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New genomic approach to evaluate suspicious thyroid nodules

Doctors at the University of Colorado School of Medicine were concerned recently when they found a nodule in the thyroid of a 64-year-old Colorado man. They extracted cells from the nodule, hoping to determine whether the man had cancer. But the biopsy results were inconclusive.

24 Nov 2010

Parkinson Society Canada awards Quebec scientists $573,384 for research

Quebec Parkinson researchers receive a record $573,384 in funding from Parkinson Society Canada to increase their efforts to identify the causes of this degenerative brain disease for which there is currently no cure. At a Research Innovation event in Montreal this evening, hosted by Parkinson Society Quebec in partnership with McGill University and the CHUM, 11 Parkinson scientists will be lauded for their efforts in getting closer to a cure.

23 Nov 2010

Scientists establish new biological links between early puberty and obesity

An international group of scientists, including researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC), has discovered 30 genes that control the age at which girls reach sexual maturity. They found that many of the genes responsible for puberty also play a strong role in how the body metabolises fat, establishing new biological links between going through puberty at a young age and being at increased risk of obesity.

23 Nov 2010

New findings shed light on people's response to daylight and biological clock

Fresh insight into how biological clocks adjust to having less sunlight in the winter could help us better understand the impact of jet lag and shift work.

23 Nov 2010

Largest genomic study of human medulloblastomas

Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors of childhood, with 40 to 50 percent overall mortality. One of the greatest challenges in treating them is that they vary substantially from patient to patient. In the largest genomic study of human medulloblastomas to date, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, together with collaborators, have identified six subtypes with distinct molecular "fingerprints" that will improve doctors' ability to direct and individualize treatment.

23 Nov 2010

Mother’s high-fat diet alters fetal genes that regulate circadian rhythm: Study

The link between sleeping and obesity is drawn tighter as a new research published online in the FASEB Journal study shows that what your mother ate when she was pregnant may make you obese or overweight by altering the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm.

23 Nov 2010

Researcher develops new method that causes cancer cells to self-destruct

Tulane University researcher W T. Godbey has developed a treatment for cancer using a method that causes cancer cells to self-destruct while sparing surrounding healthy cells.

23 Nov 2010

Different digestive tract bacteria helps infants digest milk more effectively than adults

Infants are more efficient at digesting and utilizing nutritional components of milk than adults due to a difference in the strains of bacteria that dominate their digestive tracts. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and Utah State University report on genomic analysis of these strains in the November 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology identifying the genes that are most likely responsible for this difference.

23 Nov 2010

$S*BIO begins SB1317 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced/refractory hematologic malignancies$

S*BIO begins SB1317 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced/refractory hematologic malignancies

S*BIO Pte Ltd today announced that a fourth novel, potential best-in-class compound discovered and developed by S*BIO has entered a Phase 1 clinical trial. The initiation of the study for S*BIO's oral multi-kinase inhibitor, SB1317 or TG02, in patients with advanced/refractory hematologic malignancies has triggered a payment from S*BIO's development and commercialization partner for the program, Tragara Pharmaceuticals.

22 Nov 2010

Variation at gene locus associated with greater reproductive success

Since 1871, when Charles Darwin wrote The Descent of Man, it has been widely accepted that "Variability is the necessary basis for the action of selection." Variability is associated with the ability to adapt, which is clearly beneficial at a species level. But there is increasing evidence that genetic variability may also give rise to advantages at the level of the individual.

22 Nov 2010

Research indicates possible danger of cancerous tissue development by using stem cells

Research work carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem arouses a cautionary warning in the growing field of the development of stem cells as a means for future treatment of patients through replacement of diseased or damaged tissues by using the patient's own stem cells. The research indicates a possible danger of cancerous tissue development in the use of such cells.

22 Nov 2010

Researchers discover common genetic variants influence early puberty, body fat

Researchers at King's College London's Department of Twin Research have discovered, as part of a large international consortium, 30 new genes that control the age of sexual maturation in women, the Journal Nature Genetics publishes today.

22 Nov 2010

K.U.Leuven researchers receive ERC Advanced Grants

K.U.Leuven researchers Peter Carmeliet and Bart De Strooper have both been awarded Advanced Grants from the European Research Council. ERC Advanced Grants are the most prestigious European research grants, spanning a period of 5 years. Peter Carmeliet of the VIB Vesalius Research Centre, K.U.Leuven, will receive approximately 2.5 million euro for research focused on stopping the energy supply into blood vessels.

20 Nov 2010

Harvard researcher to receive 2010 Naomi Berrie Award from Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center will present the 2010 Naomi Berrie Award to a Harvard researcher who has made important advances in understanding the molecular basis for links between obesity, diabetes and heart disease. A promising young investigator at Columbia will also be recognized for her novel investigations regarding the basis for disordered lipid metabolism in diabetes.

20 Nov 2010

Scientists identify gene variants associated with eating disorder

Scientists at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have identified both common and rare gene variants associated with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.

20 Nov 2010

Reprogrammed amniotic fluid cells can generate iPS cells

Reprogrammed amniotic fluid cells can generate all types of body cells. High hopes rest on stem cells: one day, they may be used to treat many diseases. To date, embryos are the main source of these cells, but this raises ethical problems. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin have now managed to convert amniotic fluid cells into pluripotent stem cells.

20 Nov 2010

Fifth gene defect, 47 DNA regions linked to thoracic aortic disease: Researchers

Discovery of a fifth gene defect and the identification of 47 DNA regions linked to thoracic aortic disease are the subject of studies released this month involving researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

19 Nov 2010

Cough suppressant syrup may predict patients metabolise tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment

Cough medicine could be used as way of predicting how well individual patients metabolise tamoxifen used in the treatment of their breast cancer, according to new research presented at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin today

19 Nov 2010

Genetic alterations may lead to thoracic aortic disease

19 Nov 2010

Multinational team identifies novel retinal disease gene

A multinational team effort of Regensburg's Institute of Human Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, other partners and Genomatix elucidated a transcriptional network in photoreceptors and thereby identified a novel retinal disease gene

19 Nov 2010