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Abnormally low level of SMN protein linked to movement problems in spinal muscular atrophy

An abnormally low level of a protein in certain nerve cells is linked to movement problems that characterize the deadly childhood disorder spinal muscular atrophy, new research in animals suggests.

12 Apr 2012

Hi-C sequencing decodes 3-D structure of DNA folds in chromosomes

Chromosomes are strands of DNA that contain the blueprint of all living organisms. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes that instruct how genes are regulated during development of the human body. While scientists have developed an understanding of the one-dimensional structure of DNA, until today, little was known about how different parts of DNA are folded next to each other inside the nucleus.

12 Apr 2012

RiboMed releases multi-marker methylation prognostic test for glioma

RiboMed Clinical Services Laboratory (RCSL), a CLIA-certified subsidiary of RiboMed Biotechnologies, today announced the release of a multi-marker methylation prognostic test for grading gliomas, the most common type of brain cancer.

12 Apr 2012

Transcription factors do not act like an 'on-off' switch

A UNC-led team of scientists has now shown that transcription factors don't act like an 'on-off' switch, but instead can exhibit much more complex binding behavior.

12 Apr 2012

Scientists transform skin cells directly into induced neurons

Until recently, the production of pluripotent "multipurpose" stem cells from skin cells was considered to be the ultimate new development. In the meantime, it has become possible to directly convert cells of the body into one another - without the time-consuming detour via a pluripotent intermediate stage. However, this method has so far been rather inefficient.

12 Apr 2012

Scientists map physical architecture of intelligence in the brain

Scientists report that they have mapped the physical architecture of intelligence in the brain. Theirs is one of the largest and most comprehensive analyses so far of the brain structures vital to general intelligence and to specific aspects of intellectual functioning, such as verbal comprehension and working memory.

11 Apr 2012

Botanical formula controls aggressive human prostate tumors in mice

A non-toxic, botanical formula controls aggressive human prostate tumors in mice, according to a peer-reviewed study in the The International Journal of Oncology. Researchers at Indiana University, Methodist Research Institute, showed the prostate formula significantly suppresses tumor growth in aggressive, hormone-refractory (androgen-independent) human prostate cancer cells.

11 Apr 2012

Genes and obesity link found in kids

The team of researchers used genome-wide association techniques and found that several genetic variants associated with adult obesity are also active in childhood obesity, according to Struan Grant of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and colleagues. The analysis found two new genetic variants that had not been previously associated with obesity, Grant and colleagues reported online in Nature Genetics. The findings show that “there is indeed a genetic signature of childhood obesity,” Grant said. “It's not purely lifestyle.”

10 Apr 2012

Two CNVs may increase risk of aggressive prostate cancer

An international research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators have discovered two inherited-genetic deletions in the human genome linked to development of aggressive prostate cancer.

10 Apr 2012

First study to demonstrate link between social status and genetic regulation in primates

The ranking of a monkey within her social environment and the stress accompanying that status dramatically alters the expression of nearly 1,000 genes, a new scientific study reports. The research is the first to demonstrate a link between social status and genetic regulation in primates on a genome-wide scale, revealing a strong, plastic link between social environment and biology.

10 Apr 2012

Changes in corneal thickness occur in patients at early stages of FECD

A national consortium of researchers has published new findings that could change the standard of practice for those treating Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD), a disease characterized by cornea swelling that can eventually lead to the need for corneal transplantation.

10 Apr 2012

Study: Body and head lice are the same species

A new study offers compelling genetic evidence that head and body lice are the same species. The finding is of special interest because body lice can transmit deadly bacterial diseases, while head lice do not.

10 Apr 2012

KLF15 gene governs the body's ability to burn fat during exercise

While exercise is accepted universally as the most beneficial prescription physicians can write for patients, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that generate its widespread health benefits. Researchers from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine have shed light on this mystery by discovering that a genetic factor, Kruppel-like Factor 15 (KLF15), governs the body's ability to burn fat during exercise.

10 Apr 2012

Monitoring necessary for early intervention in Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy patients

10 Apr 2012

Bimodal genes can define molecular subtypes of ovarian cancer

Scientists from Duke University Medical Center have determined that genes acting as molecular "on/off" switches can define clinically relevant molecular subtypes of ovarian cancer, providing ideal potential targets for use in clinical prognostic and diagnostic testing.

9 Apr 2012

A step closer to correcting unhealthy gene mutations with diet

Scientists have moved a step closer to correcting some unhealthy gene mutations with diet, according to a new research report appearing in the April 2012 issue of the journal GENETICS.

9 Apr 2012

Five significant genetic associations for hypothyroidism found

Using its unique online research platform, 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, has found five significant genetic associations for hypothyroidism in the largest known genome-wide association study of hypothyroidism conducted to date. The details of the study are now available online in the journal PLoS ONE.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers identify new gene variants linked with common childhood obesity

Genetics researchers have identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk of common childhood obesity.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers discover two molecules that control liver glucose production

In their extraordinary quest to decode human metabolism, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a pair of molecules that regulates the liver's production of glucose---- the simple sugar that is the source of energy in human cells and the central player in diabetes.

9 Apr 2012

Scientists discover novel genes that are mutated in stomach cancer

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS) in Singapore and National Cancer Centre of Singapore, has identified hundreds of novel genes that are mutated in stomach cancer, the second-most lethal cancer worldwide.

9 Apr 2012