Genes News and Research

RSS

'Survival protein' protects brain against effects of stroke

Johns Hopkins scientists say that a newly discovered "survival protein" protects the brain against the effects of stroke in rodent brain tissue by interfering with a particular kind of cell death that's also implicated in complications from diabetes and heart attack.

24 May 2011

African-Americans with multiple sclerosis have lower vitamin D levels

African-Americans who have multiple sclerosis have lower vitamin D levels than African-Americans who don't have the disease, according to a study published in the May 24, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 May 2011

Discovery of possible new strategy for treating neurologic disorders

23 May 2011

Scientists find new drug target in breast cancer

Researchers have identified a new protein involved in the development of drug resistance in breast cancer which could be a target for new treatments, they report today in the journal Nature Medicine.

23 May 2011

Sangamo announces presentations of ZFP Therapeutics data at ASGCT 2011

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that data from clinical, preclinical and research-stage programs focused on the development of zinc finger DNA-binding protein Therapeutics were described in twenty presentations given by Sangamo scientists and collaborators at the 14th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.

23 May 2011

New technique can detect minute traces of tumoral DNA in biological fluids

It will perhaps be possible, in the near future, to detect cancer by a simple blood or urine test. In fact, biologists from CNRS, Inserm, Paris Descartes and Strasbourg universities have developed a technique capable of detecting minute traces of tumoral DNA present in the biological fluids of patients suffering from cancer.

23 May 2011

Researchers discover new genes that influence severity of cystic fibrosis

Johns Hopkins Institute for Genetic Medicine researchers working as part of the North American Cystic Fibrosis Consortium have discovered two regions of the genome that affect the severity of cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that causes scarring throughout the body, affecting most notably the pancreas and lungs.

23 May 2011

Tumor necrosis factor can suppress inflammation, treat rheumatoid arthritis

A new study by rheumatologists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has shown that a powerful pro-inflammatory protein, tumor necrosis factor, can also suppress aspects of inflammation.

23 May 2011

New insights into bone diseases

A study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and collaborators at other institutions has provided new insights into the means by which bone cells produce new bone in response to mechanical stresses, such as exercise.

23 May 2011

Researchers identify new drug resistant protein in breast cancer

Researchers have identified a new protein involved in the development of drug resistance in breast cancer which could be a target for new treatments, they report today in the journal Nature Medicine.

23 May 2011

Salk researchers successfully edit diseased gene in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells

In principle, genetic engineering is simple, but in practice, replacing a faulty gene with a healthy copy is anything but. Using mutated versions of the lamin A gene as an example to demonstrate the versatility of their virus-based approach, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies successfully edited a diseased gene in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells as well as adult stem cells.

21 May 2011

Editorial boards, columnists have lots to say about Gingrich and Medicare

Newt Gingrich was right — the first time. The former House speaker and current presidential candidate has retreated under a barrage of criticism, but he had two things to say on NBC's "Meet The Press" that were correct even if politically ill-advised.

21 May 2011

New research explores role of genes, environment in post-natal depression

New research involving the University of York explores the interplay between genes and environment when determining whether a mother is at high or low risk for post-natal depression.

21 May 2011

New research contributes to basic biological understanding of how retinas develop

New research at UC Santa Barbara is contributing to the basic biological understanding of how retinas develop. The study is part of the campus's expanding vision research.

21 May 2011

Stony Brook University CFB establishes Biotechnology Commercialization Fund

The Center for Biotechnology (CFB) at Stony Brook University has established the Biotechnology Commercialization Fund to accelerate the development of promising biomedical technologies emerging from Stony Brook University.

21 May 2011

Researchers uncover new details of unusual biological mechanism in brains of diverse species

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered new details of an unusual biological mechanism in the brains of diverse species that not only helps regulate how their brains develop, but also how they function later in life. The discovery could lead to new biomarkers for specific neurological diseases in humans and, possibly, the development of drugs to cure them.

21 May 2011

Stopping prostate cancer cells from 'bulking up' with nutrients blocks spread of disease

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that stopping prostate cancer cells from 'bulking up' with nutrients reduces the spread of the disease and tumour size, according to research published today in EMBO Journal.

21 May 2011

Salk Institute researchers receive $5.5M Program Project Grant to analyze Williams syndrome

A multi-institutional team headed by Ursula Bellugi, professor and director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has been awarded a $5.5 million Program Project Grant by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to link social behavior to its underlying neurobiological and molecular genetic basis using Williams syndrome as a model.

21 May 2011

International team identifies key protein in development of drug-resistant leukemia

Now an international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and joined by scientists of the Freiburg excellence cluster BIOSS - Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, has identified a protein called BCL6 which plays a key role in the development of drug-resistance in leukemia.

20 May 2011

GIS discovery could help generate stem cells more efficiently for biomedical applications

A team of scientists from Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have shown how proteins involved in controlling genes work together to carry out their functions in stem cells and demonstrated for the very first time, how they can change interaction partners to make other types of cells.

20 May 2011