Genetic News and Research

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Exercise enhancing pill in the pipeline

A pill which could help people exercise for longer is in the pipeline but is sure to cause controversy as it can apparently deliver some of the benefits of exercise, even for those who do not move a muscle.

4 Aug 2008

Suspect in U.S. anthrax case commits suicide

Authorities in the United States say a suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings case has committed suicide.

3 Aug 2008

Immunotherapy shows promise in high-risk pediatric sarcomas

Based on a pilot study in children with sarcoma, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) believe that immunotherapy could prove beneficial in treating high-risk forms of this cancer.

3 Aug 2008

Genetic defect in skin cells leads to neurodermatitis, hay fever and asthma

New knowledge points to the fact that a genetically induced lack of filaggrin, a key protein of the skin barrier, plays a decisive role in the origin of allergies.

3 Aug 2008

Inherited form of hearing loss stems from gene mutation

Pat Phalin learned she had hearing loss at 30, when she volunteered to give hearing tests at her local school. The pupils heard sounds she could not hear.

31 Jul 2008

Experimental drug turns lab mice into long-distance runners

Trying to reap the health benefits of exercise? Forget treadmills and spin classes, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may have found a way around the sweat and pain. They identified two signaling pathways that are activated in response to exercise and converge to dramatically increase endurance.

31 Jul 2008

Monkey virus found in people living and working with monkeys

A research team led by University of Washington scientists has found that several people in South and Southeast Asian countries working and living around monkeys have been infected with simian foamy virus (SFV), a primate virus that, to date, has not been shown to cause human disease.

31 Jul 2008

FDA clears test that determines what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a test that can help health care professionals determine what type of cancer cells are present in a malignant tumor.

31 Jul 2008

Binge drinking in pregnancy increases risk of oral clefts in offspring

A new study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that pregnant women who binge drink early in their pregnancy increase the likelihood that their babies will be born with oral clefts.

31 Jul 2008

Warfarin may prevent liver failure in hepatitis C

The drug warfarin may help prevent liver failure in thousands of people with Hepatitis C, according to new research.

31 Jul 2008

An unsuspected weakness in tuberculosis - potential drug target

With antibiotic resistance on the rise, tuberculosis is emerging as a bigger global health threat than ever before.

31 Jul 2008

Unusual chromosomal changes increase the risk of schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia have an increased number of unusual chromosomal changes, particularly structural changes that have the potential to alter the function of the genes. These results were published today in the scientific journal Nature.

31 Jul 2008

Genetic clues to schizophrenia uncovered

New research has found genetic flaws which scientists say are about 15 percent more frequent in people with schizophrenia.

30 Jul 2008

FDA extends warning on Serrano peppers from Mexico

Laboratory testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that both a sample of serrano pepper and a sample of irrigation water collected by agency investigators on a farm in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, contain Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint as the strain of bacteria that is causing the current outbreak in the United States.

30 Jul 2008

DNA Heritage overcomes patent claims

DNA Heritage has recently overcome patent claims held by a competitor which would have severely restricted the use of DNA testing and databases that allow families around the world to match and connect up through their DNA.

30 Jul 2008

New understanding of exaggerated mucous production and secretion in cystic fibrosis

A London, Canada scientist studying cystic fibrosis (CF) has successfully corrected the defect which causes the overproduction of intestinal mucous in mice.

29 Jul 2008

Twenty percent of British adult survivors of childhood cancer smoke despite hazards

Twenty percent of British adult survivors of childhood cancers are current smokers, and nearly a third have been regular smokers at some point in their lives, according to a study in the July 29 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

29 Jul 2008

Healthy children of Alzheimer's patients show early brain changes

Medical College of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee have reported that children of Alzheimer's patients who are carriers of a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease have neurological changes that are detectable long before clinical symptoms may appear.

29 Jul 2008

Premature babies at risk of lung problems later on

According to Australian researchers some premature babies may have a higher risk of developing emphysema and other lung problems later on.

29 Jul 2008

Markers in blood and spinal fluid, and a new imaging agent, show promise for early detection of Alzheimer's

With the continued aging of the population and the growing epidemic of Alzheimer's, early detection of the disease is crucial for risk assessment, testing new therapies, and eventual early intervention with better drugs, once they are developed. Four studies reported today at the Alzheimer's Association's 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2008) in Chicago bring us closer to that goal of early detection by describing advances in biomarkers.

29 Jul 2008