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Researchers uncover clear genetic link between fat and bone mass

When it comes to body shape, diet and exercise can only take us so far. Our body shape and geometry are largely determined by genetic factors. Genetics also have an impact on our body composition - including soft fat tissue and hard bone tissue - and can lead to excess fat or osteoporosis.

12 Mar 2013

Link between folic acid supplements and reduced risk of autism

Women who take a vitamin B9 supplement (folic acid) during the beginning weeks of their pregnancy can cut the risk of having a child with autism in half. But the supplement has no effect if it is started more than 8 weeks into the pregnancy.

12 Mar 2013

Researchers identify new mechanism in onset of motor neuron diseases

The British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is likely to be the world's most famous person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive disease affecting motor neurons, nerve cells that control muscle function, and nearly always leads to death.

11 Mar 2013

Influenza drug: an interview with Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, CSIRO

Influenza or flu for short is caused by a family of viruses, which can be called influenza A or influenza B. Influenza A viruses are found in humans, animals – like swine and horses- and mostly aquatic birds. Influenza B is only found in humans.

11 Mar 2013

New tool uses evidence-based care to improve quality of care for heart failure patients

Researchers at the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center have developed an innovative tool designed to eliminate 30-day hospital readmissions for heart failure patients and improve the quality of medical care a patient receives in the hospital.

11 Mar 2013

UT Southwestern researcher to receive March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology

Dr. Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is the 2013 recipient of the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology for identifying key genetic pathways in the formation of the heart and other muscles.

11 Mar 2013

Genetic mutation that alters PIEZO1 ion channel in RBCs contributes to familial xerocytosis

A genetic mutation that alters the kinetics of an ion channel in red blood cells has been identified as the cause behind a hereditary anemia, according to a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by University at Buffalo scientists and colleagues.

11 Mar 2013

Armetheon plans to develop tecarfarin against prosthetic heart valves or chronic renal dysfunction

Armetheon, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it plans to develop its novel oral anti-coagulant (OAC), tecarfarin (ATI-5923), for a patient population which includes those who have prosthetic heart valves or chronic renal dysfunction.

11 Mar 2013

New technology can turn off genes more precisely, say UCSF researchers

Scientists at UC San Francisco have found a more precise way to turn off genes, a finding that will speed research discoveries and biotech advances and may eventually prove useful in reprogramming cells to regenerate organs and tissues.

8 Mar 2013

Cancer scientists publish commentary describing path forward for research, prevention

Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday published a commentary "authored by Harold Varmus, Nobel prize-winning director of the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., and by Harpal Kumar, CEO of Cancer Research U.K., on behalf of leading cancer research institutions from Australia to Argentina and Taiwan to Turkey," in which they describe a plan for addressing cancer in developed and developing countries, Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

8 Mar 2013

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

Viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns, infecting some cells but missing others. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis helps explain why. The scientists showed that natural immune defenses that resist viral infection are turned on in some brain cells but switched off in others.

8 Mar 2013

UNMC provides important genetic tool for scientists to better utilize library of mutant staph bacteria

Through the creation of a library of more than 2,000 mutant strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, the University of Nebraska Medical Center has provided an important tool for scientists around the world seeking answers for how to better deal with staph infections.

8 Mar 2013

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

Some cellular proteins have multiple, and occasionally opposing, functions. Professor Adrian Krainer and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory demonstrate in a paper published online today in Molecular Cell that the oncogenic protein SRSF1 can also trigger a stop in cell growth and prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor protein.

8 Mar 2013

Researchers explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for preventable disease

In ten years time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing alongside the now familiar tests for cholesterol levels, mammography and colonoscopy.

8 Mar 2013

Acceleron commences ACE-536 phase 2 study in beta-thalassemia

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, today announced the initiation of a phase 2 study of its novel, investigational protein therapeutic, ACE-536, to treat patients with beta-thalassemia, a genetic hematologic disorder causing chronic and life-threatening anemia and serious complications affecting the spleen, liver and heart.

7 Mar 2013

Women with gestational diabetes have increased risk of type 2 diabetes

Women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

7 Mar 2013

Salk epigenetic findings may aid in crop production and study of human diseases

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified patterns of epigenomic diversity that not only allow plants to adapt to various environments, but could also benefit crop production and the study of human diseases.

7 Mar 2013

CALHM1 channel protein releases ATP to make neural taste connections

Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary taste types was pretty much a mystery, until now.

7 Mar 2013

Study reveals increased dietary salt intake may lead to autoimmune disorders

Increased dietary salt intake can induce a group of aggressive immune cells that are involved in triggering and sustaining autoimmune diseases.

7 Mar 2013

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at UCLA have discovered a new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease by screening people's DNA and then using an advanced type of scan to visualize their brains' connections.

7 Mar 2013

Genetic News and Research

Researchers uncover clear genetic link between fat and bone mass

Link between folic acid supplements and reduced risk of autism

Researchers identify new mechanism in onset of motor neuron diseases

Influenza drug: an interview with Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, CSIRO

New tool uses evidence-based care to improve quality of care for heart failure patients

UT Southwestern researcher to receive March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology

Genetic mutation that alters PIEZO1 ion channel in RBCs contributes to familial xerocytosis

Armetheon plans to develop tecarfarin against prosthetic heart valves or chronic renal dysfunction

New technology can turn off genes more precisely, say UCSF researchers

Cancer scientists publish commentary describing path forward for research, prevention

Study helps explain why viruses often spread through the brain in patchwork patterns

UNMC provides important genetic tool for scientists to better utilize library of mutant staph bacteria

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

Researchers explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for preventable disease

Acceleron commences ACE-536 phase 2 study in beta-thalassemia

Women with gestational diabetes have increased risk of type 2 diabetes

Salk epigenetic findings may aid in crop production and study of human diseases

CALHM1 channel protein releases ATP to make neural taste connections

Study reveals increased dietary salt intake may lead to autoimmune disorders

UCLA scientists discover new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

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

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