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Possible mechanism identified for how lithium treats bipolar disorder

Lithium has been established for more than 50 years as one of the most effective treatments for manic depression, clinically termed bipolar disorder. However, scientists have never been entirely sure exactly why it is beneficial.

18 Jun 2010

AMP raises ethical, laboratory practice concerns in whole genome sequencing at SACHGS meeting

Today, the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) presented public comments to the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACHGS) meeting focused on whole genome sequencing. In anticipation of advances in sequencing and its incorporation into clinical practice, AMP raised ethical and laboratory practice concerns for the Committee's consideration.

17 Jun 2010

Deuterium depletion symposium focusses on oncotherapy, anticancer, diabetes, anti-aging research

1st International Symposium on Deuterium Depletion was held on 13-14 May 2010 in Budapest, Hungary. The conference programme focused on the advances in the research and clinical application of deuterium depletion, its present and future role in anticancer research and oncotherapy, diabetes research and anti-aging.

17 Jun 2010

Researchers sequence genome of Amerindian strain of the gastric bug H. pylori

An international team of researchers led by scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have sequenced the genome of an Amerindian strain of the gastric bug Helicobacter pylori, confirming the out-of-Africa migration of this bacterial stowaway to the New World. Experiments in animals have highlighted how specific genes in the bacterial strain may be crucial to the onset of inflammation and disease.

17 Jun 2010

Researchers identify first genetic risk factors for development of CM in Angolan children

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, remains one of the main causes of death worldwide. An international team of researchers lead by Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, IGC, scientist Carlos Penha-Gonçalves, has identified the first genetic risk factors for the development of cerebral malaria in Angolan children, a severe manifestation of malaria infection.

17 Jun 2010

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

A team of researchers from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Universit- de Montr-al have defined for the first time the mechanism behind three cancer-causing genes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Published in the journal Genes and Development, the findings offer insight on the complex interaction between the genes and their contributions to leukemia, thereby providing the foundation for the design of targeted therapies.

17 Jun 2010

Researchers study science and clinical treatment of FAS

It's long been known that alcohol use in pregnancy can lead to children with mental retardation and birth defects, but researchers who study fetal alcohol syndrome have not made definitive progress on preventing the disorder, detecting it early, or effectively treating it, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center.

16 Jun 2010

3 new genes in genetic research of suicidal behaviour

Three genes that have barely been studied to date have now provided fresh knowledge about patients with suicidal backgrounds. This is the result of a study by a team of Spanish researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia University in the City of New York (United States), which found that several mutations are involved. This finding could help to develop future genetic tests to identify predisposition to suicide, without ignoring the importance of social and cultural factors.

16 Jun 2010

Many Huntington's disease patients suffer from weight loss, sleeping problems

An aggregating protein causes many of the symptoms of Huntington's disease, an incurable and frequently fatal brain disorder. Mosaic winner Ahmad Aziz discovered that the abnormal protein also aggregates in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system.

16 Jun 2010

Study demonstrates mechanism behind hijacking of TNF controlled response to tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how two genes can 'hijack' control of part of the body's defences against cancer, helping them grow and spread.

16 Jun 2010

University of Montreal scientists discover free radical mechanism to viral invasion

Canadian researchers have discovered a new way the body combats respiratory viral infections. In the prestigious journal PLoS Pathogens, scientists from the University of Montreal and the University of Montreal Hospital Research Center explain how the NOX2 molecule, an enzyme that generates a burst of highly reactive oxygen derivatives (or free radicals), activates defense genes and molecules when viruses invade lung cells.

16 Jun 2010

ISB, GIND collaborate on whole-genome sequencing to identify drug targets for Huntington's Disease

The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) of Seattle, WA, is collaborating with the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) and its Taube-Koret Center for Huntington's Disease Research to use whole-genome sequencing to identify genes and novel drug targets related to the onset and progression of Huntington's disease (HD). The research team, led by GIND associate director and senior investigator Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, will also use induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients with HD to screen for drugs that might delay, prevent, or even reverse this devastating condition.

16 Jun 2010

Eating Mediterranean-style diet reduces heart disease risk: Research

A study of twins shows that even with genes that put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, eating a Mediterranean-style diet can improve heart function, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

16 Jun 2010

New insight into sleeping sickness parasite

Fresh discoveries about the parasite that causes sleeping sickness could lead to new avenues of research into treatments for the disease.

15 Jun 2010

Tel Aviv University research suggests link between IVF treatments and autism

The first "test tube baby" was born in 1978. With advances in reproductive science, an estimated one percent of all American babies are now born each year through in vitro fertilization. But IVF and other assisted fertility treatments may be solving one problem by creating another, suggests new evidence from Tel Aviv University.

15 Jun 2010

Sulindac shuts down cancer cell growth, initiates cell death: Study

Without knowing exactly why, scientists have long observed that people who regularly take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin have lower incidences of certain types of cancer. Now, in a study appearing in Cancer Cell on June 15, investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and their colleagues have figured out how one NSAID, called Sulindac, inhibits tumor growth.

15 Jun 2010

Researchers discover microRNA biomarkers to treat patients with SCLC

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, the Van Andel Research Institute and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare have discovered a biomarker that could help in the treatment of patients with an aggressive type of lung cancer.

15 Jun 2010

ExonHit Therapeutics, Genmab A/S sign agreement for selection of novel splice variants

ExonHit Therapeutics today announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Genmab A/S for a selection of novel splice variants, identified as part of a successful pilot study, that have the potential to be therapeutic targets for breast cancer. Genmab retains exclusive development and commercialization rights on 10 events out of a breast cancer database developed using ExonHit's genome-wide SpliceArray technology (RNA splicing analysis platform covering the entire genome).

15 Jun 2010

Entomologists to develop genetically engineered bacteria for killing mosquito larvae

Roughly half the world's population still lives in areas at risk of malaria transmission. Even in the United States, 1500 cases of malaria are reported annually on average.

15 Jun 2010

Parkinson’s disease linked to gene variant and pesticide: Study

Researchers from France reported in their new study that bad genes and exposure to certain banned pesticides could be blamed for development of Parkinson’s disease in men. In their study, published in the Archives of Neurology journal they show that men exposed to pesticides such as DDT and who had inherited genes for Parkinson’s disease were three and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson's than those with the normal version of the gene.

14 Jun 2010

Genes News and Research

Possible mechanism identified for how lithium treats bipolar disorder

AMP raises ethical, laboratory practice concerns in whole genome sequencing at SACHGS meeting

Deuterium depletion symposium focusses on oncotherapy, anticancer, diabetes, anti-aging research

Researchers sequence genome of Amerindian strain of the gastric bug H. pylori

Researchers identify first genetic risk factors for development of CM in Angolan children

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

Researchers study science and clinical treatment of FAS

3 new genes in genetic research of suicidal behaviour

Many Huntington's disease patients suffer from weight loss, sleeping problems

Study demonstrates mechanism behind hijacking of TNF controlled response to tumours

University of Montreal scientists discover free radical mechanism to viral invasion

ISB, GIND collaborate on whole-genome sequencing to identify drug targets for Huntington's Disease

Eating Mediterranean-style diet reduces heart disease risk: Research

New insight into sleeping sickness parasite

Tel Aviv University research suggests link between IVF treatments and autism

Sulindac shuts down cancer cell growth, initiates cell death: Study

Researchers discover microRNA biomarkers to treat patients with SCLC

ExonHit Therapeutics, Genmab A/S sign agreement for selection of novel splice variants

Entomologists to develop genetically engineered bacteria for killing mosquito larvae

Parkinson’s disease linked to gene variant and pesticide: Study

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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