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New RNA interference method holds promise for cancer, other diseases

For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA interference - a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of RNA. However, one huge challenge remains: finding a way to efficiently deliver the RNA.

27 Feb 2012

UA researchers identify the likely culprit of epilepsy

Only 10 years ago, deciphering the genetic information from one individual in a matter of weeks to find a certain disease-causing genetic mutation would have been written off as science fiction. It was the time of the Human Genome Project, and it had taken armies of sequencing robots working around the clock for almost a decade to unravel the complete sequence of the human genetic code - referred to as the genome - by churning out the DNA alphabet letter by letter.

24 Feb 2012

DIRECT project to focus on stratification of patients with type 2 diabetes

Gathering experts from 21 European academic institutions and key players of the pharmaceutical industry, the DIRECT project (DIabetes REsearch for patient straTification) will focus on the stratification of patients with type 2 diabetes in order to develop personalized treatments, that would therefore be more efficient.

23 Feb 2012

Over-reactive parents more likely to have toddlers with negative emotionality, problem behaviors

Researchers have found that parents of young children who anger easily and over-react are more likely to have toddlers who act out and become upset easily.

22 Feb 2012

Genomic instability allows malignant cells to acquire more deadly characteristics

Genomic instability caused by an erosion of the protective caps on chromosomes, followed by activation of an enzyme that reinforces those aps, allows malignant cells to evade destruction and acquire more deadly characteristics, researchers report in an Online Now article at the journal Cell.

21 Feb 2012

DNA ‘nanorobot’ effectively targets cancer leaving healthy cells untouched: Study

Researchers have developed ‘nano-sized’ probes built from DNA that can seek and destroy cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. These ‘nanorobots’ release their drug payload only when they reach and identify their target and are believed to improve many treatments for disease.

20 Feb 2012

Synthetic Oct4 protein more effective at turning genes into pluripotent stem cells

Scientists have found a way to generate and maintain stem cells much more efficiently by amplifying the effect of an essential protein.

17 Feb 2012

23andMe, Cleveland Clinic to discover how genes and environment influence PD

In an effort to study the interactions between genomics and Parkinson's disease, Cleveland Clinic has joined the ongoing efforts of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to recruit Parkinson's patients to participate in research by contributing their DNA to a research database and completing online surveys about their health.

15 Feb 2012

Study finds BRCA1 mutations in nearly one in five TN breast cancer patients

Leading breast cancer experts are calling for women under 50 who are diagnosed with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer to be offered testing for faults in the BRCA1 gene, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer.

15 Feb 2012

Scientists test new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers

Scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University have tested a new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers. The participants were so to say vaccinated with their own cells.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals how SAMHD1 works to protect dendritic cells from HIV virus

A novel discovery by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus' progression to AIDS. The study appears online ahead of print today in Nature Immunology.

12 Feb 2012

Y chromosome may be the link that passes heart disease risk from father to son

The study, published in The Lancet, focused on genetic markers on the Y chromosome — which is present only in male DNA (women have two X chromosomes) — and found that men with a certain genetic variant were 50% more likely to have coronary artery disease than those without it. The increased risk was independent of other contributors to heart disease such as age, weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking.

12 Feb 2012

Chromosomal microarray provides more information about fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, which is to visually examine the chromosomes.

10 Feb 2012

DNA sequencing can direct immune system to attack cancer

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

9 Feb 2012

Study examines dimensional structure linked with DSM antisocial personality disorder criteria

With no lab tests to guide the clinician, psychiatric diagnostics is challenging and controversial. Antisocial personality disorder is defined as "a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood," according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association.

8 Feb 2012

ABC2, Exosome collaborate to explore RNA biofluid-based diagnostic technology in brain cancer

Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure and Exosome Diagnostics are collaborating with leading academic medical centers to accelerate clinical validation of Exosome's blood and cerebrospinal fluid-based molecular diagnostics technology in brain cancer.

6 Feb 2012

Tennessee Gov. declares February as 'St. Jude Month'

In 1962, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opened its doors amid an emotionally charged debate regarding how to treat childhood cancer. At that time, few children with the most common form of childhood cancer survived, and many physicians believed treatment was futile. St. Jude physicians and researchers took a radically different approach, and these efforts proved pivotal in changing the way the world treats childhood cancer.

6 Feb 2012

Skin cells converted to brain cells without intermediate stem cell stage

Researchers from California have successfully converted mouse skin cells into cells which develop into the main components of the brain. The experiment, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is notable because it skipped the middle “stem cell” stage in the process.

2 Feb 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Vismodegib to treat skin cancer

A new skin cancer drug tested for the first time in the world five years ago at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare just received expedited approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a remarkable accomplishment in new drug development.

2 Feb 2012