Genes News and Research

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Novel gene silencing platform

A team of researchers led by Rutgers' Samuel Gunderson has developed a novel gene silencing platform with very significant improvements over existing RNAi approaches.

16 Feb 2009

Discovery of new prostate cancer marker

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified a new biological marker present in the urine of patients with prostate cancer that indicates whether the cancer is progressing and spreading.

15 Feb 2009

Statistical analysis could yield new drug target for multiple sclerosis

An elaborate statistical analysis of genes from more than 7,000 individuals has identified an amino acid that appears to be a major risk factor for multiple sclerosis, a devastating autoimmune disorder that afflicts 2.5 million people worldwide.

15 Feb 2009

Discovery of metabolite linked to aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a panel of small molecules, or metabolites, that appear to indicate aggressive prostate cancer.

15 Feb 2009

Mouse study reveals genetic component of empathy

The ability to empathize with others is partially determined by genes, according to new research on mice from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU).

15 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

Researchers give mutants another chance

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that it might be possible to treat genetic diseases, including some forms of cancer, by "rescuing" the misshapen, useless proteins produced by some mutant genes.

11 Feb 2009

Volcanoes in the genome, blowing out pieces of DNA

Roughly 10 million years ago, a major genetic change occurred in a common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans.

11 Feb 2009

Compound can distinguish between benign tissue and localized and metastatic prostate cancer

Researchers have determined that a molecule produced by the bodys metabolism could be used to differentiate between benign prostate tissue vs. localized and metastatic prostate cancer.

11 Feb 2009

2 genes influence social behavior, visual-spatial performance in people with Williams syndrome

Unraveling the genetics of social behavior and cognitive abilities, researchers at the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have traced the role of two genes,GTF2I and GTF2IRD, in a rare genetic disorder known as Williams Syndrome.

11 Feb 2009

Researchers identify mutation that causes inflammatory bowel disease

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has linked a mouse mutation to an increased susceptibility for developing inflammatory bowel disease -- represented in humans as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which together are estimated to affect more than a million people in the United States.

10 Feb 2009

Targeted immune cells shrink tumors in mice

Researchers have generated altered immune cells that are able to shrink, and in some cases eradicate, large tumors in mice.

10 Feb 2009

Long-sought protein structure may help reveal how ‘gene switch’ works

The bacterium behind one of mankind's deadliest scourges, tuberculosis, is helping researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) move closer to answering the decades-old question of what controls the switching on and off of genes that carry out all of life's functions.

10 Feb 2009

Gene controllers crucial for cancer spread

Cancer Research UK scientists have pinpointed two proteins that work together to help cancer cells spread around the body, reveals a study published in Nature Cell Biology.

10 Feb 2009

Discovery of gene network that gave rise to first tooth

A paper in this week's PLoS Biology reports that a common gene regulatory circuit controls the development of all dentitions, from the first teeth in the throats of jawless fishes that lived half a billion years ago, to the incisors and molars of modern vertebrates, including you and me.

10 Feb 2009

Micro RNA plays a key role in melanoma metastasis

Scientists have long wondered how melanoma cells travel from primary tumors on the surface of the skin to the brain, liver and lungs, where they become more aggressive, resistant to therapy, and deadly.

9 Feb 2009

New genomic test can personalize breast cancer treatment

A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

9 Feb 2009

Marijuana use may increase risk of testicular cancer

Frequent and/or long-term marijuana use may significantly increase a man's risk of developing the most aggressive type of testicular cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

9 Feb 2009

New understanding of how leukemia develops

In a collaborative study published Feb. 9, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists performed a genome-wide expression analysis comparing highly enriched normal blood stem cells and leukemic stem cells, and identified several new pathways that have a key role in cancer development.

9 Feb 2009