Genetic News and Research

RSS

Study provides insight into kidney cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered genetic pathways to starve selectively kidney cancer cells.

31 Mar 2011

Gilead and Yale enter multi-year cancer research collaboration

Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Yale School of Medicine today announced the formation of a multi-year research collaboration focused on the discovery of novel cancer therapies. The research effort will initially span four years with an option to renew for up to ten years.

30 Mar 2011

Attacks by specific type of immune cells cause inflammations of heart muscle

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center, jointly with colleagues in the United States, have found out that inflammations of the heart muscle are caused by attacks of a specific type of immune cells. These immune cells attack the body's own tissue because during their maturation they did not have the chance to develop tolerance against a protein that is only found in the heart muscle.

30 Mar 2011

Stanford pediatrics receives Genzyme/ACMG award for biochemical genetic research

Anna-Kaisa Niemi, MD, Ph.D., a resident in Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics at the Stanford University Medical Center, in Stanford Calif., was honored as the 2011-2012 recipient of the Genzyme/American College of Medical Genetics Foundation Clinical Genetics Fellowship in Biochemical Genetics at the ACMG 2011 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

30 Mar 2011

Multiple drugs bonded to 'transport vehicle' bypass healthy cells to attack breast cancer from inside

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have employed a strategy using a mouse model to target important mechanisms inside the most challenging breast cancer cells. Earlier studies at Cedars-Sinai found a similar approach effective in attacking malignant brain tumor targets.

30 Mar 2011

Mary Ann Liebert to launch new 'Shingles and PHN' open access journal

Shingles and PHN, a new, bimonthly open access peer-reviewed journal, will be launched in fall 2011 by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

30 Mar 2011

SHMT1 gene and folate deficiency increase risk for colon cancer

Offering a likely insight into how such cancers develop in humans - Cornell University researchers report they have identified a gene that increases the risk for colon cancer in laboratory mice when the animals' diets are deficient in folate.

30 Mar 2011

Study: Gene combinations may increase risk of hip osteoporosis in women

Women with osteoporosis in their hip suffer menopause two years earlier than healthy women, a study conducted at the University of Granada says. Additionally, although further study is required, researchers have found at least three genetic markers associated with osteoporosis in the hip in postmenopausal women.

30 Mar 2011

Study: Thyroid hormone deficiency can affect cone opsins and colour vision

Thyroid hormone controls the eye's visual pigments throughout life. What part does the thyroid gland have in vision? Thyroid hormone is crucially involved in controlling which visual pigment is produced in the cones. Previously, it was assumed that the colour sensitivity of the cones is fixed in the adult retina.

30 Mar 2011

Australian researchers say the search must widen for genes that cause heart defects in babies

Australian scientists have discovered a new group of genes that could be responsible for causing heart defects in children, which affect more than 2000 babies born each year in Australia.

29 Mar 2011

New guidelines highlight genetic testing use in heart arrhythmia clinical management

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Heart Rhythm Society have produced the first-ever comprehensive guidelines on the use of genetic testing in the clinical management of inherited heart rhythm disorders, released in the March/April issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology published by Elsevier.

29 Mar 2011

New schizophrenia research reveals difference in identical twins genetic makeup

Just like snowflakes, no two people are alike, even if they're identical twins according to new genetic research from The University of Western Ontario. Molecular geneticist Shiva Singh has been working with psychiatrist Dr. Richard O'Reilly to determine the genetic sequencing of schizophrenia using identical or monozygotic twins. The study is published in this month's PLoS ONE.

29 Mar 2011

Study: Donor's DNA level in heart transplant recipient's blood can reveal organ rejection

Heart transplant recipients and their physicians are likely more concerned with the function of the donated organ than with the donor's DNA sequences that tag along in the new, healthy tissue.

29 Mar 2011

CPRIT awards $36.7 million grant to UT Southwestern for cancer research

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded more than $36.7 million in new grants to investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center to support cancer-related projects and to recruit pre-eminent cancer investigators.

29 Mar 2011

State laws regarding baby blood samples analyzed

State laws and policies governing the storage and use of surplus blood samples taken from newborns as part of the routine health screening process range from explicit to non-existent, leaving many parents ill-informed about how their babies' left over blood might be used, according to a team led by a member of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Utah. A report on their analysis of the subject is published March 28 in the journal Pediatrics.

28 Mar 2011

Inflammatory bowel disease in children - Delays in diagnosis common

Once a medical rarity in children, inflammatory bowel disease today is increasingly common in kids, but many of them may not be diagnosed in a timely manner, according to experts from the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

28 Mar 2011

Genetic link to attempted suicide discovered - Findings could lead to new avenues of treatment

Johns Hopkins scientists, reporting in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, have identified a small region on chromosome 2 that is associated with increased risk for attempted suicide. This small region contains four genes, including the ACP1 gene, and the researchers found more than normal levels of the ACP1 protein in the brains of people who had committed suicide. This protein is thought to influence the same biological pathway as lithium, a medication known to reduce the rate of suicidal behavior.

28 Mar 2011

Quest Diagnostics subsidiary initiates tender offer for Celera acquisition

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, announced today it has commenced a tender offer through its wholly owned subsidiary, Spark Acquisition Corporation, for all of the outstanding shares of common stock (the "Shares") of Celera Corporation (Nasdaq: CRA), one of the world's pioneers in genetic diagnostics discovery and development for $8.00 per share in cash, without interest and less any required withholding taxes.

From Quest Diagnostics 28 Mar 2011

Leicester professor receives Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award for Cardiovascular research

The winner of the University of Leicester inaugural Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award was revealed at the 2011 Alumni Black Tie Dinner on Thursday 17 February at the Mandarin Hotel in London.

28 Mar 2011

Essex scientists receive £205,000 grant for breast cancer research

Scientists from the University of Essex have received a £205,000 grant from Cancer Research UK to investigate the early reversible changes in the genes associated with breast cancer development.

28 Mar 2011