Genes News and Research

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Genetic component to autism

Using an innovative statistical approach, a research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, Los Angeles, has identified two regions of DNA linked to autism.

10 May 2007

Discovery of cellular processes which regulate heart's energy supply

The heart needs a steady supply of energy to function properly. MUHC researcher Dr. Vincent Gigure's and his colleagues recently identified several genetic programs which work together to ensure this energy is available.

10 May 2007

Cornell University establishes Center for Reproductive Genomics

Cornell University has established the Center for Reproductive Genomics, which will combine basic research in reproductive sciences on Cornell's Ithaca campus with one of the country's leading fertility clinics at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) in New York City.

10 May 2007

Structural variation in the human genome

A major new effort to uncover the medium- and large-scale genetic differences between humans may soon reveal DNA sequences that contribute to a wide range of diseases, according to a paper by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Evan Eichler and 17 colleagues published in the May 10, 2007, Nature.

10 May 2007

Bipolar disorder - the clue may be in the genes

The first scan of the entire human genetic code has revealed that developing bipolar disorder may to some extent depend on the combined effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself.

9 May 2007

Researchers identify immune dysfunction in melanoma patients

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have begun to shed light on why the human immune system isn't able to stop such cancers as melanoma, suggesting answers that could pave the way for better treatment of this often-fatal illness.

9 May 2007

Global heartbeat control suggests therapy for beating heart failure

Keeping a healthy heart beating requires the production of a constant supply of energy, a feat depending on the coordination of several genetic programs.

9 May 2007

Genetics of bipolar disorder

The likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself, a new study shows.

9 May 2007

Gene mutation linked to cognition is found only in humans

The human and chimpanzee genomes vary by just 1.2 percent, yet there is a considerable difference in the mental and linguistic capabilities between the two species.

9 May 2007

Low glucose levels offer clue to infant cot deaths

Researchers in Scotland have found what they believe is a link between infant cot deaths and low blood glucose levels.

9 May 2007

Study looks at interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing for common conditions

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have teamed with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit to launch a study to investigate the interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing for eight common conditions.

8 May 2007

New mapping technique will answer fundamental questions about chromosome structure

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a simple and economical technique for imaging and mapping fruit fly chromosomes.

8 May 2007

Diabetes drug rosiglitazone boosts power of platinum chemotherapy

A widely used diabetes drug dramatically boosted the potency of platinum-based cancer drugs when administered together to a variety of cancer cell lines and to mice with tumors, scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report.

8 May 2007

Loss of a single gene in kidney cancer cells causes them to stop making mitochondria

Studying a rare inherited syndrome, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that cancer cells can reprogram themselves to turn down their own energy-making machinery and use less oxygen, and that these changes might help cancer cells survive and spread.

8 May 2007

New vitamin extends lifespan in yeast cells

Imagine taking a vitamin for longevity! Not yet, but a Dartmouth discovery that a cousin of niacin prolongs lifespan in yeast brings the tantalizing possibility a step closer.

4 May 2007

Little-known cell networks vital to circadian rhythm

Circadian rhythm is the basic 24-hour cycle that involves various behaviors, including sleeping and eating, in all living organisms.

4 May 2007

Gene-for-gene interactions help bacteria kill their host

Scientists have discovered that a cousin of the plague bacterium uses a single gene to out-fox insect immune defences and kill its host.

4 May 2007

New understanding of genetic mutation that contributes to autism

The investigators now know more about how the mutation causes problems with a specific gene and are testing for additional mutations of the same gene in other people with autism.

4 May 2007

Master regulator for epithelial tissue regeneration found

The skin's ability to replace the tissue it sloughs off is controlled by a variety of genes.

4 May 2007

There may be a real code to chromosomal organization

The identification of a cluster of essential genes on mouse chromosome 11 as well as similar clusters on the chromosomes of other organisms , including humans , buttresses the argument that there may be rules as to how genes are structured or laid out on chromosomes, said the Baylor College of Medicine senior author of a report that appears online in the Public Library of Science Genetics, an open-access publication.

4 May 2007