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Wood smoke may create adverse health effects in humans

With millions of people warding off winter's chill with blazing fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, scientists are raising red flags about the potential health effects of the smoke released from burning wood. Their study, published in the American Chemical Society's journal, Chemical Research in Toxicology, found that the invisible particles inhaled into the lungs from wood smoke may have several adverse health effects.

6 Feb 2011

New understanding of how host and foreign structures are distinguished by front-line defence mechanism

This week, the highly-respected US Academy of Sciences journal (PNAS) published an article describing how the first line of defence of the human immune system distinguishes between microbes and the body's own structures.

5 Feb 2011

Dermatologists advise parents of young children about atopic dermatitis, food allergies

Atopic dermatitis, one of the most common forms of eczema in this family of inflammatory skin diseases, is a chronic disease marked by red, cracked and itchy skin. Now, increasing evidence indicates atopic dermatitis is a precursor to allergic diseases rather than a consequence. Dermatologists are advising parents of infants and young children affected by this common skin condition to be aware of the potential for future food allergies.

5 Feb 2011

Researchers find RIPs remain active, continue to produce new insertions in human genome

An ambitious hunt by Johns Hopkins scientists for actively "jumping genes" in humans has yielded compelling new evidence that the genome, anything but static, contains numerous pesky mobile elements that may help to explain why people have such a variety of physical traits and disease risks.

5 Feb 2011

U-M Medical School earns $368.7 million in NIH research funding during federal fiscal year 2010

University of Michigan Medical School physicians and scientists earned more than $368.7 million in National Institutes of Health research funding in federal fiscal year 2010, according to NIH data. In all, the School's faculty brought in $481.8 million in research funding from all sources in U-M fiscal year 2010.

5 Feb 2011

Newly identified mosquito subspecies highly susceptible to malaria parasite, prefers outdoors

"Researchers have discovered a previously unknown subspecies of mosquito in West Africa that is highly susceptible to the malaria parasite and whose existence may stymie efforts to eradicate the deadly disease," the Los Angeles Times reports (Khan, 2/4).

5 Feb 2011

Salk Institute receives $2.3 million CIRM grant for translational research on Parkinson's disease

The Salk Institute has been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for translational research focusing on developing a novel stem cell based therapy for Parkinson's disease.

4 Feb 2011

New strategy needed for monitoring and assessment of marine species

Scientists are having a difficult time gauging the recovery of marine species from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico because they lack sufficient data about historical population size and the distribution, growth rates and reproduction rates of many species.

4 Feb 2011

How body's first line of defence distinguishes between microbes and own structures

4 Feb 2011

Research unmasks long sought stem cell origin of carcinoma

A constellation of different stem cell populations within our skin help it to cope with normal wear and tear. By constantly proliferating, the stem cells allow skin to replenish itself, allowing each cell to be replaced by a new one about once a month. But the normal cycle of division and death within one or more of these stem cell types can sometimes be derailed by genetic mishaps. Such events are believed to spawn carcinomas and other deadly skin cancers, which are the mostly frequently diagnosed cancers in the United States.

4 Feb 2011

Scientists reprogram marrow cells from patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

By coaxing healthy and diseased human bone marrow to become embryonic-like stem cells, a team of Wisconsin scientists has laid the groundwork for observing the onset of the blood cancer leukemia in the laboratory dish.

4 Feb 2011

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers led by geneticists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have identified a new gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa, a form of blindness, ending one South Florida family's nearly 20-year search for what caused three of their four children to lose their sight.

4 Feb 2011

JDRF, Eli Lilly sign agreement to fund type 1 diabetes research for re-generative medicine

Eli Lilly and Company and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation today announced that they have signed an agreement to fund early-stage research that could enable patients with type 1 diabetes to regenerate insulin-producing cells destroyed by the disease.

4 Feb 2011

Miracle boy born after new infertility therapy

A Lancashire couple Andrew and Louise Riley have been blessed with a “miracle baby boy” thanks to a pioneering new genetic screening process. Elliott Riley was born just after Christmas after the Rileys opted for a relatively new technique called array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) after 10 years of infertility treatments. Mrs. Riley, 37, and her husband, 39, said they were delighted to welcome Elliott on December 30.

3 Feb 2011

Genetic component to Parkinson’s disease discovered

Parkinson’s disease, a severely degenerative disease of the brain leading to tremors, muscle rigidity and finally immobility was until the 1990’s believed to be due to environmental factors, lifestyle and a person’s age. However, now scientists have discovered five more genes that influence its development.

3 Feb 2011

Blood clotting protein could be used as 'biomarker' for mucopolysaccharide diseases

University of Manchester scientists have shown that a protein involved in blood clotting can be used to diagnose and subsequently monitor the treatment of a group of childhood genetic diseases.

3 Feb 2011

Losartan improves effectiveness of nanotherapeutics against cancer

Low doses of an inexpensive, FDA-approved hypertension medication may improve the results of nanotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment. In a report in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators describe experiments showing that the generic drug losartan, by modifying the network of collagen fibers that characterizes most solid tumors, improved the effectiveness of two nanotherapeutics against several types of cancer.

3 Feb 2011

Study reveals how MMSET gene enables disease-causing mutations to occur

For several decades, researchers have been linking genetic mutations to diseases ranging from cancer to developmental abnormalities. What hasn't been clear, however, is how the body's genome sustains such destructive glitches in the first place.

3 Feb 2011

HMORN, iSAEC collaborate to enroll subjects in SAE research project using EMR database

The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium announced today a new collaboration with the HMO Research Network to enroll subjects in research to identify genetic markers that may help predict risk associated with a range of serious drug-related adverse events.

3 Feb 2011

Generation of iPSCs can be enhanced by modulating miRNA action

Stem cells are ideal tools to understand disease and develop new treatments; however, they can be difficult to obtain in necessary quantities. In particular, generating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be an arduous task because reprogramming differentiated adult skin cells into iPS cells requires many steps and the efficiency is very low - researchers might end up with only a few iPS cells even if they started with a million skin cells.

3 Feb 2011

Genetic News and Research

Wood smoke may create adverse health effects in humans

New understanding of how host and foreign structures are distinguished by front-line defence mechanism

Dermatologists advise parents of young children about atopic dermatitis, food allergies

Researchers find RIPs remain active, continue to produce new insertions in human genome

U-M Medical School earns $368.7 million in NIH research funding during federal fiscal year 2010

Newly identified mosquito subspecies highly susceptible to malaria parasite, prefers outdoors

Salk Institute receives $2.3 million CIRM grant for translational research on Parkinson's disease

New strategy needed for monitoring and assessment of marine species

How body's first line of defence distinguishes between microbes and own structures

Research unmasks long sought stem cell origin of carcinoma

Scientists reprogram marrow cells from patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

JDRF, Eli Lilly sign agreement to fund type 1 diabetes research for re-generative medicine

Miracle boy born after new infertility therapy

Genetic component to Parkinson’s disease discovered

Blood clotting protein could be used as 'biomarker' for mucopolysaccharide diseases

Losartan improves effectiveness of nanotherapeutics against cancer

Study reveals how MMSET gene enables disease-causing mutations to occur

HMORN, iSAEC collaborate to enroll subjects in SAE research project using EMR database

Generation of iPSCs can be enhanced by modulating miRNA action

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare 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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