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Newly discovered mechanism may help explain why some embryos not useful for fertility treatments

It's the dream of many infertile couples: to have a baby. Tens of thousands of children are born by in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a technique commonly used when nature doesn't take its course. However, embryos obtained when a sperm fertilizes an egg in a test tube often have defects.

5 Jan 2016

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

Minor variants of flu strains, which are not typically targeted in vaccines, carry a bigger viral punch than previously realized, a team of scientists has found. Its research, which examined samples from the 2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong, shows that these minor strains are transmitted along with the major strains and can replicate and elude immunizations.

5 Jan 2016

People can use physically active lifestyle to reduce effect of inherited obesity genes

People from around the world can use a physically active lifestyle to blunt the effect of inherited obesity genes, McMaster University researchers have found.

5 Jan 2016

New guide provides valuable, unique overview of key properties of different drug targets

The new Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2015/2016 provides a valuable and unique overview of the key properties of more than 1,700 human drug targets, focusing on those exploited currently in the clinic or with future therapeutic potential.

5 Jan 2016

High diversity among circulating tumor cells predicts survival, treatment resistance in prostate cancer patients

Research teams at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Epic Sciences have found that greater diversity among circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of advanced prostate cancer patients predicts not only shorter overall survival, but also the development of resistance to key anti-androgen therapies.

4 Jan 2016

Crowdsourcing: the answer for rare disease diagnosis?

Medical crowdsourcing is like the ultimate consult service. A question arises, it is asked on the forum, and you can get answers from multiple specialties within minutes. It is harnessing the brightest minds in one place and using that power to do what we enjoy doing most – helping people.

4 Jan 2016

UT Southwestern scientists use new gene-editing technique to prevent progression of DMD in young mice

Using a new gene-editing technique, a team of scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center stopped progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in young mice.

4 Jan 2016

World's largest database for cancer drug discovery revolutionised by 3D techniques

THE world's largest database for cancer drug discovery has been revolutionised by adding 3D structures of faulty proteins and maps of cancer's communication networks, according to Cancer Research UK-funded research published in Nucleic Acid Research today (Monday).

4 Jan 2016

NCCLC patients with KRAS-related gene mutations may benefit from triple therapy

Although the most common type of lung cancer - non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - has recently seen major treatment advances in some genetic subtypes, other subtypes continue to evade effective treatment. (New therapies exist for NCCLC patients whose cancers harbor mutations in the ALK or EGFR genes, for example.)

4 Jan 2016

New Penn study shows that social behavior in carpenter ants can be reprogrammed

In Florida carpenter ant colonies, distinct worker castes called minors and majors exhibit pronounced differences in social behavior throughout their lives. In a new study published today in Science, a multi-institution team anchored at University of Pennsylvania found that these caste-specific behaviors are not set in stone.

4 Jan 2016

Researchers successfully use CRISPR to treat adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers have used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This marks the first time that CRISPR has successfully treated a genetic disease inside a fully developed living mammal with a strategy that has the potential to be translated to human therapy.

4 Jan 2016

Study reports generation of new vaccine strains that appear effective against polio virus

While the goal of polio virus eradication is in sight, there are concerns about post-eradication manufacturing and stockpiling vaccine stores containing live virus that could escape and repopulate the environment. A study published on December 31st in PLOS Pathogens reports the generation of new vaccine strains that appear both effective and unable to cause disease after accidental or intended release.

4 Jan 2016

Areas stricken by extreme poverty more likely to be associated with high rates of Ebola transmission

Since October 2014 the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has been diminishing and efforts have shifted from emergency response to prevention and mitigation of future outbreaks. Researchers from the Liberian Ministry of Health and the Yale Center for Infectious Disease Modelling and Analysis evaluated 3532 Ebola cases reported in 2014 in order to quantify the impact of poverty on the transmission and spread of Ebola.

4 Jan 2016

Processed foods may increase likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases

In today's hustle and bustle world, processed foods are commonplace time-savers. But that convenience factor may come with a bigger price tag than previously known, says an international team of researchers.

31 Dec 2015

NeoGenomics acquires Clarient and Clarient Diagnostic Services

NeoGenomics, Inc., a leading provider of cancer-focused genetic testing services, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Clarient, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Clarient Diagnostic Services, Inc. Clarient, a provider of comprehensive cancer diagnostic testing to hospitals, physicians and the pharmaceutical industry, was a unit of GE Healthcare's Life Sciences business.

30 Dec 2015

Researchers use dynamic time-series data to help improve accuracy of genome mapping

If you already have the sequenced map of an organism's genome but want to look for structural oddities in a sample, you can check the genomic barcode -- a series of distances between known, targeted sites -- by cutting a DNA sequence at those sites and examining the distance between the cuts.

30 Dec 2015

Researchers suggest microorganisms in the womb set stage for health problems later in life

Researchers review importance of microorganisms that exist in the gut, suggesting perturbation of the environment during pregnancy, delivery and early infancy could impact the developing baby's early microbiome and set the stage for health problems later in life. The term "microbiome" refers to the trillions of organisms we harbor, on our skin and within our respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

30 Dec 2015

Exercising early in life can alter gut microbes, promote healthier brain and metabolic activity

The human gut harbors a teeming menagerie of over 100 trillion microorganisms, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that exercising early in life can alter that microbial community for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over the course of a lifetime.

30 Dec 2015

St. Jude scientists develop interactive tool to advance understanding of mutations that fuel pediatric cancer

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have developed a web application and data set that gives researchers worldwide a powerful interactive tool to advance understanding of the mutations that lead to and fuel pediatric cancer. The freely available tool, called ProteinPaint, is described in today's issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

30 Dec 2015

UAB's Undiagnosed Diseases Program finds answers for mysterious health issues

Stephanie and Christopher Smith have been on a long, difficult and often frustrating journey to find answers for the mysterious health issues of their children. It started 24 years ago when their third child, Gage, was born. Gage, his younger brother Aiden and then sister Mandalynn, now 13, all developed mysterious symptoms that mystified doctors.

29 Dec 2015

Genetic News and Research

Newly discovered mechanism may help explain why some embryos not useful for fertility treatments

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

People can use physically active lifestyle to reduce effect of inherited obesity genes

New guide provides valuable, unique overview of key properties of different drug targets

High diversity among circulating tumor cells predicts survival, treatment resistance in prostate cancer patients

Crowdsourcing: the answer for rare disease diagnosis?

UT Southwestern scientists use new gene-editing technique to prevent progression of DMD in young mice

World's largest database for cancer drug discovery revolutionised by 3D techniques

NCCLC patients with KRAS-related gene mutations may benefit from triple therapy

New Penn study shows that social behavior in carpenter ants can be reprogrammed

Researchers successfully use CRISPR to treat adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Study reports generation of new vaccine strains that appear effective against polio virus

Areas stricken by extreme poverty more likely to be associated with high rates of Ebola transmission

Processed foods may increase likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases

NeoGenomics acquires Clarient and Clarient Diagnostic Services

Researchers use dynamic time-series data to help improve accuracy of genome mapping

Researchers suggest microorganisms in the womb set stage for health problems later in life

Exercising early in life can alter gut microbes, promote healthier brain and metabolic activity

St. Jude scientists develop interactive tool to advance understanding of mutations that fuel pediatric cancer

UAB's Undiagnosed Diseases Program finds answers for mysterious health issues

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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