Genetic News and Research

RSS

Single genomic change can make beneficial bacteria into pathogenic bacteria

We, as most animals, host many different beneficial bacteria. Being beneficial to the host often pays off for the bacteria, as success of the host determines the survival and spread of the microbe. But if bacteria grow too much they may become deadly.

11 Feb 2015

Researchers generate new reporter system to study bone regeneration potential of embryonic stem cells

A new reporter system used to study the bone regeneration potential of human embryonic stem cells has been generated in research led by the University of Minnesota. The new reporter system is the first of its kind for human pluripotent stem cells and is important for identifying certain agents and pathways that mediate early stages of human bone development.

11 Feb 2015

Scientists identify new cellular pathway affected in cystinosis

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified a new cellular pathway that is affected in cystinosis, a rare genetic disorder that can result in eye and kidney damage.

11 Feb 2015

Researchers suggest significant relationship between cannabis use and mania symptoms

Researchers from the University of Warwick have found evidence to suggest a significant relationship between cannabis use and the onset and exacerbation of mania symptoms.

11 Feb 2015

TAU researchers identify novel genetic mutation as source of specific rare disease

Rare diseases -- those that affect fewer than one in 200,000 people -- are often identified early in life. Some 30 percent of children afflicted by these "orphan diseases" do not live to see their fifth birthday. While the U.S. Orphan Drug Act of 1983 was written into law to promote research on the topic, the cost of identifying the source and progression of these diseases remains prohibitive for many families.

10 Feb 2015

Experimental Ebola virus medication shows promise in monkeys

An experimental medication that targets a protein in Ebola virus called VP24 protected 75% of a group of monkeys that were studied from Ebola virus infection, according to new research conducted by the U.S. Army, in collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

10 Feb 2015

Researchers identify axitinib as promising candidate to treat drug-resistant leukaemia

A study led by researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM and Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki and the Helsinki University Central Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, in close collaboration with researchers at Pfizer, has identified a previously unrecognized action of Pfizer's axitinib as a potent inhibitor of the dominant mutation that confers drug resistance to all well tolerated treatments in patients with certain types of leukemia.

10 Feb 2015

Japanese researchers explore use of bone marrow transplants to treat hypophosphatasia

Recent research carried out by a team of researchers in Japan has investigated the use of bone marrow transplants (BMTs) to treat hypophosphatasia (HPP). In this study, the researchers carried out BMT for two infants with HPP in combination with allogenic (other-donated) mesenchymal stem cell transplants (MSCTs). The allogenic MSC donors were a parent of the infant.

10 Feb 2015

Quest Diagnostics, Myriad Genetics reach agreement to end BRCA gene-patent litigation

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced that it and Myriad Genetics Inc. have reached an agreement that ends their BRCA gene-patent litigation.

From Quest Diagnostics 10 Feb 2015

Roche announces acquisition of Signature Diagnostics

Roche announced today the acquisition of Signature Diagnostics AG, a privately held company based in Potsdam, Germany. Signature is a translational oncology and genomics company that develops large blood plasma and tissue biobanks in multiple cancers, including colorectal and lung, which are constructed from multicenter prospective clinical studies.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 10 Feb 2015

Griffith research unlocks more about cancer

A research collaboration between Griffith and the Malaghan Institute in Wellington, New Zealand has made the discovery that mitochondria are capable of passing through the healthy membrane of a host cell into defective tumour cells, possibly kicking off the rapid proliferation of tumour cells which is the hallmark of cancer.

10 Feb 2015

Researchers discover inherited genetic variations associated with treatment-related hearing loss

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have discovered inherited genetic variations that are associated with rapid hearing loss in young cancer patients treated with the drug cisplatin. The research appears in the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

10 Feb 2015

Study links previously unknown genetic anomalies to breast cancer in African American family members

The "Jewels in our Genes" study, led by University at Buffalo researcher Heather Ochs-Balcom, has uncovered previously unknown segments of DNA shared by African American family members who have breast cancer. "The discovery of these regions supports our hypothesis that there are still undiscovered breast cancer genes that may be unique to African Americans," says Ochs-Balcom, PhD, a genetic epidemiologist in the UB Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health.

10 Feb 2015

Scientists potentially discover new therapeutic targets to halt progression of tumor cells

Chronic inflammation is directly associated with several types of cancer, yet the reasons as to why this happens at a cellular level remain unclear. Now, an international team of scientists led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has identified a multistep process showing not only how these cancers develop but also potentially discovering new therapeutic targets that could halt the formation and progression of tumor cells.

10 Feb 2015

Combination therapies may overcome resistance to targeted cancer drugs

A protein called YAP, which drives the growth of organs during development and regulates their size in adulthood, plays a key role in the emergence of resistance to targeted cancer therapies, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco researchers.

10 Feb 2015

Scientists sequence genetic code of roundworm that causes disease in humans, animals

For the first time, scientists have sequenced the genetic code of Toxocara canis, a roundworm that causes disease in humans and animals, which paves the way for new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests.

10 Feb 2015

Duke University researchers devise new method to activate genes with light

Duke University researchers have devised a method to activate genes in any specific location or pattern in a lab dish with the flip of a light switch by crossing a bacterium's viral defense system with a flower's response to sunlight.

9 Feb 2015

Regulus Therapeutics reports top-line results from RG-101 clinical study for HCV treatment

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, today announced top-line results from the 4 mg/kg cohort and additional results from the 2 mg/kg cohort in a completed clinical study evaluating RG-101, a wholly-owned, GalNac-conjugated anti-miR targeting microRNA-122 ("miR-122"), for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection ("HCV").

9 Feb 2015

Risks and benefits of fecal microbiota transplant

A woman successfully treated for a recurrent Clostridium difficile infection with stool from an overweight donor rapidly gained weight herself afterwards, becoming obese, according to a case report published in the new journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

9 Feb 2015

Research finding could help predict the next outbreak of plague

Biologists at the University of Oslo, Norway, are now making a giant effort to identify the relationship between climate change, rat infestations, and the many major plague epidemics throughout history. The knowledge may be used to predict the next plague outbreak.

9 Feb 2015

Genetic News and Research

Single genomic change can make beneficial bacteria into pathogenic bacteria

Researchers generate new reporter system to study bone regeneration potential of embryonic stem cells

Scientists identify new cellular pathway affected in cystinosis

Researchers suggest significant relationship between cannabis use and mania symptoms

TAU researchers identify novel genetic mutation as source of specific rare disease

Experimental Ebola virus medication shows promise in monkeys

Researchers identify axitinib as promising candidate to treat drug-resistant leukaemia

Japanese researchers explore use of bone marrow transplants to treat hypophosphatasia

Quest Diagnostics, Myriad Genetics reach agreement to end BRCA gene-patent litigation

Roche announces acquisition of Signature Diagnostics

Griffith research unlocks more about cancer

Researchers discover inherited genetic variations associated with treatment-related hearing loss

Study links previously unknown genetic anomalies to breast cancer in African American family members

Scientists potentially discover new therapeutic targets to halt progression of tumor cells

Combination therapies may overcome resistance to targeted cancer drugs

Scientists sequence genetic code of roundworm that causes disease in humans, animals

Duke University researchers devise new method to activate genes with light

Regulus Therapeutics reports top-line results from RG-101 clinical study for HCV treatment

Risks and benefits of fecal microbiota transplant

Research finding could help predict the next outbreak of plague

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News