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Scientists devise novel way to use stem cells in fight against brain cancer

Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have devised a new way to use stem cells in the fight against brain cancer. A team led by neuroscientist Khalid Shah, MS, PhD, who recently demonstrated the value of stem cells loaded with cancer-killing herpes viruses, now has a way to genetically engineer stem cells so that they can produce and secrete tumor-killing toxins.

27 Oct 2014

Rewriting the family history of Ebola

The research shows that filoviruses — a family to which Ebola and its similarly lethal relative, Marburg, belong — are at least 16-23 million years old.

27 Oct 2014

Cornell University chemists uncover new insight into the underlying causes of ALS

Using a technique that illuminates subtle changes in individual proteins, chemistry researchers at Cornell University have uncovered new insight into the underlying causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

27 Oct 2014

UT Southwestern receives CPRIT grant to expand genetic screening services in North Texas

Genetic screening services for rural and underserved populations will expand from six to 22 counties in North Texas under a $1.5 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to UT Southwestern Medical Center.

26 Oct 2014

Study reveals subtypes, potential diagnostic and treatment clues for papillary thyroid carcinomas

A comprehensive analysis of the genomes of nearly 500 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) – the most common form of thyroid cancer – has provided new insights into the roles of frequently mutated cancer genes and other genomic alterations that drive disease development.

25 Oct 2014

High risk for congenital heart defects in Down syndrome provides tool to identify changes in genes

Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality in humans, involving a third copy of all or part of chromosome 21. In addition to intellectual disability, individuals with Down syndrome have a high risk of congenital heart defects. However, not all people with Down syndrome have them – about half have structurally normal hearts.

25 Oct 2014

Research could pave way for more effective drugs to treat inflammation

Six Case Western Reserve scientists are part of an international team that has discovered two compounds that show promise in decreasing inflammation associated with diseases such as ulcerative colitis, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

25 Oct 2014

Research finds link between autism spectrum disorder and air toxics

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were more likely to have been exposed to higher levels of certain air toxics during their mothers' pregnancies and the first two years of life compared to children without the condition, according to the preliminary findings of a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health investigation of children in southwestern Pennsylvania.

25 Oct 2014

Researchers reveal how particular melanoma cells help tumors resist drugs

UNC School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed a set of intriguing characteristics in a previously unknown subpopulation of melanoma cancer cells in blood vessels of tumors. These cells, which mimic non-cancerous endothelial cells that normally populate blood vessels in tumors, could provide researchers with another target for cancer therapies.

25 Oct 2014

Nano-sized discovery helps explain bipolar disorder

A nano-sized discovery by Northwestern Medicine® scientists helps explain how bipolar disorder affects the brain and could one day lead to new drug therapies to treat the mental illness.

24 Oct 2014

MIT researchers develop new way to model effects of cancer-causing genetic mutations

Sequencing the genomes of tumor cells has revealed thousands of genetic mutations linked with cancer. However, sifting through this deluge of information to figure out which of these mutations actually drive cancer growth has proven to be a tedious, time-consuming process.

24 Oct 2014

Longer looks: Obamacare in the midterm campaign; watching Ebola mutate; lessons on dying

According to Kantar Media, a firm that tracks political advertising, health care is the main subject of campaign ads, especially Republican ones. Obamacare is unpopular - over half of Americans disapprove of it. Republicans talk about it constantly on the campaign trail, though not as intemperately as they did during their own party's primaries. Democrats scarcely mention it (10/18).

24 Oct 2014

French hospital uses Sophia DDM Platform to improve diagnostic testing of congenital disorders

The Hospices Civils de Lyon, the second-largest University Hospital Network in France, has elected to use the Sophia Genetics Data Driven Medicine (DDM) Platform to support improvements in diagnostic testing for patients suffering from congenital disorders.

24 Oct 2014

New test could help physicians predict people who are at early stages of sepsis

A new test, developed by University of British Columbia researchers, could help physicians predict within an hour if a patient will develop severe sepsis so they can begin treatment immediately.

23 Oct 2014

Scientists use innovative exome sequencing strategy to identify new gene associated with ALS

Using an innovative exome sequencing strategy, a team of international scientists led by John Landers, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has shown that TUBA4A, the gene encoding the Tubulin Alpha 4A protein, is associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

23 Oct 2014

Genetics underpin bullying victimisation influence on paranoia

Bullying victimisation in childhood may indicate genetic risk for later psychosis, rather than being an environmental trigger, say UK researchers.

22 Oct 2014

Early access program for human chromosome mapping analytical service announced by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and OpGen

Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and OpGen, Inc., a leading genetic analysis company, announced the introduction of an Early Access Program for its upcoming Human Chromosome ExplorerSM, human chromosome mapping analytical service for clinical research and life science research applications.

21 Oct 2014

YEDA and XL-protein sign deal to commercialize PASylated IFN superagonis

YEDA Research and Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and XL-protein GmbH, Germany, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company, have signed a business collaboration agreement to commercialize a PASylated interferon superagonist -- PAS-YNSα8 -- which has been jointly developed by scientists at the Weizmann Institute and XL-protein.

21 Oct 2014

Couple renews multi-million dollar commitment to screen newborn babies for SCID disorders

Frustrated with the slow pace of implementation of Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID), Vicki and Fred Modell renewed a multi-million dollar commitment to screen every baby born in every state for this life threatening condition, often referred to as "Bubble Boy" disease.

21 Oct 2014

Cypher researchers identify new genetic cause of severe epileptic encephalopathy

Cypher Genomics, Inc., the genome informatics company, announced today the identification of de novo KCNB1 missense mutations as a novel genetic cause of severe epileptic encephalopathy. Cypher’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Ali Torkamani, Ph.D. reviewed the data today at a platform presentation at the ASHG 2014 meeting being held October 18 to 22 in San Diego.

21 Oct 2014

Genetic News and Research

Scientists devise novel way to use stem cells in fight against brain cancer

Rewriting the family history of Ebola

Cornell University chemists uncover new insight into the underlying causes of ALS

UT Southwestern receives CPRIT grant to expand genetic screening services in North Texas

Study reveals subtypes, potential diagnostic and treatment clues for papillary thyroid carcinomas

High risk for congenital heart defects in Down syndrome provides tool to identify changes in genes

Research could pave way for more effective drugs to treat inflammation

Research finds link between autism spectrum disorder and air toxics

Researchers reveal how particular melanoma cells help tumors resist drugs

Nano-sized discovery helps explain bipolar disorder

MIT researchers develop new way to model effects of cancer-causing genetic mutations

Longer looks: Obamacare in the midterm campaign; watching Ebola mutate; lessons on dying

French hospital uses Sophia DDM Platform to improve diagnostic testing of congenital disorders

New test could help physicians predict people who are at early stages of sepsis

Scientists use innovative exome sequencing strategy to identify new gene associated with ALS

Genetics underpin bullying victimisation influence on paranoia

Early access program for human chromosome mapping analytical service announced by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and OpGen

YEDA and XL-protein sign deal to commercialize PASylated IFN superagonis

Couple renews multi-million dollar commitment to screen newborn babies for SCID disorders

Cypher researchers identify new genetic cause of severe epileptic encephalopathy

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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