Genes News and Research

RSS

Discovery could lead to a new animal model for hepatitis C

During its career, the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus has banked its success on a rather unusual strategy: its limitations.

2 Feb 2009

You are what your parents ate!

According to Australian scientists we are what our parents ate - scientists at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute say that very specific molecular events occur after the consumption of food high in glucose, causing chemical changes to our genetic controls.

2 Feb 2009

Research finds more than 100 gene variations linked with response to leukemia treatment

Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Oncology Group (COG) have discovered in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) scores of inherited genetic variations that clinicians might be able to use as guideposts for designing more effective chemotherapy for this cancer.

29 Jan 2009

Sociability traced to region of brain called amygdala

People with a genetic condition called Williams syndrome are famously gregarious. Scientists, looking carefully at brain function in individuals with Williams syndrome, think they may know why this is so.

29 Jan 2009

Researchers discover link between brain iron levels and serotonin

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression.

29 Jan 2009

New insights into a avian pathogenic E. coli and its risks to human health

Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University associate research scientist Melha Mellata, a member of professor Roy Curtiss' team, is leading a USDA funded project to develop a vaccine against a leading poultry disease called avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC).

29 Jan 2009

Advances in nanotechnology point to next generation of prostheses

The futuristic technology of the Six Million Dollar Man - specifically a part metal and part flesh human being - won't be exclusive to Hollywood anymore.

29 Jan 2009

Sleeping with dogs!

According to new research from the U.S. dog owners are more likely to share germs with pets by not washing their hands than by sleeping with the dog.

28 Jan 2009

Can't help being the life of the party?

Maybe you were just born that way. Researchers from Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego have found that our place in a social network is influenced in part by our genes, according to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jan 2009

Statins may treat cerebral cavernous malformation

In a finding that could save thousands of lives a year, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that a blood vessel disorder leading to unpredictable, sometimes fatal, hemorrhagic strokes, seizures, paralysis or other problems is treatable with the same statin drugs that millions of people take to control high cholesterol.

27 Jan 2009

New understanding of genetic basis of psoriasis

Two international teams of researchers have made significant gains in understanding the genetic basis of psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that can be debilitating in some patients.

27 Jan 2009

Gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: promising results

Researchers have reported the first clinical evidence that gene therapy reduces symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, an important milestone for this promising treatment which has endured a sometimes turbulent past.

27 Jan 2009

Scientists discover new class of small RNAs

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) announced today the discovery of a new class of small RNAs. At the same time, they reported that their discovery suggests the presence of a strikingly novel biochemical pathway for RNA processing in which these and possibly other small RNAs are produced.

27 Jan 2009

Compromised skin barrier function plays a role in the development of psoriasis

Researchers at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Anhui Medical University, China, have identified genes that play an important role in the development of psoriasis, a common chronic skin disease.

27 Jan 2009

Although our genetics differ significantly, we all look alike...

The genetic variation within a species can be significant, but very little of that variation results in clear differences in morphology or other phenotypes.

27 Jan 2009

Genetic interactions are the key to understanding complex traits

In recent years, genetic studies have uncovered hundreds of DNA variations linked to common diseases, such as cancer or diabetes, raising the prospect that scientists can gauge disease risk based on information in an individual's genome.

23 Jan 2009

Gene provides hope for restoring injured nerves

University of Utah scientists identified a worm gene that is essential for damaged nerve cells to regenerate, and showed they could speed nerve regeneration by over-activating the gene - a step toward new treatments for nerves injured by trauma or disease

23 Jan 2009