Genetic News and Research

RSS

Protection from unrealistic claims of Direct to consumer genetic tests needed

Direct to consumer (DTC) genetic tests are increasingly being marketed to the public via television, print ads, and the Internet. These home genetic tests provide access to a person's genomic information without necessarily involving a doctor or insurance company in the process.

19 Aug 2010

UT Southwestern pediatric urologist pioneers surgical procedure for girls with rare vaginal defects

A pediatric urologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center has pioneered a successful surgical procedure for young girls who have absent or malformed vaginas, a condition that affects about one in 4,000 females.

19 Aug 2010

Celera Corporation releases review article on KIF6 gene variant for CHD

Celera Corporation today announced the publication of a review article on the KIF6 gene variant as a predictor of risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and reduction of CHD events from statin therapy.

19 Aug 2010

Research reveals possibility to convert one stem type to another without genetic modification

Scientists have reprogrammed stem cells from a key organ in the immune system in a development that could have implications for tissue regeneration.

19 Aug 2010

Discovery on stem cell can create new opportunity in organ regeneration field

Taking one type of cell and transforming it into another type is now possible. Cells taken from the thymus have been transformed into skin cells,a discovery that may have important ramifications for the field of organ regeneration.

19 Aug 2010

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides before birth can increase susceptibility to attention disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to new research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). The new study is part of a growing body of research indicating that exposure to OP pesticides can adversely affect brain development.

19 Aug 2010

MD Anderson Cancer Center receives $20 million to advance research on targeted therapies

Dallas businessman and philanthropist H. Ross Perot has donated $20 million to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for research to advance and design novel targeted therapies.

19 Aug 2010

U-M research results show potential for discovering new avenues for anti-aging drugs

A team of University of Michigan scientists has found that suppressing a newly discovered gene lengthens the lifespan of roundworms. Scientists who study aging have long known that significantly restricting food intake makes animals live longer. But the goal is to find less drastic ways to achieve the same effect in humans someday. The U-M results offer promising early evidence that scientists may succeed at finding targets for drugs that someday could allow people to live longer, healthier lives.

19 Aug 2010

FDA approves CSL Behring's sBLA to extend shelf life of Hizentra from 18 to 24 months

CSL Behring announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to extend the shelf life of Hizentra®, Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human), 20% Liquid, from 18 months to 24 months. Hizentra, the first and only 20 percent subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) approved in the U.S. by the FDA, is also the first and only SCIg in the U.S. that may be stored at room temperature.

19 Aug 2010

MDA awards $14.1 million in new grants to advance treatments and cures for muscle diseases

The Muscular Dystrophy Association, which has invested almost $39 million in 2010 in worldwide research seeking treatments and cures for muscle diseases, today announced that it has awarded $14.1 million in new grants.

18 Aug 2010

Brain trauma in sports associated with motor neuron disease, researchers find

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that they have provided the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, a neurological condition that affects voluntary muscle movements.

18 Aug 2010

Specific brain abnormalities linked to motor neuron disease in athletes with head trauma

Professional athletes with repetitive head trauma and possibly others with a history of head injuries many years previously may be prone the development of a motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or "Lou Gehrig's disease"), reports a study in the September Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, official journal of the American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc.

18 Aug 2010

Genome-wide study identifies key genetic variant associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who carry an allele of the PNPLA3 gene have an increased risk of developing advanced disease, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. A second study supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) validates these findings and further concludes that in pediatric patients, the same allele is associated with earlier disease presentation.

18 Aug 2010

Advanced Cell Technology to obtain patent for cellular reprogramming, generation of iPS cells

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced today that it is positioned to obtain significant patents relating to cellular reprogramming and the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. iPS cells are similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells, except they are generated from adult cells such as skin using certain reprogramming factors, without the controversial use of embryos. Although human iPS cells were first produced in 2007, ACT has been working on inducing pluripotency, with positive results, for more than a decade. The Company's efforts go back to the 1990s, providing (through existing patent filings and continuations) some of the earliest priority dates in the field.

18 Aug 2010

UK scientists receive Royal Society awards for cancer research

Two Cancer Research UK scientists were recently awarded prestigious Royal Society Awards, while a number of Cancer Research UK scientists were elected fellows of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences.Dr Tomas Lindahl is the recipient of the Royal Society Copley Medal, the world's oldest prize for scientific achievement, and Professor Stephen West is awarded this year's GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Lecture.

18 Aug 2010

Cryo-Cell International collaborates with MNSH to identify potential therapy for autoimmune diseases

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation, today announced a research and development collaboration agreement with Monash University in Australia. The partnership will allow scientists from the University's Centre of Inflammatory Diseases to conduct pre-clinical studies using Cryo-Cell's proprietary C'elle menstrual stem cell technology (MenScs) to identify potential future therapies to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

18 Aug 2010

Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer,' report finds

The Associated Press: "Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer' as well as its likely leading cause of death, the American Cancer Society contends in a new report it will present at a global cancer conference in China this week. Cancer costs more in productivity and lost life than AIDS, malaria, the flu and other diseases that spread person-to-person, the report concludes.

18 Aug 2010

Genetic News and Research

Protection from unrealistic claims of Direct to consumer genetic tests needed

UT Southwestern pediatric urologist pioneers surgical procedure for girls with rare vaginal defects

Celera Corporation releases review article on KIF6 gene variant for CHD

Research reveals possibility to convert one stem type to another without genetic modification

Discovery on stem cell can create new opportunity in organ regeneration field

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

MD Anderson Cancer Center receives $20 million to advance research on targeted therapies

U-M research results show potential for discovering new avenues for anti-aging drugs

FDA approves CSL Behring's sBLA to extend shelf life of Hizentra from 18 to 24 months

MDA awards $14.1 million in new grants to advance treatments and cures for muscle diseases

Brain trauma in sports associated with motor neuron disease, researchers find

Specific brain abnormalities linked to motor neuron disease in athletes with head trauma

Genome-wide study identifies key genetic variant associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Advanced Cell Technology to obtain patent for cellular reprogramming, generation of iPS cells

UK scientists receive Royal Society awards for cancer research

Cryo-Cell International collaborates with MNSH to identify potential therapy for autoimmune diseases

Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer,' report finds

Research confirms genetic link to advanced fatty liver disease

Gene variations likely to have important effects on gene function: Study

Xenon Pharmaceuticals commences phase 2 clinical trial of XEN402 therapy for PHN

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News