was in the news for all the wrong reasons. He had helped create the world’s first genetically edited human babies. After a year the world is still in dark about the whereabouts and health of the babies he had created and he himself has been not seen since January this year.

27 Nov 2019

New vaccine strategy shows promise against HIV

A collaborative team of scientists has made a successful proof-of-principle demonstration of an advanced HIV vaccine strategy--an approach that may also work in protecting people from an array of other deadly infectious diseases.

7 Nov 2019

Koalas protect their germline cells against retroviral attack

In a new study published in the journal Cell, scientists have found that koala DNA is protected against attack by retroviruses by a special type of immune response, which distinguishes foreign DNA from the host genome and destroys it before it can proliferate. This finding could help us understand both how koalas survive these infections, and the mechanics of adaptive gene change.

15 Oct 2019

Study suggesting that CRISPR babies are likely to die early has been retracted

A research paper that sparked concerns about the lifespan of China's first gene-edited babies has been retracted due to technical errors.

15 Oct 2019

Scientists uncover details of antibody response to Ebola virus vaccine

In the recurring, deadly Ebola outbreaks in parts of Africa, today's health workers now have at least some tools to fight the disease: vaccines. Vaccines against Ebola have been administered to over 100,000 people to date, but they are barely out of the experimental stage.

10 Oct 2019

Metabolite may predict cancer versus autism risk in PTEN patients

In a new study published in American Journal of Human Genetics, a team of researchers led by Charis Eng, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute, identified a metabolite that may predict whether individuals with PTEN mutations will develop cancer or autism spectrum disorder.

26 Sep 2019

NIH grants totaling $2.8 million focus on pinpointing male fertility genes

Pinpointing the genes responsible for male fertility is the focus of two National Institutes for Health grants totaling $2.8 million.

20 Sep 2019

Study uncovers new factor in the development of childhood lymphoma

A study recently published in the renowned journal Blood, led by Kaan Boztug, Scientific Director of the St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases, Adjunct Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Associate Professor at the Medical University of Vienna, together with scientists from Israel, Germany, Turkey, Colombia, Argentina and the USA, investigated four patients from independent families with malignancy, autoimmunity and immunodeficiency.

19 Sep 2019

Genetic testing may help patients with metastatic breast cancer

Breast cancer is a condition wherein the cells in the breast grow uncontrollably. Breast cancer can spread to the other parts of the body, termed as metastatic breast cancer. It is one of the most aggressive and potentially deadly types of cancer.

10 Sep 2019

Lung-MAP study: Majority of cancer patients don't understand genomic test results

A majority of cancer patients don't understand key aspects of the genomic test results they receive as participants in biomarker-driven clinical trials, according to a first-of-its-kind pilot study conducted under the Lung Cancer Master Protocol.

10 Sep 2019

Small-cell clones in epithelial tissues organize differently than their normal-sized counterparts

Small-cell clones in proliferating epithelia – tissues that line all body surfaces – organize very differently than their normal-sized counterparts, according to a recent study from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

6 Sep 2019

A new perspective on evolution provided by fly testes

The male testes are important areas for biological innovation, as well as being a factory for sperm. In exciting new biological research a team of scientists has found that the testes are also a hotspot for the production ofnew genes.

19 Aug 2019

Advanced method to accurately detect low-level somatic mutation in intractable epilepsy

KAIST medical scientists have developed an advanced method for perfectly detecting low-level somatic mutation in patients with intractable epilepsy. Their study showed that deep sequencing replicates of major focal epilepsy genes accurately and efficiently identified low-level somatic mutations in intractable epilepsy.

16 Aug 2019

Study reveals Lassa virus' soft spot

As this year's Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria is finally ebbing, the total tally came to more than 600 infected people, one-quarter of them dead. Thousands more die each year, uncounted in rural villages throughout West Africa.

9 Aug 2019