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Feeding probiotics to baby zebrafish accelerates their development into adulthood

Probiotics like those found in yogurt are not only good for people--they are also good for fish. A new study by scientists at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology found that feeding probiotics to baby zebrafish accelerated their development and increased their chances of survival into adulthood.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers identify 4 new genetic regions that influence birth weight

Researchers have identified four new genetic regions that influence birth weight, providing further evidence that genes as well as maternal nutrition are important for growth in the womb. Three of the regions are also linked to adult metabolism, helping to explain why smaller babies have higher rates of chronic diseases later in life.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers discover 15 new genetic regions linked with coronary artery disease

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) participated in the largest genetic study of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) to date. Researchers from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium report the identification of 15 genetic regions newly associated with the disease, bringing to 46 the number of regions associated with CAD risk.

3 Dec 2012

microRNAs play an important role during embryonic development

Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that microRNAs play an important role in germ layer formation-the process that determines which cells become which organs during embryonic development

3 Dec 2012

Researchers identify new genetic regions associated with heart attacks

In the largest genetic study of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) to date, researchers from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium report the identification of 15 genetic regions newly associated with the disease, bringing to 46 the number of regions associated with CAD risk.

3 Dec 2012

Childhood trauma can leave permanent epigenetic marks on DNA

Abused children are at high risk of anxiety and mood disorders, as traumatic experience induces lasting changes to their gene regulation. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now documented for the first time that genetic variants of the FKBP5 gene can influence epigenetic alterations in this gene induced by early trauma.

3 Dec 2012

Vitamin D receptor polymorphism may protect against osteoporosis

A polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor gene significantly influences risk for osteoporosis, suggest results from a meta-analysis of 26 studies.

3 Dec 2012

Researchers discover four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight

An international team of genetics researchers has discovered four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight. Three of those regions influence adult metabolism, and appear to affect longer-term outcomes such as adult height, risk of type 2 diabetes and adult blood pressure.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists identify 15 new genetic regions associated with coronary artery disease

Fifteen new genetic regions associated with coronary artery disease have been identified by a large, international consortium of scientists - including researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine - taking a significant step forward in understanding the root causes of this deadly disease. The new research brings the total number of validated genetic links with heart disease discovered through genome-wide association studies to 46.

3 Dec 2012

New laser surgical technique appears to be safe and effective in treating epilepsy

A developing new laser surgical technique for epilepsy appears to be safe and effective and reduces hospital stays to one or two days, according to two research reports presented today during the American Epilepsy Society 66th Annual Meting at the San Diego Convention Center.

3 Dec 2012

Children with changes in bully genes have poor survival

In a genome sequencing study of 74 neuroblastoma tumors in children, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that patients with changes in two genes, ARID1A and ARID1B, survive only a quarter as long as patients without the changes. The discovery could eventually lead to early identification of patients with aggressive neuroblastomas who may need additional treatments.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how humans and mammals develop intelligence

Scientists have discovered for the first time how humans - and other mammals - have evolved to have intelligence.

3 Dec 2012

TINCR molecule plays a master role in epidermal differentiation

The surface of your skin, called the epidermis, is a complex mixture of many different cell types - each with a very specific job. The production, or differentiation, of such a sophisticated tissue requires an immense amount of coordination at the cellular level, and glitches in the process can have disastrous consequences. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a master regulator of this differentiation process.

2 Dec 2012

Scientists sequence DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps

The causes underlying the development of certain types of common cancers have not yet been elucidated. In order to better determine the origin and the sequence of events responsible for the onset of colon cancer, the teams led by Thanos Halazonetis and Stylianos Antonarakis, professors at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have sequenced the DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps.

2 Dec 2012

Researchers uncover molecular structure of master regulator central to melanoma

With the X-ray vision of DESY's light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.

1 Dec 2012

New strains of HIV spreading in India, scientists warn

"While India has drastically reduced the spread of HIV over the past decade, new strains of the virus that cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are troubling medical scientists in this country," Inter Press Service reports (Devraj, 11/29).

1 Dec 2012

New genetic study defines biology behind brain developmental disorder in children

This study describes how a combination of sequencing and mouse models were used to identify the gene responsible for a brain developmental disorder seen in four patients.

1 Dec 2012

AES honors University of Florence neuroscientist with Epilepsy Research Recognition Award

Renzo Guerrini, M.D., Director and Professor of Pediatric Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florence, Anna Meyer Children's Hospital, Italy, has been named recipient of the 2012 Epilepsy Research Recognition Award for Clinical Science conferred by the American Epilepsy Society (AES).

30 Nov 2012

Special issue of Disease Markers explores ASD genetics and biomarker development

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and delayed or abnormal language development. Although ASD reportedly affects 1 in 88 people in the United States, to date there have been no distinctive biomarkers to diagnose the disease.

30 Nov 2012

HDAC6 enzyme could be possible target for therapies against Alzheimer's

Scientists from the DZNE sites in G-ttingen and Bonn, the UMG as well as from the US participated in this basic research project on Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in "EMBO Molecular Medicine".

30 Nov 2012