Genes News and Research

RSS

LIN28B gene influences height growth in a sex-specific manner

Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) have shown that a gene called LIN28B strongly influences height growth from birth to adulthood in a complex and sex-spesific manner.

17 Apr 2010

Illumina announces first named family DNA sequence

Illumina, Inc. today announced that it has sequenced the DNA of John, Judy, Anne and Paul West, the first publicly named family to have their DNA sequenced to full coverage by the company.

From Illumina, Inc. 17 Apr 2010

Genomic portrait may predict liver cancer recurrence: Study

Results of an international clinical study conducted in Europe and the US presented today at the International Liver CongressTM 2010, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Vienna, Austria, have identified a genomic portrait able to predict recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer in men.

17 Apr 2010

Marker found in iPS cells correlates with levels of pluripotency: Researchers

Researchers in China are reporting that they have found a way to determine which somatic cells -- or differentiated body cells -- that have been reprogrammed into a primordial, embryonic-like state are the most viable for therapeutic applications.

17 Apr 2010

New therapeutic approach for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers from Universit- Laval's Faculty of Medicine and the CHUQ Research Center have proven that it is possible to repair the defective gene responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

16 Apr 2010

DNA modification can define early onset glioblastoma

A class of brain tumor that tends to emerge in younger patients but is less aggressive than others can be identified by examining DNA methylation of a specific set of genes, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues with The Cancer Genome Atlas report today online at Cancer Cell.

16 Apr 2010

Researchers say exclusive licensing on genes could hurt patients

The Wall Street Journal reports that Duke University researchers have found in a study published Wednesday that granting "exclusive licenses on individual genes" could hurt patients' chances of pinpointing their risks to develop disease.

16 Apr 2010

Embryos with two mums to remove the risk of hereditary diseases: new research

New research published in the journal Nature, could pave the way to world’s first genetically modified human baby. The research involves making embryos with genes from one man and two women. There are hundreds or families around the world who are left childless or have serious ill babies because they carry genes for hereditary illnesses. This research may bring hope to such couples. According to scientists on the team, within the next three years these women will be able to avail such techniques. There has been skepticism regarding ethical issues attached to making of “designer babies”.

16 Apr 2010

Four-protein complex provides new target for thwarting cancer migration, invasion

The molecular machinery that switches on a gene known to cause breast cancer to spread and invade other organs has been identified by an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The paper was published Sunday in Nature Cell Biology's advanced online publication.

16 Apr 2010

Study on primary cilia formation may lead to new therapies for ciliopathies

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a network of genes that initiate and manage cilia formation. Although scientists have known about cilia for decades, only recently have they discovered their role in disease. This new discovery, which may lead to new therapies for ciliopathies, will appear in the April 15 edition of Nature.

16 Apr 2010

Consortium studies gene-drug relationship to determine optimal warfarin doses

If Julie Johnson had her way, doctors would check a patient's genes before writing a prescription. Everyone responds differently to medicines—one that works for you might not work for me, or it could even be harmful. These individual responses depend to an extent on our genetic make-up.

16 Apr 2010

Obesity prejudice in medical community

Prejudice towards obese people is rife among trainee health professionals, but can be modified, new research has found.

16 Apr 2010

Research may provide better clinical outcomes for patients with aggressive type of brain cancer

A study conducted by a collaborative team led by researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) may lead to better insight into the clinical outcome for some patients with a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer. The research may also provide a framework for development of targeted drug treatments.

16 Apr 2010

Exclusive licensing practices slows innovation in gene testing market

Exclusive licenses to gene patents, most of which are held by academic institutions and based on taxpayer-funded research, do more to block competition in the gene testing market than to spur the development of new technologies for gauging disease risk, say researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP).

15 Apr 2010

Tumor suppressor, Retinoblastoma, represses DNA replication genes during cellular senescence

A frequently mutated gene in human cancers is the reitnoblastoma (RB) gene, which controls a potent tumor suppression pathway.

15 Apr 2010

New findings may allow clinicians to prevent complications in pregnancy

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that epigenetic marks on human placentas change from the first trimester of pregnancy to the third, a discovery that may allow clinicians to prevent complications in pregnancy.

15 Apr 2010

Scientists uncover new genes responsible for cancer, deafness

From deep within the genomes of organisms as diverse as plants, worms and yeast, scientists have uncovered new genes responsible for causing human diseases such as cancer and deafness.

15 Apr 2010

Genomic component playing key role in promoting breast cancer progression discovered

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that its scientists have teamed with researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, and other institutions to discover a genomic component that plays a key role in promoting breast cancer progression. A study published today in the journal Nature details how levels of a specific kind of non-coding RNA molecule in primary breast tumors regulate metastasis and tumor invasiveness and may be an important target for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

15 Apr 2010

Researchers identify new strategy for treating acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers have identified a self-feeding "vicious circle" of molecules that keeps acute leukemia cells alive and growing and that drives the disease forward.

15 Apr 2010

eRNA molecules are key players in brain development, says study

How does the brain work? This question is one of the greatest scientific mysteries, and neurobiologists have only recently begun to piece together the molecular building blocks that enable human beings to be "thinking" animals.

15 Apr 2010