Genetic News and Research

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Direct modulation of progesterone signaling appears to influence ovarian cancer risk

A woman's risk of ovarian cancer rises significantly if she carries either of two previously unexamined variations in the gene that codes for the progesterone receptor, according to a team of researchers led by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

5 Jan 2005

Genetics may not be enough to explain the rates of high blood pressure in US African-American populations

The international study gives a different interpretation to the previous US data and suggests that high rates of hypertension might have more to do with lifestyle and socio-economic background than with racial origin.

5 Jan 2005

Genaissance patent for novel methods to correlate genetics with drug safety and efficacy

Genaissance Pharmaceuticals received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent claiming methods for identifying correlations between the safety and efficacy of drugs and patients' unique genetic signatures.

4 Jan 2005

Genomics tools provide clues to what causes 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease each year

In a study that could benefit medical and food-safety research, scientists have used comparative genomics tools to find clues about why some strains of the bacterium Campylobacter – which each year cause more than 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease – are more virulent than others.

4 Jan 2005

£2.5 million to support further research into gene therapy for cystic fibrosis

The funding commitment was made in the Genetics White Paper, 'Our Inheritance, Our Future: Realising the potential of genetics in the NHS' and will help to ensure that those with cystic fibrosis benefit as soon as possible from the latest advances in genetic knowledge and technologies.

4 Jan 2005

Conduct disorder and alcoholism in teens

While teenagers who drink also tend to have behavior problems, there is more of a genetic basis to their conduct than there is to the lure of alcohol, a new study on 14-year-old Finnish twins reports.

30 Dec 2004

Scientists have identified genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer

Dr. Andrzej Dlugosz and colleagues at the University of Michigan and the National Cancer Institute have examined the functions of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of cancer, and have uncovered a subset of tumor cells that are resistant to inhibition of the Hh pathway.

28 Dec 2004

Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids

A new Mayo Clinic study has for the first time established rates of restless legs syndrome in children, finding that almost 6 percent of children seen in Mayo's sleep clinic have the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Evolution has been working very hard to produce us humans

The genes that regulate brain development and function evolved much more rapidly in humans than in nonhuman primates and other mammals because of natural selection processes unique to the human lineage. Researchers reported their findings in the cover article of the Dec. 29, 2004, issue of the journal Cell.

28 Dec 2004

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

An Oregon Health & Science University-led development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome.

28 Dec 2004

Does cancer run in families?

If you have a relative with cancer, probably one of the most pressing questions is what your chances are of getting it yourself. In a paper published in PloS Medicine, the premier medical journal freely available online, Laufey Amundadottir and colleagues from deCODE genetics (a company that is using genetics to develop new drug treatments) and Iceland’s National-University Hospital go some way toward answering that question.

28 Dec 2004

FDA go ahead for first of kind genetic lab test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of the first laboratory test system that will allow physicians to consider unique genetic information from patients in selecting medications and doses of medications for a wide variety of common conditions such as cardiac disease, psychiatric disease, and cancer.

27 Dec 2004

Course of injections in childhood might help protect people from heart disease later in life

A course of injections in childhood might help protect people from heart disease later in life. And for those whose arteries are already clogged up, a dose of antibodies could provide immediate benefits. That's the enticing vision raised by animal studies.

26 Dec 2004

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found a fundamental mechanism used by embryonic stem cells to assure that genetically damaged stem cells do not divide and pass along the damage to daughter stem cells.

26 Dec 2004

Seafood research will bring healthier lifestyle

The biggest research project ever sponsored by the EU in the seafood sector will help to meet the consumer demand for more healthy products.

23 Dec 2004

Researchers can now inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip

Devices the size of a pager now have greater capabilities than computers that once occupied an entire room. Similar advances are being made in the emerging field of synthetic biology at the University of Houston, now allowing researchers to inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip.

23 Dec 2004

Fluorescent colors used to separate cells visually

The latest holiday gifts being offered to the scientific community this season by scientists in the laboratory of Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roger Y. Tsien come in a dazzling variety of hues -- cherry, strawberry, tangerine, tomato, orange, banana and honeydew. The color spectrum would make Pantone proud.

22 Dec 2004

Relatives of lung cancer patients up to 3.5 times greater risk of developing lung cancer

First-degree relatives of lung cancer patients have a 2 to 3.5 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than the general population, and tobacco smoke plays a major role, even among those with a genetic predisposition, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA.

22 Dec 2004

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has found the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immune system's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a million different proteins might have originated from a family of genes whose only apparent function is to jump around in genetic material.

22 Dec 2004

Turning off cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage

Researchers knew that prions, the misfolded proteins that cause mad cow disease and other brain disorders, were killing off a class of important brain cells in a transgenic mouse model. But when they found a way to rescue those cells, they were astonished to discover the mice still became sick.

21 Dec 2004

Genetic News and Research

Direct modulation of progesterone signaling appears to influence ovarian cancer risk

Genetics may not be enough to explain the rates of high blood pressure in US African-American populations

Genaissance patent for novel methods to correlate genetics with drug safety and efficacy

Genomics tools provide clues to what causes 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease each year

£2.5 million to support further research into gene therapy for cystic fibrosis

Conduct disorder and alcoholism in teens

Scientists have identified genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer

Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids

Evolution has been working very hard to produce us humans

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

Does cancer run in families?

FDA go ahead for first of kind genetic lab test

Course of injections in childhood might help protect people from heart disease later in life

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Seafood research will bring healthier lifestyle

Researchers can now inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip

Fluorescent colors used to separate cells visually

Relatives of lung cancer patients up to 3.5 times greater risk of developing lung cancer

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

Turning off cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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