Genes News and Research

RSS

First cigarette "buzz", addiction linked to gene

Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or "buzz."

10 Aug 2008

Discovery of obesity genes

A study of 228 women has revealed genetic variants responsible for body shape. Based on work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, research published in the open access journal BMC Genetics identifies natural variation in the human LAMA5 gene as a key determinant of weight.

10 Aug 2008

Scientists identify several hundred genes that impact West Nile virus infection

Screening the entire human genome, a team headed by Yale University scientists have identified several hundred genes that impact West Nile virus infection. The findings reported Wednesday online in the journal Nature may give scientists valuable new clues about ways to intervene in a host of deadly viral infections.

6 Aug 2008

Recipe for cell reprogramming adds protein

A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers.

6 Aug 2008

How short RNAs influence many proteins

During the last decade, microRNAs have emerged somewhat surprisingly as key players in the way genes are regulated. These short snippets of RNA do their work by interacting with messenger RNAs, which act as blueprints for protein creation.

6 Aug 2008

Testosterone and body fat are controlled by the same genes

Genes that control percentage of body fat are also responsible for circulating levels of testosterone in men, research published in the latest edition of Clinical Endocrinology shows. The research shows a 23% overlap between the genes that control testosterone and those that regulate body fat composition, suggesting that these two variables are partly controlled by the same set of genes.

4 Aug 2008

Human brains pay a price for being big

Metabolic changes responsible for the evolution of our unique cognitive abilities indicate that the brain may have been pushed to the limit of its capabilities. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology adds weight to the theory that schizophrenia is a costly by-product of human brain evolution.

4 Aug 2008

Exercise enhancing pill in the pipeline

A pill which could help people exercise for longer is in the pipeline but is sure to cause controversy as it can apparently deliver some of the benefits of exercise, even for those who do not move a muscle.

4 Aug 2008

Survival of the fittest: even cancer cells follow the laws of evolution

Scientists from The Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton and the University of California discovered that the underlying process in tumor formation is the same as for life itself-evolution.

3 Aug 2008

Variation in TNFAIP3 gene - cutting the brakes on the immune system

Your immune system may have more in common with a Corvette than you thought. When a virus or bacteria enters a human body, the immune system revs up to fight and expel the invader. Once the invader is gone, the body puts on the brakes to stop the immune response.

3 Aug 2008

Researchers discover novel kind of learning gene

Scientists at the Freie Universität Berlin have come one step closer to unraveling the molecular basis of learning. A team led by neurobiologist Bjorn Brembs has discovered the first gene for operant conditioning in the fruit fly Drosophila.

3 Aug 2008

Genetic defect in skin cells leads to neurodermatitis, hay fever and asthma

New knowledge points to the fact that a genetically induced lack of filaggrin, a key protein of the skin barrier, plays a decisive role in the origin of allergies.

3 Aug 2008

Inherited form of hearing loss stems from gene mutation

Pat Phalin learned she had hearing loss at 30, when she volunteered to give hearing tests at her local school. The pupils heard sounds she could not hear.

31 Jul 2008

FDA clears test that determines what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a test that can help health care professionals determine what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor.

31 Jul 2008

Unusual chromosomal changes increase the risk of schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia have an increased number of unusual chromosomal changes, particularly structural changes that have the potential to alter the function of the genes. These results were published today in the scientific journal Nature.

31 Jul 2008

Genetic clues to schizophrenia uncovered

New research has found genetic flaws which scientists say are about 15 percent more frequent in people with schizophrenia.

30 Jul 2008

Eroded telomeres are behind dyskeratosis congentia aging syndrome

Each time a cell divides, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes shorten - and when these caps are gone, so are we. Now, by using an unconventional strategy to shorten telomeres in mice, researchers at Rockefeller University have not only created the first faithful mouse model for studying a rare yet fatal premature aging syndrome, but they have revealed the molecular defect behind the disease.

30 Jul 2008

New understanding of exaggerated mucous production and secretion in cystic fibrosis

A London, Canada scientist studying cystic fibrosis (CF) has successfully corrected the defect which causes the overproduction of intestinal mucous in mice.

29 Jul 2008

Obesity predisposition linked to brain's reward system

The tendency toward obesity is directly related to the brain system that is involved in food reward and addictive behaviors, according to a new study. Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and colleagues have demonstrated a link between a predisposition to obesity and defective dopamine signaling in the mesolimbic system in rats.

29 Jul 2008

New biomarker for early cancer detection? Research reveals that 'microRNA' may fit the bill

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that microRNAs - molecular workhorses that regulate gene expression - are released by cancer cells and circulate in the blood, which gives them the potential to become a new class of biomarkers to detect cancer at its earliest stages. Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues describe their findings in the July 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

29 Jul 2008