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UMass Medical School students win 2014 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Colin Conine and Emma Watson, PhD students in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, received the 2014 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award for research into the mechanisms governing epigenetic inheritance and the complex interactions between diet, gene expression and physiology.

26 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Predictions of rising premiums in 2015; anniversary of health law

No one challenges reality like Kathleen Sebelius, who assured the world on Sept. 30, 2013 that the Affordable Care Act website would be open for business the next day. "We're very excited about tomorrow," Sebelius said. "Shutdown or no shutdown, we're ready to go."

24 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Study provides better understanding of why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs

A new study from the University of Southampton has provided scientists with a better understanding of why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs.

19 Mar 2014

Treating cystic fibrosis: an interview with Simon Bedson, Senior Vice President and International General Manager at Vertex

Cystic fibrosis is a rare, life-shortening genetic disease for which there is no cure. It affects more than 75,000 people worldwide. In CF, thick, sticky mucus blocks the passages in many organs, leading to a variety of symptoms. In particular, mucus builds up and clogs airways in the lungs making it easier for bacteria to grow.

5 Mar 2014

Babies who develop leukemia appear to inherit strong genetic predisposition to disease

Babies who develop leukemia during the first year of life appear to inherit an unfortunate combination of genetic variations that can make the infants highly susceptible to the disease, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Minnesota.

20 Feb 2014

Researchers find 'missing' genetic risk in cancer

A new study could help to answer an important riddle in our understanding of genetics: why research to look for the genetic causes of common diseases has failed to explain more than a fraction of the heritable risk of developing them.

14 Feb 2014

Common mutations produce typical schizophrenia brain changes

Mutations in dopamine-related genes have a dose-response effect on prefrontal activation during emotional response inhibition in healthy adults, a study shows.

13 Feb 2014

Study shows benefit of double mastectomy in women with BRCA-related breast cancer

Women with BRCA-related breast cancer who have a double mastectomy are nearly 50 per cent less likely to die of breast cancer within 20 years of diagnosis compared to women who have a single mastectomy, according to a new study led by Women's College Hospital's Kelly Metcalfe.

12 Feb 2014

Addressing antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Otto Cars, Uppsala University, Sweden

Antibiotic resistance is a consequence of antibiotic use. Bacteria adapt to the threat of antibiotics using mechanisms to overcome the drug. These bacteria, which we call resistant bacteria, then survive.

3 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function, blood formation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function and blood formation. The finding has potential as a new target for treating leukemia because cancer stem cells rely upon the same protein to regulate and sustain their growth.

3 Feb 2014

FARA funds gene therapy-based research project to tackle Friedreich's ataxia

The gene therapy-based research project to tackle Friedreich's ataxia launched in November in labs at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, in Barcelona, and the "Centro de Biolog-a Molecular Severo Ochoa", in Madrid, has received 100,000 US$ per year for two years from the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance.

29 Jan 2014

Researcher receives 2014 Japan Prize in Life Sciences for extraordinary work in the field of epigenetics

C. David Allis, a pioneer in the field of epigenetics whose discovery that chemical modifications of DNA-packaging proteins play a key role in regulating the activity of individual genes, will be awarded the 2014 Japan Prize in Life Sciences. The announcement, by the Japan Prize Foundation, was made at a press conference in Tokyo this morning.

29 Jan 2014

Clues of "silent thief of sight”: Glaucoma

Glaucoma is sometimes called the "silent thief of sight" because it slowly damages the eyes and can cause irreparable harm before there is any vision loss. But this disease is stealthy in more ways than one.

22 Jan 2014

Study shows wide-ranging variation in patterns of X chromosome inactivation in female mice

Producing brightly speckled red and green snapshots of many different tissues, Johns Hopkins researchers have color-coded cells in female mice to display which of their two X chromosomes has been made inactive, or “silenced.”

10 Jan 2014

Uneven distribution of cellular organelles during cell division may enhance bacterial population's survival

Although a population of bacteria may be genetically identical, individual bacteria within that population can act in radically different ways.

3 Jan 2014

Research: Smoking alters several genes

The fact that smoking means a considerable health risk is nowadays commonly accepted. New research findings from Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center show that smoking alters several genes that can be associated with health problems for smokers, such as increased risk for cancer and diabetes

17 Dec 2013

IDIBELL researchers explain the regulator mechanisms of mitosis

Researchers at the Cell Cycle Research Group of the Bellvitge Institute of Biomedical Research (IDIBELL) led by Ethel Queralt have reported in the journal PLoS Genetics an article which delve into the regulator mechanisms of mitosis, a key stage of the cell-cycle for the correct transmision of genetic information from parents to sons.

12 Dec 2013

Report: Screen all endometrial cancer patients for Lynch syndrome

A recent article by Norris Cotton Cancer Center researchers published in the January 2014 issue of the journal Clinical Chemistry reviews the scientific evidence that warrants screening all endometrial cancers for Lynch syndrome. Next to colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer is the most common form of cancer in women with Lynch syndrome.