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Variable methylation predictive of age, gender, stress, cancer and early-life socioeconomic status

A Simon Fraser University physicist has helped discover that understanding how a chemical mark on our DNA affects gene expression could be as useful to scientists as fingerprints are to police at a crime scene.

15 Oct 2012

Chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains common genetic risk for bipolar disorder

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies. Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.

15 Oct 2012

Scientists resolve new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism

Cancer, diabetes, and excess body weight have one thing in common: they alter cellular metabolism. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and the Medical University of Vienna together with an international research team have jointly resolved a new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism.

15 Oct 2012

Common genetic polymorphisms can increase risk of autism spectrum disorders

The causes of autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are complex, and contain elements of both nature (genes) and the environment. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Autism shows that common genetic polymorphisms (genetic variation) can add up to an increased risk of ASD.

15 Oct 2012

Researchers identify new genetic signature for sarcoidosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System have identified a genetic signature that distinguishes patients with complicated sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that can be fatal, from patients with a more benign form of the disease. The gene signature could become the basis for a simple blood test.

15 Oct 2012

New insights into how miR-30d can promote healthy insulin production

Work by Michigan Technological University biologist Xiaoqing Tang is yielding new insights into how a tiny snippet of genetic material can promote healthy insulin production in mice.

13 Oct 2012

Scientists characterize unique model of bladder regeneration

While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals. Now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine report on the regenerative process that enables rats to re-grow their bladders within eight weeks.

13 Oct 2012

METASTROKE refines genetic stroke culprits

An analysis from the METASTROKE collaboration confirms an increased stroke risk associated with four previously reported genetic loci and shows that these are specific to certain stroke subtypes.

12 Oct 2012

Study identifies 21 new gene variants associated with risks of heart disease, metabolic disorders

In the largest-ever genetic study of cholesterol and other blood lipids, an international consortium has identified 21 new gene variants associated with risks of heart disease and metabolic disorders.

12 Oct 2012

Three WSU studies could result in new treatments for epilepsy, behavioral disorders

Three studies conducted as part of Wayne State University's Systems Biology of Epilepsy Project (SBEP) could result in new types of treatment for the disease and, as a bonus, for behavioral disorders as well.

12 Oct 2012

Two CUMC studies provide new insights into spinal muscular atrophy

A study by scientists from the Motor Neuron Center at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) suggests that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic neuromuscular disease in infants and children, results primarily from motor circuit dysfunction, not motor neuron or muscle cell dysfunction, as is commonly thought.

12 Oct 2012

Single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may play an important role in transplant longevity

A single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may help determine whether their transplanted organs will survive long term, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

12 Oct 2012

Insight into how coeliac disease is triggered

For the first time, scientists have visualised an interaction between gluten and T-cells of the immune system, providing insight into how coeliac disease, which affects approximately 1 in 133 people, is triggered.

12 Oct 2012

Nelfinavir slows progress of HER2-positive tumor cells

After screening more than 2,300 drugs for their ability to halt the growth of breast cancer cells, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that the anti-HIV drug nelfinavir slows the progress of HER2-positive tumor cells, even if they are resistant to other breast cancer drugs.

12 Oct 2012

Protocol allows researchers to generate functional thyroid tissue from stem cells

The generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells could allow the treatment of patients, which suffer from thyroid hormone deficiency due to defective function, or abnormal development of the thyroid gland.

12 Oct 2012

Brain scans can identify reading skills of children

If a 7-year-old is breezing through the "Harry Potter" books, studies indicate that he or she will be a strong reader later in life. Conversely, if a 7-year-old is struggling with "The Cat in the Hat," that child will most likely struggle with reading going forward.

12 Oct 2012