Genetic News and Research

RSS

Met-FISC complex formation critical step in juvenile hormone signaling pathway

Just as raging hormones are part of the process of a child's maturation through the teen years to adulthood, juvenile hormones, a group of insect isoprenoids, play an important role as butterflies, fruit flies and mosquitoes transform their body structures as they molt from larva to pupa and then adults.

28 Dec 2010

ACT, Roslin Cells collaborate to establish hESC line bank using single-ceblastomere technique

Advanced Cell Technology, a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Roslin Cells LTD of Scotland, in which the two companies contemplate a definitive collaboration agreement in the near future.

28 Dec 2010

Biglycan protein offers potential therapy for muscular dystrophy

A novel potential therapy based on a natural human protein significantly slows muscle damage and improves function in mice who have the same genetic mutation as boys with the most common form of muscular dystrophy, according to a paper published online Dec. 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

28 Dec 2010

Study sheds light on how bacteria developed resistance to antibiotics

Studying how bacteria incorporate foreign DNA from invading viruses into their own regulatory processes, Thomas Wood, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, is uncovering the secrets of one of nature's most primitive immune systems.

27 Dec 2010

Researchers receive $6.78 million NIH grant for community-based study on heart disease

Researchers at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston were recently awarded a $6.78 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to extend a 23-year-old large-scale, community-based study of heart disease.

27 Dec 2010

Researchers develop microfluidic device to orient hundreds of embryos for research

Researchers have developed a microfluidic device that automatically orients hundreds of fruit fly and other embryos to prepare them for research. The device could facilitate the study of such issues as how organisms develop their complex structures from single cells -- one of the most fascinating aspects of biology.

27 Dec 2010

Research reaffirms bovine TB's threat to humans, animals, and to international trade

As part of his doctoral research at The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Demelash Biffa has carried out extensive field and laboratory work on bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Ethiopia since 2007. The main aims of his study were to investigate risk factors associated with prevalence of the disease and to discover the molecular genetic characteristics of mycobacteria, which cause serious pathologic lesions in cattle. The work has led to the development of a new numeric expression approach known as Spoligotype Evolutionary Index (SEI).

24 Dec 2010

Near-complete data sets from fruit fly and roundworm genomes

An Ontario researcher has played a key role in the development of a new resource that will help genomics researchers around the world find new ways to prevent and treat cancer.

24 Dec 2010

Molecular-level insights into how physical activity influences the heart

Everyone knows that exercise comes with metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, but scientists understand surprisingly little about how physical activity influences the heart itself. Now, a new study in the December 23rd issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers some of the first molecular-level insights.

24 Dec 2010

Scientists tweak gene to mimick heart-strengthening effects of endurance training in sedentary mice

By tweaking a single gene, scientists have mimicked in sedentary mice the heart-strengthening effects of two weeks of endurance training, according to a report from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

24 Dec 2010

Silencing of specific genes of germinal cell lines reduces brain tumors

Scientists at IRB Barcelona have discovered that some brain tumours in larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster use the genetic programme of germline cells to grow. The removal of some of these genes leads to healthy brains. This finding demonstrates that these genes are crucial for tumour development. The study, headed by ICREA researcher Cayetano Gonz-lez, is published today in the prestigious journal Science.

24 Dec 2010

Paternal diet affects lipid metabolizing genes in offspring

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered evidence that environmental influences experienced by a father can be passed down to the next generation, "reprogramming" how genes function in offspring. A new study published this week in Cell shows that environmental cues-in this case, diet-influence genes in mammals from one generation to the next, evidence that until now has been sparse.

24 Dec 2010

Researchers study relationship between MITF, ATF2 in melanoma development

Melanoma is one of the least common types of skin cancer, but it is also the most deadly. Melanocytes (pigment-producing skin cells) lose the genetic regulatory mechanisms that normally limit their number, allowing them to divide and proliferate out of control. One such regulator, called MITF, controls an array of genes that influence melanocyte development, function and survival.

24 Dec 2010

Brawn and stealth beat colorful and refined in evolutionary mating game

When prowling for a hook up, it's not always the good-looker who gets the girl. In fact, in a certain species of South American fish, brawn and stealth beat out colorful and refined almost every time.

23 Dec 2010

Most Australians don't approve of IVF or abortion for sex-selection

Most Australians do not approve of IVF or abortion for sex-selection purposes, and most do not think a hypothetical blue or pink pill to select the sex of a child should be legal, a new study has found.

23 Dec 2010

Catalogs of fruit fly and roundworm's functional genomic elements

Scientists today published catalogs of the fruit fly and roundworm's functional genomic elements: DNA sequences in the genome that carry the instructions and determine which genes are turned on and off at various times in different cells.

23 Dec 2010

Earlier diagnosis in Cowden syndrome patients predisposed to breast and kidney cancer

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute have revealed multiple genetic discoveries that may permit easier diagnosis and disease management for Cowden syndrome patients who are predisposed to breast and kidney cancer.

23 Dec 2010

Scientist discovers molecular switch controlling synthesis of ribosomes

A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a molecular switch that controls the synthesis of ribosomes. Ribosomes are the large machineries inside all living cells that produce proteins, the basic working units of any cell. These new findings offer a novel target for potential treatments for a range of diseases, including cancer.

23 Dec 2010

Male mice created without Y chromosome

University of Adelaide researchers are a step closer to unraveling the mysteries of human sexual development, following genetic studies that show male mice can be created without a Y chromosome - through the activation of an ancient brain gene.

23 Dec 2010

Genetic variant of brain receptor molecule may contribute to impulsive behavior

A multinational research team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health has found that a genetic variant of a brain receptor molecule may contribute to violently impulsive behavior when people who carry it are under the influence of alcohol.

23 Dec 2010