Genetic News and Research

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EMBL-EBI hosts drug discovery database

ChEMBLdb, a vast online database of information on the properties and activities of drugs and drug-like small molecules and their targets, launches today with information on over half a million compounds. The data lie at the heart of translating information from the human genome into successful new drugs in the clinic.

19 Jan 2010

Scientists launch NEWMEDS project to develop drugs for schizophrenia and depression

An international consortium of scientists, led by H. Lundbeck A/S and King's College London, has launched one of the largest ever research academic-industry collaboration projects to find new methods for the development of drugs for schizophrenia and depression.

19 Jan 2010

Incidence of diabetes more prevalent among First Nations women

A diabetes epidemic is affecting First Nations people, especially women in their prime reproductive years, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090846.pdf.

19 Jan 2010

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A deadly disease that often goes undetected

The tragic news of Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams, 26, and Southern Indiana center Jeron Lewis, 21, whose sudden deaths are both suspected to be from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), are vital reminders that this deadly disease often goes undetected.

19 Jan 2010

Babraham Institute research may lead to new means of making purified T cells

Research from the Babraham Institute, reported today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, provides new insights into how our immune system produces T cells, a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the body's immune surveillance system for fighting infection. The findings pave the way for a new means of making purified T cells, which gets over one of many hurdles faced in the use of T cells in regenerative medicine and transplantations, and in addition will open up new avenues of research and applications in drug and toxicity testing in industry.

18 Jan 2010

Health care reform: Opportunities and challenges in palliative care

Opinion leaders in the field of palliative medicine explored the unparalleled opportunities that now exist for the palliative care community, which matches treatment to the desires of informed patients and their families, to help define evolving health care reform policy. The thought-provoking Roundtable discussion, "Palliative Medicine: Politics and Policy," is published online ahead of print in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

18 Jan 2010

Hands on course on derivation and culture of pluripotent stem cells

ESHRE invites you to attend its workshop on 'Update on pluripotent stem cells (hESC and iPS)' followed by a hands on course on 'Derivation and culture of pluripotent stem cells'.

18 Jan 2010

Research may pave for further studies on various human skin disorders

The leopard cannot change its spots, nor can the tiger change its stripes, but a new research report published in the January 2009 issue of the journal GENETICS tells us something about how cats end up with their spots and stripes

18 Jan 2010

Study reveals link between serotonin receptor number and antidepressant treatment

An excess of one type of serotonin receptor in the center of the brain may explain why antidepressants fail to relieve symptoms of depression for 50 percent of patients, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center shows.

18 Jan 2010

Breast cancer and ovarian cancer tests not appropriate for all women, say experts

A genetic mutation can significantly increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. But does that mean everyone should be tested?

18 Jan 2010

Unveiling of soybean genome could help boost crop yields in future

"Scientists on Wednesday unveiled the genome of the soybean, saying it was an achievement that should deepen understanding of one of the world's most important crops, help to boost yields and defend the plant against pests," Agence France-Presse reports. The study, published in the journal Nature, details the findings of the "[e]ighteen organisations, most of them American, [who] teamed up in a 15-year endeavour that yielded a draft of 85 percent of the soybean's 1.1 billion base pairs, the 'rungs' in the double-helix ladder of DNA," the news service writes

18 Jan 2010

New genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease identified

An international team of doctors and human geneticists has identified a new genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease. The institutions involved in the study were the Institute of Human Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München, the Neurological Clinic of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) and the Mitochondrial Research Group of Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

18 Jan 2010

New discovery likely to have significant influence on cell replacement therapies

MIT neuroscientists have discovered that when it comes to new neurons in the adult brain, the squeakiest wheels get the grease.

18 Jan 2010

New research shows migraine and depression may share common genetic pathways

New research shows that migraine and depression may share a strong genetic component. The research is published in the January 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Jan 2010

MAGIC investigators identify new genetic variants that influence insulin and glucose regulation

An international research consortium has found 13 new genetic variants that influence blood glucose regulation, insulin resistance, and the function of insulin-secreting beta cells in populations of European descent. Five of the newly discovered variants increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.

18 Jan 2010

Link between dystrophin gene and age of cardiac disease onset in BMD patients identified

Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital have identified a link between specific modifications of the dystrophin gene and the age of cardiac disease onset in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). This information could help clinicians provide early cardiac intervention for BMD patients based on genetic testing results performed on a blood sample. These findings are a result of analysis of the largest number of BMD patients to date and are published in the December issue of the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics.

18 Jan 2010

Portugal life scientist awarded ERC's Advanced Investigator Grant

Zachary Mainen, coordinator of the Champalimaud Foundation Neuroscience Programme at the IGC, has become one of the most recent winners of the prestigious and highly competitive European Research Council grants, to the value of 2.3 million euro, for a period of five years. This grant, which recognises Mainen's contribution to the Neuroscience field, will be used to elucidate the biological role of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

18 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new gene variants associated With glucose, insulin levels

A major international study with leadership from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified 10 new gene variants associated with blood sugar or insulin levels. Two of these novel variants and three that earlier studies associated with glucose levels were also found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Along with a related study from members of the same research consortium, associating additional genetic variants with the metabolic response to a sugary meal, the report will appear in Nature Genetics and has been released online.

18 Jan 2010

Joubert Syndrome - an inherited neurological disease found among Ashkenazi Jews

Two scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) are part of an international team that has discovered a genetic mutation that causes Joubert Syndrome. JBTS, as it is commonly called, is a devastating inherited neurological disease that is very rare in the general population but found relatively more often among Ashkenazi Jews.

18 Jan 2010

HHMI: Distinct cancer-causing mutations in neighboring cells can cooperate to produce tumors

According to modern biology textbooks, a single genetic mutation is rarely enough to cause cancer. It is generally thought that cells must accumulate a series of mutations that work together to trigger tumor development.

18 Jan 2010