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Smokers exposed to wood smoke are at increased risk of COPD: Research

Smokers who are exposed to wood smoke, either through home heating and cooking or through ambient neighborhood pollution, are not only at increased risk of COPD, but are also more likely to have epigenetic changes in the DNA that further increase their risk of COPD and related pulmonary problems.

15 Jul 2010

Fatness drives inactivity, not the other way around

According to a recent longitudinal study in children, inactivity does not lead to fatness! Moreover, the authors concluded that fatness is driving inactivity, and not the other way around. The authors noted that this "reverse causality" explains the observed association between inactivity and fatness. It also explains the repeated failures of the attempts to reduce childhood obesity by increasing physical activity. The study was published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood by Dr. Brad Metcalf and colleagues from Plymouth, UK.

15 Jul 2010

Study suggests chronic kidney disease affects persons of African, Hispanic heritage at higher rate

Chronic kidney disease affects millions in North America, with persons of African heritage being at a four-fold higher risk and those of Hispanic heritage having a two-fold higher risk compared to the rest of the population. An international study carried out by Dr. Karl Skorecki, from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, and his team points to the APOL1 gene as involved in the increased risk of kidney disease in this high-risk population. The results are to be published online in Springer's journal Human Genetics.

15 Jul 2010

Cigarette smoking affects entire networks of gene interaction: Research

The effects of smoking cigarettes on gene activity have been investigated in the largest study of its kind. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics studied white blood cells taken from 1,240 people to identify 323 unique genes whose expression levels were significantly correlated with smoking behavior.

15 Jul 2010

Eurofins MWG Operon, Genomatix Software offer joint services to develop complete human exome array

Eurofins MWG Operon, an expert in next generation sequencing and Certified Service Provider for Roche NimbleGen sequence capture, together with Genomatix Software GmbH, a leading company in complex analysis and interpretation of such NGS data, announce that they have developed a complete human exome array, based on Roche NimbleGen sequence capture technology.

15 Jul 2010

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announce that the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), established in 2005, will be funded for five more years. CoFAR will continue to foster new approaches to prevent and treat food allergies and also expand in scope to include research on the genetic causes underlying food allergy and studies of food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).

15 Jul 2010

Long-term exposure of arsenic may increase risk for lung cancer

To determine how arsenic increases the risk of lung cancer and to identify potential treatments, a Michigan State University researcher will use $1.7 million in federal funding during the next five years to examine why certain genes disrupt cells, leading to the disease.

15 Jul 2010

University of Louisville ophthalmology professor receives $60,000 RPB Special Scholar Award

Qingxian Lu, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has received the $60,000 William and Mary Greve Special Scholar Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) organization. The funds will go toward Lu's research in retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic disorders that can lead to night blindness, loss of peripheral vision and total blindness.

15 Jul 2010

Research supports population screening for fragile X syndrome in women of reproductive age

There's adequate research data to support population screening of women of childbearing age for fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited cause of cognitive impairment, according to a report in the July issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

14 Jul 2010

Scientists update criteria for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 today presented the first draft reports from three workgroups convened by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association to update the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease for the first time in 25 years.

14 Jul 2010

Exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression, study finds

In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research have found that exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression -- the process by which a gene's information is converted into the structures and functions of a cell. These alterations in response to smoking appear to have a wide-ranging negative influence on the immune system, and a strong involvement in processes related to cancer, cell death and metabolism.

14 Jul 2010

Improved delivery methods needed to advance gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer: Review

Improved delivery methods and better testing systems are needed to advance promising gene therapy strategies for treating prostate cancer, according to a series of review articles in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

14 Jul 2010

Life-or-death 'cell competition' process in mammalian tissue identified

A landmark study by Florida State University biologists, in collaboration with scientists in Britain, is the first to identify a life-or-death "cell competition" process in mammalian tissue that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves.

14 Jul 2010

Individual genes and networks that play an important role in inflammation, atherosclerosis identified

HemoShear, LLC, a leading developer of innovative, cell-based, human surrogate models for discovery and assessment of new drug compounds, has produced a profile of all of the genes that influence the biology and function of the human artery system. This research has generated valuable information on the entire spectrum of genes that are found in specific cell-types that make up human arteries.

14 Jul 2010

Susceptibility to Behcet's disease associated with genes involved in body's immune response

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health have found susceptibility to Behcet's disease, a painful, inflammatory condition, to be associated with genes involved in the body's immune response.

14 Jul 2010

Study: Disruption of genes that control circadian rhythms may lead to diabetes

Disruption of two genes that control circadian rhythms can lead to diabetes, a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found in an animal study. Mice with defective copies of the genes, called CLOCK and BMAL1, develop abnormalities in pancreatic cells that eventually render the cells unable to release sufficient amounts of insulin.

14 Jul 2010

Researchers discover single genetic mutation that accounts for disease

By inspecting the sequence of all 3 billion "letters" that make up the genome of a single person affected with a rare, inherited disorder, a Johns Hopkins and Duke University team ferreted out the single genetic mutation that accounts for the disease.

13 Jul 2010

Researchers watch armed tumor-seeking immune system cells attack dangerous melanomas in real time

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center created a large, well armed battalion of tumor-seeking immune system cells and watched, in real time using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), as the special forces traveled throughout the body to locate and attack dangerous melanomas.

13 Jul 2010

Protein acetylation not rare in bacteria

Lowly bacteria are turning out to be much more complex than previously thought.

13 Jul 2010

Gene mutation that causes auditory neuropathy identified

Researchers have identified a gene mutation that causes a rare form of hearing loss known as auditory neuropathy, according to U-M Medical School scientists.

13 Jul 2010

Genes News and Research

Smokers exposed to wood smoke are at increased risk of COPD: Research

Fatness drives inactivity, not the other way around

Study suggests chronic kidney disease affects persons of African, Hispanic heritage at higher rate

Cigarette smoking affects entire networks of gene interaction: Research

Eurofins MWG Operon, Genomatix Software offer joint services to develop complete human exome array

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Long-term exposure of arsenic may increase risk for lung cancer

University of Louisville ophthalmology professor receives $60,000 RPB Special Scholar Award

Research supports population screening for fragile X syndrome in women of reproductive age

Scientists update criteria for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression, study finds

Improved delivery methods needed to advance gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer: Review

Life-or-death 'cell competition' process in mammalian tissue identified

Individual genes and networks that play an important role in inflammation, atherosclerosis identified

Susceptibility to Behcet's disease associated with genes involved in body's immune response

Study: Disruption of genes that control circadian rhythms may lead to diabetes

Researchers discover single genetic mutation that accounts for disease

Researchers watch armed tumor-seeking immune system cells attack dangerous melanomas in real time

Protein acetylation not rare in bacteria

Gene mutation that causes auditory neuropathy identified

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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