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Potential for first diagnostic DNA test to guide antidepressant treatment

Treatment of depression is difficult for both patients and for psychiatrists. While there are numerous drugs available that work, finding the right one -- or right combination -- is, at times, a matter of trial and error.

31 Oct 2006

Researchers uncover new way in which the aging process is linked to DNA damage

Researchers have uncovered a new way in which the aging process is linked to DNA damage--which occurs normally as a result of cell metabolism and environmental influences--and the various ways in which cells repair that damage.

23 Oct 2006

Common gene variant increases risk of developing diabetes

Carrying two copies of a common variant of a particular gene doubles your chances of developing diabetes and puts you in a similar risk category to being clinically obese, according to a collaborative study led by UCL (University College London) researchers.

23 Oct 2006

Why organs fail following massive trauma

Massive trauma, say from a sabertooth tiger attack, meant immediate death for the primitive human.

17 Oct 2006

Boy's death takes Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 53

The death toll in Indonesia from bird flu has now reached 53 with the death of an 11-year-old boy on Saturday from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

16 Oct 2006

FDA drafts new guidance to industry for group of medical tests

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued draft regulatory guidance for industry and clinical laboratories for a new type of medical test.

5 Sep 2006

NIH seeks input on proposed repository for genetic information

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public input on a proposed new policy designed to facilitate the research community's access to data resulting from NIH-funded, genome-wide association studies.

30 Aug 2006

New microchip enables quick diagnosis of flu strains

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that may allow more labs to diagnose influenza infections and learn more about the viruses causing illness.

30 Aug 2006

Bird flu database to be established

A global initiative has been launched by some of the world's top scientists and health officials to encourage more openness when it comes to sharing data on bird flu.

28 Aug 2006

Evidence of a genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease

A Mayo Clinic-led international research collaboration - one of the largest studies of its kind - provides strong evidence that a genetic risk factor may account for 3 percent of the cause of Parkinson's disease.

8 Aug 2006

DNA overwinds when stretched

Most of us are familiar with the winding staircase image of DNA, the repository of a biological cell's genetic information. But few of us realize just how tightly that famous double helix is wound.

8 Aug 2006

Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

A signaling system involved in many forms of leukemia and lymphoma is more powerful than scientists have thought, exerting control over our genes by affecting whole swaths of chromosomes in global fashion.

6 Aug 2006

Genetic mutations may be responsible for schizophrenia

The higher risk of schizophrenia among offspring of expectant mothers living through famine could help us understand the genetic basis for that debilitating mental disorder.

2 Aug 2006

HIV mutation clue to why only some people develop AIDS dementia

The study of 18 HIV-positive subjects shows that HIV in the brain and central nervous system is genetically different from HIV that lives in the blood and peripheral tissues.

26 Jul 2006

Disease-specific gene expression profiles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

They sleep together, eat together, and most people find it impossible to tell them apart. Identical twins who grow up together share just about everything, including their genes.

26 Jul 2006

Latest sequencing targets for NHGRI

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has announced several new sequencing targets including the Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys).

19 Jul 2006

Long, healthy life tends to run in some families

Long, healthy life tends to run in some families, and researchers on a project supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) want to learn more about the factors that contribute to it.

13 Jul 2006

Structure of bacteriophage shown to resemble a human virus

New research has revealed that the structure of a bacteriophage, a virus infecting bacteria, resembles that of certain dangerous viruses that infect people.

26 Jun 2006

Scientists cracking virus protection shield

Scientists reveal the structure of a protein that packages the viral genome and helps viruses to replicate while avoiding human immune reactions

18 Jun 2006

From DNA to RNA to protein

Of the thousands of proteins produced in our cells, few are as important as the enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP), which has the unique ability to faithfully copy genetic information from DNA.

18 Jun 2006