Genes News and Research

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Scientists find molecular pathway that offers novel targets for diabetes therapies

Once people develop type 2 diabetes, high blood glucose levels alter their metabolism so much that it becomes difficult to sift through all the clues to find what might enable the disease.

15 Feb 2011

Researchers use computers to capture chemical signal structure that triggers metastatic cancer

In cancer and other pathological diseases, researchers are discovering that packaging is important: specifically, how DNA - about two meters long when unwound and stretched - coils up and compacts neatly inside the nucleus of a cell.

15 Feb 2011

Scholars urge scientific community to act against negative effects of patenting in stem cell field

In an opinion piece published Feb. 10 in the journal Science, a team of scholars led by a Johns Hopkins bioethicist urges the scientific community to act collectively to stem the negative effects of the patenting and privatizing of stem cell lines, data and pioneering technologies. This means grappling with the ambiguity of several fundamental distinctions typically made in ethics, law and common practice, the experts insist.

15 Feb 2011

Researcher discovers mechanism how p53 human genome gets inactivated in cancerous cells

One of the most important genes in the human genome is called p53 and its function is to suppress tumours, according to Roger Leng, a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Leng has discovered the mechanism by which p53 is inactivated in cancerous cells, allowing tumours to grow.

15 Feb 2011

Researchers find placentas of preeclampsic women have abundance of genes linked with immune system regulation

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that the placentas of women who suffer preeclampsia during pregnancy have an overabundance of a gene associated with the regulation of the body's immune system. Their discovery may lead to improved screening and prenatal care for these patients and their babies.

14 Feb 2011

NHGRI's new strategic plan to identify genetic bases of most single-gene disorders

A new strategic plan from an arm of the National Institutes of Health envisions scientists being able to identify genetic bases of most single-gene disorders and gaining new insights into multi-gene disorders in the next decade. This should lead to more accurate diagnoses, new drug targets and the development of practical treatments for many who today lack therapeutic options, according to the plan from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

14 Feb 2011

Interaction of two genes helps growing nerve cells realise reaching of target

The human brain consists of approximately one hundred billion nerve cells. Each of these cells needs to connect to specific other cells during the brain's development in order to form a fully functional organism. Yet how does a nerve cell know where it should grow and which cells to contact? Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now shown that growing nerve cells realise when they've reached their target area in the fly brain thanks to the interaction of two genes.

14 Feb 2011

People from northern and southern Sweden differ from each other genetically

People from northern and southern Sweden differ from each other genetically, according to the largest genetic study of the Swedish population yet. Swedes also have genetically more in common with Germans and British than with Finns. The study, performed jointly at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and University of Helsinki, has been published in PLoS ONE.

14 Feb 2011

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Scientists have modeled a system that may be used to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, without the use of pesticides. In the proposed system, mosquitoes are engineered to carry two genes. The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.

14 Feb 2011

Study sheds new light on riboswitch that turns genes on or off in response to cell's energy needs

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shed new light on a molecular switch that turns genes on or off in response to a cell's energy needs.

13 Feb 2011

Genetic map for prostate cancer

Researchers have managed to uncover the whole genetic sequence in prostate cancer. This complete map, hope researchers, will eventually lead to the development of more targeted drugs and a better understanding of which prostate cancers are likely to spread, one of the biggest challenges for physicians and patients.

13 Feb 2011

Genes for prostate cancer mapped for the first time

A genetic blue print that uncovers many of the mutations and genetic damage that drives prostate cancer and could lead to new treatments and better diagnosis has been found. This would mean earlier detection and new breeds of drugs to reverse the damage. Also each patient could have his own “cancer chart” made so that his treatment is personalized. The study, conducted by researchers from the Broad Institute, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College, appears in the Feb. 10 issue of Nature.

13 Feb 2011

Gene GFPT1 crucial in causing variation of Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

The gene, GFPT1, has been identified by researchers at Newcastle University working with international colleagues, as crucial in causing a variation of Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (CMS).

11 Feb 2011

More research needed to determine link between folic acid and breast cancer

Cancer cells 'addicted' to self-preservation process

A team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ); Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and Princeton University, have determined that cancer cells are "addicted" to a self-preservation process known as autophagy. They also showed that the inhibition of that process could prove to be a valuable treatment approach for aggressive cancers. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

11 Feb 2011

TargetCancer awards significant grant for research into rare cancer of the bile duct

TargetCancer, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for rare and lesser known cancers, has awarded a significant grant to a leading researcher of gastrointestinal cancers and has established research fellowships through Harvard Medical School.

11 Feb 2011

Patients with high blood pressure have benign endocrine tumours in adrenal gland: Research

High blood pressure may in some cases be caused by benign hormone-producing tumours of the adrenal cortex. A joint Swedish-American research effort has now uncovered a genetic cause behind the occurrence of such tumours. The findings were published today in the journal Science.

11 Feb 2011

Presence of jumping genes, amplified oncogenes may be key to tumor progression: Researchers

The Massachusetts General Hospital research team that first discovered tumor-associated RNA in tiny membrane-enclosed sacs released into the bloodstream by cancer cells has now found that these microvesicles also contain segments of tumor DNA, including retrotransposons - also called "jumping genes" - that copy and insert themselves into other areas of the genome.

10 Feb 2011

Full genetic blueprint of multiple prostate tumors laid bare

For the first time, researchers have laid bare the full genetic blueprint of multiple prostate tumors, uncovering alterations that have never before been detected and offering a deep view of the genetic missteps that underlie the disease. The study, made possible by key advances in whole genome sequencing and analysis, points to several new prostate cancer genes and a critical category of genomic changes as important drivers of prostate cancer growth.

10 Feb 2011

Women with high folic acid levels may impact child's risk of developing asthma

Recent Norwegian research suggests that there may be a connection between high levels of folic acid in pregnant mothers and the development of asthma in their children. However, the researchers stress that pregnant women should continue to take folic acid supplements.

10 Feb 2011

Genes News and Research

Scientists find molecular pathway that offers novel targets for diabetes therapies

Researchers use computers to capture chemical signal structure that triggers metastatic cancer

Scholars urge scientific community to act against negative effects of patenting in stem cell field

Researcher discovers mechanism how p53 human genome gets inactivated in cancerous cells

Researchers find placentas of preeclampsic women have abundance of genes linked with immune system regulation

NHGRI's new strategic plan to identify genetic bases of most single-gene disorders

Interaction of two genes helps growing nerve cells realise reaching of target

People from northern and southern Sweden differ from each other genetically

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Study sheds new light on riboswitch that turns genes on or off in response to cell's energy needs

Genetic map for prostate cancer

Genes for prostate cancer mapped for the first time

Gene GFPT1 crucial in causing variation of Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

More research needed to determine link between folic acid and breast cancer

Cancer cells 'addicted' to self-preservation process

TargetCancer awards significant grant for research into rare cancer of the bile duct

Patients with high blood pressure have benign endocrine tumours in adrenal gland: Research

Presence of jumping genes, amplified oncogenes may be key to tumor progression: Researchers

Full genetic blueprint of multiple prostate tumors laid bare

Women with high folic acid levels may impact child's risk of developing asthma

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