Genetic News and Research

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Discovery of 'master regulator' gene for skin development

Researchers at Oregon State University have found one gene in the human body that appears to be a master regulator for skin development, in research that could help address everything from skin diseases such as eczema or psoriasis to the wrinkling of skin as people age.

24 Mar 2009

Researchers identify genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have identified the genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton, a powerful antibiotic produced by certain bacteria.

23 Mar 2009

Rewrite of the recipe for life - new type of DNA

In a dramatic rewrite of the recipe for life, scientists from Florida today described the design of a new type of DNA with 12 chemical letters instead of the usual four.

23 Mar 2009

Scientists make a new protein from scratch

No doubt proteins are complex. Most are "large" and full of interdependent branches, pockets and bends in their final folded structure.

23 Mar 2009

Environmental cardiology - the relationship between air pollution and heart disease

We are used to thinking of heart disease as a product of genetic factors or lifestyle choices, such as what we eat and how much we exercise.

23 Mar 2009

Family history linked to increased risk of venous thrombosis

Children and siblings of those with venous thrombosis, or blood clots in the veins, appear to have more than double the risk of developing the condition than those without a family history, according to a report in the March 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Mar 2009

Common gene variations found to influence risk factor for sudden cardiac death

A new study has identified several common genetic variants related to a risk factor for sudden cardiac death.

23 Mar 2009

Tiny genetic change keeps nicotine from binding to muscle cells

A tiny genetic mutation is the key to understanding why nicotine--which binds to brain receptors with such addictive potency--is virtually powerless in muscle cells that are studded with the same type of receptor.

23 Mar 2009

U.S., South African scientists launch $60 million HIV/TB research initiative

Scientists from the U.S. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and South Africa's University of KwaZulu Natal on Wednesday announced the launch of a $60 million, 10-year initiative to establish a new research facility to examine the associations between HIV and tuberculosis, the Boston Globe reports.

23 Mar 2009

Alcohol flush signals increased cancer risk among east Asians

Many people of East Asian descent possess an enzyme deficiency that causes their skin to redden, or flush, when they drink alcohol.

23 Mar 2009

Discovery of ten genes linked to sudden cardiac death

You're sitting at your desk and suddenly your heart is beating in overdrive or worse, lurching along like a car on fumes.

22 Mar 2009

3 genes determine right warfarin dose

Researchers at Uppsala University, together with colleagues at the Karolinska Institute and the Sanger Institute, have now found all the genes the determine the dosage of the blood-thinning drug warfarin.

22 Mar 2009

Discovery of genetic link to blood cancers

The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has shown that susceptibility to a series of blood cancers, known as myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), is linked to a particular area of the patient's DNA, which is prone to developing mutations.

22 Mar 2009

Scientists discover 10 genes associated with a risk factor for sudden cardiac death

One minute, he's a strapping 40-year-old with an enviable cholesterol level, working out on his treadmill.

22 Mar 2009

Gulf War veterans display abnormal brain response to specific chemicals

A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers is the first to pinpoint damage inside the brains of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome - a finding that links the illness to chemical exposures and may lead to diagnostic tests and treatments.

22 Mar 2009

Abnormal EKG can predict death in stroke patients

People who suffer an ischemic stroke and also have an abnormality in the heart's electrical cycle are at a higher risk of death within 90 days than people who do not have abnormal electrical activity at the time of emergency treatment, according to new research.

22 Mar 2009

Symposium to look at genetic basis of exercise

'Adaptation to exercise' is a familiar phenomenon, even if the phrase is not: A sedentary person takes up jogging and can barely make it around the block.

20 Mar 2009

Schizophrenia gene found to control the birth of new neurons

A gene that is arguably the most studied "schizophrenia gene" plays an unanticipated role in the brain: It controls the birth of new neurons in addition to their integration into existing brain circuitry, according to a report in the March 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

20 Mar 2009

Discovery of genetic markers for aggressive head and neck cancer

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified genetic markers that signal poor outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer.

20 Mar 2009

Blocked enzyme reverses schizophrenia-like symptoms

Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have found that inhibiting a key brain enzyme in mice reversed schizophrenia-like symptoms.

20 Mar 2009