Genetic News and Research

RSS

Medulloblastoma in children - two studies find clues to treatment

Medulloblastoma is one of the most common and most malignant brain tumours among children and teenagers. These tumours grow very rapidly, and fifty percent of patients in the long term die from the condition. The details of the processes that lead to the growth of these tumours have remained unknown until now.

12 Aug 2008

MicroRNAs help control blood-vessel development

The development and repair of heart tissue and blood vessels is intimately tied to a tiny piece of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that is found nowhere else in the body, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

12 Aug 2008

Researchers identify molecular mechanism underlying a genetic brain malformation called holoprosencephaly

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified one of the molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic brain malformation called holoprosencephaly (HPE).

11 Aug 2008

Newly discovered molecular switch creates new path to study birth defects and cancer

Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans.

11 Aug 2008

Designer RNA fights high cholesterol, medical researchers find

Small, specially designed bits of ribonucleic acid (RNA) can interfere with cholesterol metabolism, reducing harmful cholesterol by two-thirds in pre-clinical tests, according to a new study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

11 Aug 2008

Hypertension on Wheels program will focus on African Americans who have a greater risk for high blood pressure

The Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control (COSEHC), which is headquartered at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, has received a $55,000 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to provide a mobile cardiovascular disease prevention program, Hypertension on Wheels, to Forsyth County residents.

11 Aug 2008

Scientists stop age-related decline in an entire organ

As people age, their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein - resulting in a buildup of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

10 Aug 2008

COMT gene variation affects fear processing, anxiety

Inborn differences may help explain why trauma gives some people bad memories and others the nightmare of post-traumatic stress. Scientists in Germany and the United States have reported evidence linking genes to anxious behavior. The findings appear in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association.

10 Aug 2008

First cigarette "buzz", addiction linked to gene

Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or "buzz."

10 Aug 2008

Nanowires from DNA

For millions of years nature has been optimizing DNA - in all living creatures this biomolecule is responsible for storing genetic information.

10 Aug 2008

Discovery of obesity genes

A study of 228 women has revealed genetic variants responsible for body shape. Based on work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, research published in the open access journal BMC Genetics identifies natural variation in the human LAMA5 gene as a key determinant of weight.

10 Aug 2008

BioNanomatrix awarded NIH grant for nanoscale platform for single-molecule DNA mapping

BioNanomatrix, Inc. has announced receipt of a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Under the direction of BioNanomatrix principal investigator Dr. Ming Xiao, the two-year $399,020 project will develop a nanoscale platform for single-molecule haplotyping imaging and analysis of long strands of DNA at ultra-high resolution in a massively parallel format.

6 Aug 2008

Genetic biomarker linked to subcutaneous growth hormone dose-response

The interindividual variability of response to subcutaneously applied protein-based drugs remains poorly understood. However, defining genetic markers that can be associated with biological effects of such drugs may improve the understanding of individual variability of response and even drug resistance.

6 Aug 2008

Recipe for cell reprogramming adds protein

A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers.

6 Aug 2008

Oestrogen - a beneficial addition to treatment of schizophrenia in women

Australian scientists have found that women suffering from schizophrenia were less likely to suffer hallucinations or delusions, when the hormone oestrogen was added to their treatment.

4 Aug 2008

Testosterone and body fat are controlled by the same genes

Genes that control percentage of body fat are also responsible for circulating levels of testosterone in men, research published in the latest edition of Clinical Endocrinology shows. The research shows a 23% overlap between the genes that control testosterone and those that regulate body fat composition, suggesting that these two variables are partly controlled by the same set of genes.

4 Aug 2008

Genetic discovery may lead to new blood test for people at high risk for cancer

Research funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society may lead to a genetic screening test that could help families who are at high risk for cancer.

4 Aug 2008

Scientists discover link between DNA copy number changes and cancer risk

Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have discovered a link between a newly discovered form of inherited genetic alteration, termed DNA copy number variation (CNV), and cancer susceptibility.

4 Aug 2008

First NY to LA living-donor transplant chain results in three lifesaving kidney transplants at UCLA

The lives of three Los Angeles-area kidney transplant patients were transformed by one of the West Coast's first three-way living donor kidney transplant chains, made possible through the generosity of a non-directed, altruistic kidney donor from New York City -- announced today at a joint news conference.

4 Aug 2008

Anti-reflux surgery - research may lead to changes in treatment recommendations

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found that the reflux and swallowing problems that are common symptoms in patients with Rett syndrome and other neurological impairments, may be caused by a different mechanism than they are in healthy individuals. The finding leaves researchers to wonder if these patients truly benefit from anti-reflux surgery commonly performed in these children.

4 Aug 2008