Genetic Information News and Research

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Optimizing dosage of blood-thinning drug warfarin

In a large-scale study and an upcoming clinical trial, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health address one of the trickiest issues in prescribing medicine - how to quickly optimize each patient's dosage of the common blood-thinning drug warfarin.

20 Feb 2009

Discovery of novel genetic markers linked to increased risk of heart attack

An international team of researchers including scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München has succeeded in identifying new gene variants associated with an increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.

17 Feb 2009

Common gene variants increase risk of hypertension, may lead to new therapies

A new study has identified the first common gene variants associated with an increased incidence of hypertension - a significant risk factor for heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

16 Feb 2009

Molecular machine turns packaged messenger RNA into a linear transcript

For RNA, the gateway to a productive life outside the nucleus is the nuclear pore complex, an amalgamation of 30 kinds of proteins that regulates all traffic passing through the nuclear membrane.

11 Feb 2009

From the works of Shakespeare to the genomes of viruses

What does uncovering the true authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare have to do with identifying our genetic ancestors or classifying new life forms?

11 Feb 2009

First data released on genetic basis of adverse drug events

The first data offering health care professionals a better look into the genetic basis of certain types of adverse drug events was released today by the FDA and the International Serious Adverse Event Consortium (SAEC).

10 Feb 2009

Discovery of the novel Fragile X granule could lead to new autism treatment

A Brown University research team has discovered something in the brain that could serve as a target for future autism and mental retardation treatments.

5 Feb 2009

Topical treatment wipes out herpes with RNAi

Whether condoms or abstinence, most efforts to prevent sexually transmitted diseases have a common logic: keep the pathogen out of your body altogether.

21 Jan 2009

Potential new biomarker for colon cancer

Cincinnati scientists have identified a new biomarker that could help predict a person's risk of developing colon cancer and how aggressive it may become.

19 Jan 2009

Gene abnormality found to predict childhood leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

8 Jan 2009

Genomics in China

Ten years ago, the Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai (South Center, hereafter) was established in the Zhangjiang HiTech Park of Pudong District in Shanghai.

7 Jan 2009

Gene mutations found to predict acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

7 Jan 2009

Widespread antiviral drug use can accelerate the evolution of drug resistance in viruses

Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread avian flu infection in humans, scientists say.

7 Jan 2009

Discovery of new way for bacteria to transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacterial species

In a laboratory experiment, the scientists from NYU School of Medicine discovered that Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious bacterium that causes toxic shock syndrome and many other types of infections and is the scourge of hospitals nationwide due to its growing antibiotic resistance, could co-opt viral parasites as secret pipelines for transferring toxin genes to vastly different bacterial species.

6 Jan 2009

Inherited factors play key role in breast cancer

New research in mice and five independent collections of human breast tumors has enabled National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists to confirm that genes for factors contributing to susceptibility for breast cancer metastasis can be inherited.

5 Jan 2009

Researchers identify clockwork that drives a powerful virus nanomotor

Peering at structures only atoms across, researchers have identified the clockwork that drives a powerful virus nanomotor.

30 Dec 2008

Sulfurous ping-pong in the urinary tract

Transfer of information is a basic property of biological systems. Common examples include transfer of genetic information or nerve impulses.

18 Dec 2008

Researchers visualize three-dimensional structure of protein, Mcm10

For the first time, structural biologists have managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine, called the replisome, that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.

10 Dec 2008

Doing the math for membranes

Determining the mechanisms that shape biological membranes has long been a tricky business. Like a factory assembly line, eukaryotic cells are organized into membrane-bound, functional compartments called organelles.

4 Dec 2008

Large study looks at genetic risks for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

A multi-institution team of investigators led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) has received $19 million in funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) for a groundbreaking effort to collect genetic information on tens of thousands of patients in order to study the genetic risks for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

3 Dec 2008