Genetic News and Research

RSS

Axeq announces Turnkey Discovery sequencing and analysis services

Axeq Technologies announced the industry-first Axeq Turnkey Discovery analytical bioinformatic services coupled with high-coverage exome sequencing applications.

15 Sep 2011

Heart specialists reveal how pacemaker works at the biological level

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins have figured out how a widely used pacemaker for heart failure, which makes both sides of the heart beat together to pump effectively, works at the biological level.

15 Sep 2011

Fast-track genetic diagnosis for hearing loss

Over 28 million Americans are hearing impaired, and 50 percent of these cases can be traced to genetic causes. The condition can be especially challenging for children born hearing impaired because spoken language, reading, and cognitive development are tied to hearing. That makes early diagnosis essential for identifying appropriate therapy and treatment.

15 Sep 2011

Sickle cell trait does not increase risk of severe kidney disease in African-Americans

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center report that sickle cell trait is not a risk factor for the development of severe kidney disease in African-Americans.

15 Sep 2011

Rac1 protein triggers growth of long 'legs' that could propel melanoma cells to spread

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a protein called Rac1 prompts pigment cells to sprout long 'legs' that could propel skin cancer cells, allowing them to spread, according to research published in Developmental Cell today.

15 Sep 2011

First effective blood-stage vaccine against malaria

Scientists have identified the first effective blood-stage malaria vaccine, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study from University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa, and other partners.

15 Sep 2011

OXTR gene associated with optimism, self-esteem and mastery

UCLA life scientists have identified for the first time a particlular gene's link to optimism, self-esteem and "mastery," the belief that one has control over one's own life - three critical psychological resources for coping well with stress and depression.

15 Sep 2011

Research identifies 6 critical deafness-related mutations in Israeli Jewish, Palestinian Arab families

Precise diagnosis of disease and developmental syndromes often depends on understanding the genetics underlying them. Most cases of early onset hearing loss are genetic in origin but there are many different forms. Heretofore, it has been difficult to identify the gene responsible for the hearing loss of each affected child, because the critical mutations differ among countries and populations.

14 Sep 2011

New imaging method could better assess extent of nerve damage

A new imaging technique could help doctors and researchers more accurately assess the extent of nerve damage and healing in a live patient. Researchers at Laval University in Qu-bec and Harvard Medical School in Boston aimed lasers at rats' damaged sciatic nerves to create images of the individual neurons' insulating sheath called myelin.

14 Sep 2011

Computer models that predict response to treatment

Details of computer models that can predict the chances of a patient responding to their HIV drugs with 80% accuracy are published today in the journal AIDS. The models were developed by the HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI) using almost half a million pieces of data from approximately 6,000 clinical cases from hundreds of clinics around the world. The models are now available online as part of an experimental treatment support tool, HIV-TRePS.

14 Sep 2011

Health Canada approves Afinitor for treatment of brain tumours caused by TSC in children

Families with children suffering from brain tumours caused by an uncommon genetic disorder known as Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) have new hope with Health Canada's recent conditional approval of a new therapeutic use for the drug Afinitor (everolimus). Afinitor is the first drug therapy approved in Canada for the treatment of brain tumours caused by TSC in patients three years of age and older.

14 Sep 2011

Mary Ann Liebert launches 'Human Gene Therapy Methods' journal

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. announces the launch of a journal expansion, Human Gene Therapy Methods, to complement the flagship publication Human Gene Therapy.

14 Sep 2011

Genetic variant associated with increased long-term mortality risk after coronary artery bypass graft procedure

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found a genetic variant that seems to be associated with lower five-year survival after a coronary artery bypass.

14 Sep 2011

Smoking cessation improves overall personality: Study

University of Missouri researchers have found evidence that shows those who quit smoking show improvements in their overall personality.

14 Sep 2011

African-Americans have higher risk of high blood pressure earlier

...

13 Sep 2011

Clinical trial planned in Australia and the USA to help patients with ‘orphan’ disease

Prana Biotechnology Limited announced today that researchers are planning recruitment for a phase II clinical trial of the experimental drug PBT2 in Huntington’s patients. There are currently no treatments for the genetic, neurodegenerative disease; Australia is increasingly seen as a leader in the development of therapies for neurologic disorders. Huntington’s often affects young adults and progressively impacts the body, mind and emotions. The disease causes incapacitation and death about 15-25 years after onset.

12 Sep 2011

UB transgenic mouse model of Timothy Syndrome improves understanding of autism

The first transgenic mouse model of a rare and severe type of autism called Timothy Syndrome is improving the scientific understanding of autism spectrum disorder in general and may help researchers design more targeted interventions and treatments.

12 Sep 2011

Chromatin, Dow AgroSciences achieve first milestone in research collaboration

Chromatin Inc. announced today that they have reached the first milestone in their research collaboration with Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. This collaboration is focused on developing a novel combination of Chromatin's Mini-Chromosomes with Dow AgroSciences' EXZACT Precision Technology.

12 Sep 2011

Women with BRCA gene mutation develop breast cancer earlier than their ancestors

Women with a deleterious gene mutation are diagnosed with breast cancer almost eight years earlier than relatives of the previous generation who also had the disease and/or ovarian cancer, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

12 Sep 2011

Researchers identify glucokinase triggers beta cell regeneration in pancreas

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified the key signal that prompts production of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas -- a breakthrough discovery that may ultimately help researchers find ways to restore or increase beta cell function in people with type 1 diabetes.

12 Sep 2011