Genetic News and Research

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Australian scientists use gene technology to improve IVF treatment

Research by a team of Australian scientists promises to improve the fertility treatment in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

15 May 2008

Sildenafil could become a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A new study appears to have found another use for the drug Viagra other than for treating problems such as erectile dysfunction.

15 May 2008

Scientists unravel how smoking causes cancer

Scientists have for the first time pinpointed a protein that explains how smoking can directly lead to genetic changes that cause cancer - research published in the British Journal of Cancer reveals.

15 May 2008

Drug therapy for phenylketonuria reverses heart damage

A pricy drug used to treat a rare but well-known genetic disorder may hold wider promise as a treatment for millions of Americans with potentially lethal enlarged hearts, due mainly to high blood pressure, a study from Johns Hopkins shows.

13 May 2008

A possible cure for pre-eclampsia

A condition which affects one in every ten pregnancies and is responsible for 1,000 baby deaths in Britain each year may have a genetic cause.

13 May 2008

Study shows how T cell's machinery dials down autoimmunity

A St. Jude Children's Research Hospital study shows that T cells, the body's master immune regulators, do not use simple on/off switches to govern the cellular machinery that regulates their development and function. Rather, they possess sophisticated molecular controls that enable them to adjust their function with exquisite precision. Such subtle adjustment enables T cells to modulate their development and function, including avoiding autoimmunity

12 May 2008

Researchers find link between altered dopamine activity and social anxiety disorder

Using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in The Netherlands were able to detect biochemical differences in the brains of individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), providing evidence of a long-suspected biological cause for the dysfunction.

12 May 2008

How embryonic stem cells develop into tissue-specific cells demonstrated by researchers

While it has long been known that embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into any kind of tissue-specific cells, the exact mechanism as to how this occurs has heretofore not been demonstrated.

12 May 2008

Discovery of gene mutation which causes epilepsy and mental retardation - but only in women

An Australian and British research team have discovered a gene mutation that causes epilepsy and mental retardation but only in women.

12 May 2008

Model shows how mutation tips biochemistry to cause Alzheimer's

Your fate can be determined by tiny events. Imagine you live in the city and you walk everywhere to get exercise - you are healthy and not afraid of getting mugged. You almost never eat breakfast so you don't stop at the donut shop on the way to work, until one day the manager replaces the girl at the counter with her pretty red-haired younger sister. This seemingly unimportant change in your world is just enough to overcome your ability to resist high-fat temptation. A million donuts later, your cholesterol level surges and then your heart gives out. Curse you, little red-haired girl!

12 May 2008

Human aging gene found in flies

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have found a fast and effective way to investigate important aspects of human ageing.

11 May 2008

Discovery of ten new genes related to human growth

Scientists are beginning to unravel the question why people distinctly vary in size. In cooperation with scientists of the HelmholtzZentrum Munchen, an international genome-wide study has discovered ten new genes that influence body height and thus provides new insights into biological pathways that are important for human growth.

11 May 2008

microRNAs provide more clues to genetics of schizophrenia

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders.

11 May 2008

Researchers step closer to finding ways to treat type 1 diabetes

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis working with diabetic mice have examined in unprecedented detail the immune cells long thought to be responsible for type 1 diabetes.

9 May 2008

Scientist discovers mechanism that 'silences' unmatched genes during cellular reproduction

When most people discover mold on their bread, they immediately throw it out. Others see a world of possibilities in the tiny fungus. A University of Missouri scientist, along with a collaborative research team, has examined a new mechanism in the reproductive cycle of a certain species of mold.

8 May 2008

Big differences in depressed brains

Depressed people may have far fewer of the receptors for some of the brain's "feel good" stress-response chemicals than non-depressed people, new University of Michigan Depression Center research shows.

8 May 2008

New key mechanism in cell division discovered

Scientists at the IFOM-IEO Campus have revealed the function of a protein that is indispensable for passing on an accurate copy of the genome from mother to daughter cells. This study, published in Cell, opens up new avenues of research to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer.

8 May 2008

Research reveals workings of anti-HIV drugs

Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss Army knife in HIV's toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of the virus's fierce attack on host cells. The work is described this week (May 7) in the journal Nature.

8 May 2008

New deadly superbug Steno an ever-increasing threat

Scientists in the Britain say hospitals could be facing an increasing threat from yet another deadly bacterial infection with the potential to rapidly develop a resistance to drugs.

8 May 2008

Scientists discover how reverse transcriptase molecules interact with the HIV genome

Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss army knife in HIV's toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of the virus' fierce attack on host cells. The work is described this week in the journal Nature.

7 May 2008