Genetic News and Research

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Programs to address care for children born with SCD during adulthood

Forty years ago, children born with sickle cell disease (SCD) were not expected to live past their teenage years. Today, medical advances are allowing children to live well into adulthood, raising concerns over who is going to care for these patients as adults. However, programs are underway to address these concerns, as reported in the March/April edition of Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, published by the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON).

24 Apr 2010

Current concepts and recent research findings on gene therapy for inner ear disorders

Gene therapy holds great potential for the treatment not only of genetic disorders, but also of many acquired diseases. This is as true for the inner ear as for any other organ. However, the technical challenges that must be overcome before gene therapy becomes more widely used are remarkable. In the inner ear the size, accessibility, delicacy and the involvement of many different cell types present unique conditions.

24 Apr 2010

Environmental factors may play bigger role in tumor development: BIDMC study

It is an accepted fact that genetics play a key role in a person's susceptibility to cancer, and that throughout life, mutations can cause damage to tumor suppressor genes further increasing the chances of developing cancerous tumors.

24 Apr 2010

Johns Hopkins scientist receives AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research

Joshua T. Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist, is the recipient of the 30th annual American Association for Cancer Research Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research.

24 Apr 2010

Researchers discover and characterize general mechanism controlling transcription elongation in bacteria

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered and characterized a general mechanism that controls transcription elongation in bacteria. The mechanism, described in the April 23 issue of Science, relies on physical cooperation between a moving ribosome and RNA polymerase (RNAP) that allows for a precise adjustment of the transcriptional yield in response to translational needs. The study could lead to the development of new ways to interfere with bacterial gene expression and serve as a new target for antimicrobial therapy.

23 Apr 2010

GIS scientists' zebrafish model may aid drug development for PD

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore, a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, have recently developed a zebrafish model for Parkinson's disease that can be used for understanding the mechanism underlying its development. The knowledge gained will be helpful for future screening of new drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

23 Apr 2010

Crystal structures of key fluorescent proteins to "light up" molecules in cells

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined the crystal structures of two key fluorescent proteins - one blue, one red - used to "light up" molecules in cells.

23 Apr 2010

Researchers take major step to predict adverse drug reactions using genetic information

In a new study, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have taken a major step toward the ability to predict adverse drug reactions, using genetic, cellular, and clinical information to learn why some medicines cause heart arrhythmias in patients. Published in the April 20 issue of the journal Science Signaling, the new framework described in the study could potentially be applied to the study of medications that treat other diseases and disorders such as epilepsy and autism.

23 Apr 2010

New ways for earlier diagnosis of osteoarthritis

Researchers at King's College London's Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, based at St Thomas' Hospital have discovered new ways of measuring biological markers in the blood which could be used to diagnose osteoarthritis earlier.

23 Apr 2010

New multi-faceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs

A multi-faceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs was unveiled today at the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Blending Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. This eighth meeting in the series brings together researchers and clinicians so their latest findings can be immediately applied to the needs of patients and their families dealing with addictive disorders.

23 Apr 2010

Study describes relationship between gene expression and intelligence in WS patients

Although genetics is the most significant known determinant of human intelligence, how specific genes affect intelligence remains largely unknown. A multi-institution team led by a University of Utah USTAR researcher has found that the brain gene STX1A plays a significant role in the level of intelligence displayed by patients with Williams Syndrome.

23 Apr 2010

Better diagnostics in prostate cancer needed

A flurry of confusing research about the benefits of PSA testing has left many men and their physicians reticent to use a test that may be life-saving, says a panel of prostate cancer experts. The experts who gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday agreed that PSA testing, while not cancer-specific, is one of the best available tools for early detection of a cancer that kills 27,000 American men each year.

23 Apr 2010

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals announces new TGEM Rat Model product line

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Lexington, KY, has announced today that it has added 170 genetically modified rats and related biomaterials to its database of laboratory rats with a genetic modification that can mimic a human disease. These animals are used by academic, pharmaceutical, and biotech scientists for drug discovery and development research and will be sold under Transposagen's new TGEM(TM) Rat Models brand.

23 Apr 2010

Researchers to measure children with Down syndrome to develop new growth charts

Parents and doctors have known for a long time that children with Down syndrome tend to grow more slowly and are considerably shorter than most other children. But pediatricians needing to record growth milestones at regular office visits have an outdated set of growth charts based on data collected more than 25 years ago.

23 Apr 2010

Deadly fungus on the move

Researchers revealed this Thursday that a deadly fungus that is usually found only in the tropics is making its way to the Pacific Coast of British Columbia and south into Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

23 Apr 2010

BUSM professor receives Individual Biomedical Research Award

Richard Goldstein, PhD, a professor of pediatrics, division of pediatric infectious diseases, at Boston University School of Medicine, has been awarded an Individual Biomedical Research Award by The Hartwell Foundation and will receive $300,000 over three years as a Hartwell Investigator for his project titled, "A Vaccine Against Streptococcus Pneumoniae Based on Bacterial Surface Proteins Phylogenically Certified as Highly Conserved."

23 Apr 2010

Genetic tests that may replace biopsies

Genetic tests conducted on blood samples may replace the current biopsies when it comes to checking if immune systems are rejecting new organs of heart transplant patients. The test would be far less invasive and uncomfortable as compared to the biopsies, not to mention more affordable.

23 Apr 2010

New gene therapy to restore retinal cone function and day vision

Veterinary ophthalmology researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to restore retinal cone function and day vision in two canine models of congenital achromatopsia, also called rod monochromacy or total color blindness.

22 Apr 2010

Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care receives $2.8M to extend cancer research

The Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care is the recipient of $2.8 million from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to expand cancer research.

22 Apr 2010

IL-10 Gene Therapy helps repair damaged lungs found unfit for transplant

Promising research brings hope for the almost two thousand lung transplant candidates who currently make up The United Network for Organ Sharing's (UNOS) wait list. A new technique that uses gene therapy to help repair damaged lungs previously found unfit for transplant shows promise for addressing the critical shortage of healthy donor organs.

22 Apr 2010