Genetic News and Research

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Ambry, RainDance enter new collaboration to develop and commercialize ADME screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc. and Ambry Genetics, today announced a new collaboration focused on the development and commercialization of a comprehensive drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion genetic screening panel for use on next-generation sequencing systems.

8 Mar 2011

13 heart disease risk genes identified

Researchers have found 13 new gene variants that might increase the risk of heart disease. Heart disease being the largest killer worldwide, this discovery could shed light on causes and lead to more effective treatments.

7 Mar 2011

Down’s syndrome could be detected in mother’s blood test

European researchers have devised a blood test that could help pregnant women avoid the invasive procedures now used to diagnose Down syndrome prenatally and make the diagnosis with 100% accuracy. The study report was published this Sunday in Nature Medicine.

7 Mar 2011

New insight into coronary artery disease

Insight into the complex biological mechanisms that cause heart disease has taken a major step forward with the discovery of 13 new genes that increase the risk of coronary artery disease.

7 Mar 2011

Duchenne Parent Project awards grant to AMT for DMD gene therapy

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that the Duchenne Parent Project, based in the Netherlands, has awarded AMT a grant of EUR 145,000 to support the development of AMT-080, AMT's gene therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

7 Mar 2011

Study uncovers 13 new genes that increase risk of heart attacks

The largest-ever study of its type into coronary heart disease, involving scientists from the University of Leicester, has uncovered 13 new genes that increase risk of heart attacks.

7 Mar 2011

Scientists discover SNPs linked with high risk of sick sinus syndrome

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from Iceland, The Netherlands, Denmark, USA and Illumina, Inc., today report the discovery of single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome associated with high risk of sick sinus syndrome.

6 Mar 2011

Researchers identify 13 new gene sites linked with risk of coronary artery disease

An international research collaboration has identified 13 new gene sites associated with the risk of coronary artery disease and validated 10 sites found in previous studies. Several of the novel sites discovered in the study, which is being published online in Nature Genetics, do not appear to relate to known risk factors, suggesting previously unsuspected mechanisms for cardiovascular disease.

6 Mar 2011

Study links 13 new gene regions to coronary atherosclerosis

Thirteen new gene regions have been convincingly linked to coronary atherosclerosis in a massive, new, international genetics study involving investigators from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

6 Mar 2011

Experts to discuss cause of sudden death on athletic playing fields

While the cause of death of the Fennville, Mich. high school basketball player is unknown, an inherited heart condition makes the top of the list for possible causes.

5 Mar 2011

Scientific symposium to examine new approaches to schizophrenia drug development

Despite significant investment in research and development by pharmaceutical companies, the last decade has seen a marked decline in the number of drugs developed and approved for schizophrenia. A multi-day symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, March 9 - Friday, March 11 will convene world-leading experts in clinical, translational, and basic neuroscience to address this problem by examining novel, state-of-the-art approaches to schizophrenia drug development.

5 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

Article outlines role of transcriptional mutagenesis in tumor development

DNA provides the instruction manual for all life forms. Occasionally, instructions are not carried out properly, and bad messages are sent leading to the creation of mutant proteins and possible tumor development.

5 Mar 2011

Research findings likely to improve understanding of gene regulation in humans

Many multi-cellular animals use sex chromosomes to determine sex. In fruit flies and in humans, this produces XX for females and XY for males. Cellular mechanisms then kick into gear to compensate the two-to-one imbalance of X-linked genes in females and males.

4 Mar 2011

Brain enzyme can restore even old, fading memories, say researchers

Even long after it is formed, a memory in rats can be enhanced or erased by increasing or decreasing the activity of a brain enzyme, say researchers supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.

4 Mar 2011

New discovery holds promise for TB treatment

New findings on how tuberculosis bacteria develop multi-drug tolerance point to ways TB infections might be cured more quickly.

4 Mar 2011

Researchers transform human embryonic stem cell into neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease

Northwestern Medicine researchers for the first time have transformed a human embryonic stem cell into a critical type of neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease and is a major cause of memory loss.

4 Mar 2011

Cancer patients' willingness to undergo tests bodes well for future of personalized medicine

Cancer patients are willing to undergo many tests to receive advanced experimental treatment in clinical trials, according to a new study by Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Healthcare and the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

4 Mar 2011

Worldwide collaborative project to improve newborn screening accuracy for metabolic disorders

A unique worldwide collaborative project takes advantage of the Internet to improve the accuracy of screening for rare metabolic disorders in newborns, reports a paper in the March issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

4 Mar 2011

New study finds liver instead of the brain as source of Alzheimer’s plaques

Unexpected results from a Scripps Research Institute and ModGene, LLC study could completely alter scientists' ideas about Alzheimer's disease—pointing to the liver instead of the brain as the source of the "amyloid" that deposits as brain plaques associated with this devastating condition. The findings could offer a relatively simple approach for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment.

4 Mar 2011