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Early stress of separation from biological parent impacts gene expression

Children who experience the stress of separation at birth from biological parents and are brought up in orphanages undergo biological consequences such as changes in their genome functioning, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study.

6 Dec 2011

Obesity maybe passed down from fathers to kids: Study

Australian researchers have found that the sperm of overweight fathers appears to carry a molecular signal that causes their offspring to inherit obesity. This may be more severe in female children and males they add.

5 Dec 2011

Towards a national plan of action for rare diseases

"Rare diseases", by their very definition, occur in no more than 5 people out of every 10,000 inhabitants. Barely noticed by the general public, only around 1,000 of the currently 6,000 or so different rare diseases currently listed on the Internet platform Orphanet are treatable nowadays.

5 Dec 2011

Genetic variation predicts survival chances of ovarian cancer

Yale Cancer Center researchers have shown that a tiny genetic variation predicts chances of survival and response to treatment for patients with ovarian cancer.

5 Dec 2011

Study shows new biochemical disturbances in the brains of children with ADHD

A new study at örebro University in Sweden shows that children with ADHD have nearly 50 percent less of a protein that is important for attention and learning. The finding may mean that there are other biochemical disturbances in the brains of individuals with ADHD than was previously believed.

5 Dec 2011

Scientists discover new candidate gene for Dravet syndrome

Dravet syndrome is a severe genetic epilepsy that appears early in life. About 75 percent of cases can be attributed to mutations in the SCN1A gene encoding the sodium channel NaV1.1. The remaining patients with this syndrome are without a definitive molecular genetic diagnosis. Research presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th Annual Meeting has found a non-SCN1A candidate gene and suggests that Dravet syndrome may be caused by any one of a number of yet unidentified genes.

5 Dec 2011

Researchers identify ADHD gene variants involved in glutamate signaling

Pediatric researchers analyzing genetic influences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have found alterations in specific genes involved in important brain signaling pathways. The study raises the possibility that drugs acting on those pathways might offer a new treatment option for patients with ADHD who have those gene variants—potentially, half a million U.S. children.

5 Dec 2011

Insight into plant mechanism may protect other organisms against dehydration

Plant seeds represent a special biological system: They remain in a dormant state with a significantly reduced metabolism and are thus able to withstand harsh environmental conditions for extended periods. The water content of maturing seeds is lower than ten percent. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne have now discovered that the genetic material in seeds becomes more compact and the nuclei of the seed cells contract when the seeds begin to mature.

3 Dec 2011

American Society of Hematology 2012 Scholar Awards announced

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces the recipients of its 2012 Scholar Awards. The ASH Scholar Awards provide monetary support for fellows and junior faculty pursuing research careers to assist them during the critical period in which they must complete their training and achieve status as an independent investigator.

3 Dec 2011

World Cell Race pulls 70 entries for title of world's fastest cell

A "team" of fast-moving, bone marrow stem cells from a research laboratory in Singapore has run away with the first World Cell Race, finishing first with a cellular speed record of 5.2 microns per minute (or 0.000204 inches per minute) in results announced today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

3 Dec 2011

Study identifies sulfomucins as potential targets for therapies to treat chronic intestinal inflammatory disorders

In a paper published in the December 2011 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, a team of scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign led by Rex Gaskins, PhD have demonstrated that both microbial and host inflammatory factors modulate sulfomucin production in a human cell line, LS174T, that models intestinal goblet cells.

3 Dec 2011

Court OKs payment for bone marrow donation

A federal appeals court called bone marrow donation blood parts, not organ parts. The new reading of the federal prohibition could attract thousands more donors.

3 Dec 2011

NIAAA awards Rutgers $10M grant to explore genetic links to alcoholism

Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (RUCDR) has received a $10 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to provide DNA extraction, basic genetic testing, and repository services for more than 46,000 saliva samples, in support of national research efforts to determine the genetic and environmental factors that lead to alcoholism.

3 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 2, 2011

In today's headlines, reports on congressional efforts to extend a payroll tax break and other work Congress must do before the end of the year -- including the Medicare doc fix.

2 Dec 2011

Blocking telomerase increases cancer cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment

Shortening end caps on chromosomes in human cervical cancer cells disrupts DNA repair signaling, increases the cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment and kills them more quickly, according to a study in Cancer Prevention Research.

2 Dec 2011

ASH recognizes abstract presenters at 53rd annual meeting in San Diego

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognizes the following abstract presenters at the 53rd ASH annual meeting in San Diego, CA, with the highest scoring abstracts in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and postdoctoral fellow.

2 Dec 2011

New method reveals complete set of aberrant signaling pathways that give rise to cancers

One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients.

2 Dec 2011

Mutation on surface of human red blood cells provides protection against vivax malaria

A mutation on the surface of human red blood cells provides protection against malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax, research led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine shows.

2 Dec 2011

Insights into causes of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Tracking individual cells within the lung as they move around and multiply has given Duke University researchers new insights into the causes of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) a disease which can only be treated now by lung transplantation.

1 Dec 2011

New discovery of adult stem cells gives fresh possibilities for heart regeneration

Sydney researchers have discovered a new population of adult stem cells in the heart, which could augment the development of new regeneration and repair therapies for people who have suffered heart attack or heart failure, the leading cause of death in Australia.

1 Dec 2011