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Promising new way to lower cholesterol production

A promising new way to inhibit cholesterol production in the body has been discovered, one that may yield treatments as effective as existing medications but with fewer side-effects.

3 Mar 2011

Night shift work may reduce risk of skin cancer in women

Melatonin is known to have cancer-protective properties, and shift work can induce desynchrony of the circadian system, reducing melatonin production. Shift work has been thought to have important health impacts, with evidence linking shift work to an increased risk of several cancers including breast, endometrial, prostate, and colorectal, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

2 Mar 2011

Roundup: States' angst and anger continues about Medicaid, health spending cuts

Ken Kewley woke up Tuesday without health insurance for the first time in nearly nine years. So did most of the 41,467 other Pennsylvanians who had been covered by adultBasic, a state-subsidized insurance program for the working poor that Gov. Tom Corbett shut down on Monday in one of the largest disenrollments in recent memory.

2 Mar 2011

Study identifies key gene mutation responsible for type 2 diabetes in nearly 10% of patients

A multinational study has identified a key gene mutation responsible for type 2 diabetes in nearly 10 percent of patients of white European ancestry.

2 Mar 2011

IAVI, THSTI collaborate to establish HIV Vaccine Design Program in India

The Translational Health Sciences and Technology Institute, an autonomous institute of the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative announced today an agreement to jointly establish, operate and fund an HIV Vaccine Design Program in India.

2 Mar 2011

Genetic variants determine severity of HCV-related graft disease and antiviral treatment response

German researchers have found a significant association of IL28B genotypes to interferon-based antiviral treatment outcome, and to graft inflammation caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study determined that the presence of G-allele serves as a marker for severe HCV-induced graft inflammation, as well as a predictor for unsuccessful treatment. Study findings—the largest to report on the role IL28B variants in a transplant cohort with recurrent HCV—are published in the March issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

2 Mar 2011

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.

2 Mar 2011

Cord Blood America purchases all UCB samples and related lab equipment from RGI

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company, focused on bringing the life saving potential of cord blood stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, announced today that it has purchased all the umbilical cord blood samples and the related laboratory equipment from Reproductive Genetics Institute, Inc., based in Chicago, Illinois.

2 Mar 2011

WARFARIN study to explore impact of genetic testing on individualized dosing

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced today that the WARFARIN Study was initiated in major hospital systems nationwide to assess the utility of genetic testing to determine a personalized warfarin dose for individual patients to reduce their risk of serious bleeding or clotting events.

2 Mar 2011

Glycogen study findings shed light on possible route to treat Lafora disease

Indiana University scientists have solved a perplexing mystery regarding one of the body's main energy storage molecules, in the process shedding light on a possible route to treatment of a rare but deadly disease in teenagers.

2 Mar 2011

New study reviews latest scientific developments in autism

First consultant of child psychiatry in the UK reviews state of knowledge on autism. Despite substantial gains in knowledge and understanding of autism over the last three years, we are still no closer to either prevention or cure, according to Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.

2 Mar 2011

Scientists find link between ADHD and bipolar disorders with regard to rapid mood swings

Thanks in part to a Norwegian research biobank, researchers have generated important new insight into ADHD and how the condition manifests itself. Among other things, they have found that there is some overlap between ADHD and bipolar disorders with regard to rapid mood swings.

2 Mar 2011

Vaccine-induced cellular immune responses against HIV-1 infection exert selective pressure on the virus

An AIDS vaccine tested in people, but found to be ineffective, influenced the genetic makeup of the virus that slipped past. The findings suggest new ideas for developing HIV vaccines.

2 Mar 2011

Genetic switch increases blood vessels in skeletal muscle of non-exercising mice

Many people suffer from a devastating condition known as critical limb ischemia (CLI) that can lead to muscle wasting and even amputation. The disease is linked to the blockage of blood flow to the skeletal muscle and current treatment options include rehabilitative exercise and surgical bypass of blood vessels. New preclinical research suggests there may be a way to restore blood supply in skeletal muscle without traditional intervention.

2 Mar 2011

New research finds link between genomic variants in neurological processes and autism

New research on the genomics of autism confirms that the genetic roots of the disorder are highly complicated, but that common biological themes underlie this complexity. In the current study, researchers have implicated several new candidate genes and genomic variants as contributors to autism, and conclude that many more remain to be discovered.

2 Mar 2011

Researchers discover three genes that contribute to abnormal growth

By working with Canadians of French ancestry who suffer a rare genetic disease, researchers have discovered how three genes contribute to abnormal growth, making a breakthrough that will improve our understanding of many disorders such as foetal and childhood growth retardation, abnormal development of body parts and cancer.

2 Mar 2011

Doctors should transit patients to adult medical care for congenital heart disease during early adolescence

Doctors should transition their patients from pediatric to adult medical care for congenital heart disease during early adolescence, experts recommend in a scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

1 Mar 2011

Heterotaxin useful for studying intestinal birth defects may also inhibit cancerous tumor growth

In an interesting bit of scientific serendipity, researchers at North Carolina State University have found that a chemical compound useful for studying the origins of intestinal birth defects may also inhibit the growth and spread of cancerous tumors.

1 Mar 2011

Chromosomally unstable bowel cancer cells more resistant to chemotherapy treatments, targeted drugs

Cancer Research UK scientists have made an important step towards developing personalised bowel cancer treatment by identifying which tumours are more likely to become drug resistant, according to research published in Cancer Research today.

1 Mar 2011

New personalized therapy fools cancer cells into killing themselves

A Wayne State University School of Medicine physician-researcher has developed a personalized therapy to treat a wide range of cancers. The treatment is based on a naturally occurring human enzyme that has been genetically modified to fool cancer cells into killing themselves.

1 Mar 2011

Genetic News and Research

Promising new way to lower cholesterol production

Night shift work may reduce risk of skin cancer in women

Roundup: States' angst and anger continues about Medicaid, health spending cuts

Study identifies key gene mutation responsible for type 2 diabetes in nearly 10% of patients

IAVI, THSTI collaborate to establish HIV Vaccine Design Program in India

Genetic variants determine severity of HCV-related graft disease and antiviral treatment response

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

Cord Blood America purchases all UCB samples and related lab equipment from RGI

WARFARIN study to explore impact of genetic testing on individualized dosing

Glycogen study findings shed light on possible route to treat Lafora disease

New study reviews latest scientific developments in autism

Scientists find link between ADHD and bipolar disorders with regard to rapid mood swings

Vaccine-induced cellular immune responses against HIV-1 infection exert selective pressure on the virus

Genetic switch increases blood vessels in skeletal muscle of non-exercising mice

New research finds link between genomic variants in neurological processes and autism

Researchers discover three genes that contribute to abnormal growth

Doctors should transit patients to adult medical care for congenital heart disease during early adolescence

Heterotaxin useful for studying intestinal birth defects may also inhibit cancerous tumor growth

Chromosomally unstable bowel cancer cells more resistant to chemotherapy treatments, targeted drugs

New personalized therapy fools cancer cells into killing themselves

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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