Allele News and Research

RSS

Study explores factors, patterns that predict use of restrictive feeding for children

In the preschool years, children begin to learn from their environment about self-regulation--both in regards to food choices and how to deal with their emotions.

16 Jun 2017

Dietary practices get reflected in the genes of Europeans, study reveals

A recently published Cornell University study describes how shifts in the diets of Europeans after the introduction of farming 10,000 years ago led to genetic adaptations that favored the dietary trends of the time.

13 Jun 2017

LMU researchers show how genetic variant in people of African ancestry modulates immune cells

A genetic variant that is particularly prevalent in people of African ancestry confers protection against malaria. LMU researchers have now shown how it modulates the properties of white blood cells that play a major role in immune defenses and inflammation.

1 Jun 2017

OGT makes several advances in hybridization-based targeted sequencing

Oxford Gene Technology, The Molecular Genetics Company, has made several advances in hybridisation-based target enrichment protocols that now enable researchers to prepare samples for sequencing in just one day.

26 May 2017

Gene mutation may accelerate loss of memory and thinking skills in people with Alzheimer's risk

A gene mutation may accelerate the loss of memory and thinking skills in people who are at risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the May 3, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The gene mutation is called the BDNF Val66Met allele, or just the Met allele.

4 May 2017

Obesity amplifies effects of three risk alleles linked to NAFLD

An international study based at UT Southwestern Medical Center revealed a striking genetic-environmental interaction: Obesity significantly amplifies the effects of three gene variants that increase risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by different metabolic pathways.

26 Apr 2017

Transgenic fruit flies can shed light on genetic mutations that underlie kidney disease in humans

An off-the-shelf dietary supplement available for pennies per dose demonstrated the ability to reverse cellular damage linked to specific genetic mutations in transgenic fruit flies, an experimental model of genetic mutation-induced renal cell injury that features striking similarities to humans, a Children's National Health System research team reports April 20 in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Apr 2017

Vascular risk factors increase risk of Alzheimer's disease in late-life, study reveals

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that an increasing number of vascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking during midlife contributes to increased brain amyloid levels (protein fragments associated with Alzhemier’s, the most common form of dementia) in later life.

13 Apr 2017

Gene CRY1 variant alters circadian clock contributing to delayed sleep phase disorder, study finds

If all your life, you have been functioning best in the evening and night compared to the mornings, a gene mutation may be a reason.

10 Apr 2017

New research explores how genetic factors may be linked to low cervical cancer rates in Western Asia

New research provides an insight into why cervical cancer is less common in certain regions of the world even though they may have limited screening and fewer or no prevention programs.

10 Apr 2017

Researchers develop novel genetic score to calculate age-specific risk of Alzheimer's disease

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of California San Francisco, has developed a novel genetic score that allows individuals to calculate their age-specific risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), based upon genetic information.

22 Mar 2017

Drosophila models help illuminate molecular mechanisms underlying nephrotic syndrome

The majority of genes associated with nephrotic syndrome (NS) in humans also play pivotal roles in Drosophila renal function, a conservation of function across species that validates transgenic flies as ideal pre-clinical models to improve understanding of human disease, a Children's National Health System research team reports in a recent issue of Human Molecular Genetics.

17 Mar 2017

Evolution of immuno-oncology

Immuno-oncology did not exist four years ago, it's a term coined by Dr. Axel Hoos, Head of the newly defined immuno-oncology department at GSK. He is also Senior Vice President Therapeutic Area (TA) and Head for Oncology R&D. Previously, it was referred to as cancer immunotherapy, but now it is called immuno-oncology (IO).

13 Mar 2017

Researchers issue first predictive risk model of colon, rectal cancer based on data from Spanish population

Researchers of the Colorectal Cancer research group of Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, led by Dr. Víctor Moreno, and linked to the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the Epidemiology and Public Health CIBER, have issued the first predictive risk model of colon and rectal cancer based on Spanish data that combines genetic and lifestyle information.

7 Mar 2017

UC San Diego researchers receive new grant to advance malaria research

An international research team, led by principal investigator Elizabeth A. Winzeler, PhD, professor in the pediatric division of host-microbe systems and therapeutics at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have received a three-year, $4.7 million supplemental grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance their development of improved therapies for malaria eradication and elimination.

17 Feb 2017

UNIGE researchers develop new technique to improve diagnosis of genetic diseases

When a child is conceived, he or she receives DNA from both parents. The child's own genome thus consists of a maternal and a paternal genome. However, some genes — about 100 out of the 20,000 encoded genes— are exclusively expressed either from the maternal or from the paternal genome, with the other copy of the gene remaining silent.

16 Feb 2017

'Dementia gene' may offer protection against cognitive decline linked to parasitic diseases

New research published online in The FASEB Journal, suggests that carriers of the Apolipoprotein E4 allele, which is the single strongest genetic predictor of Alzheimer's disease and is associated with cognitive decline and cardiovascular disease, may have a reduced risk of cognitive decline associated with parasitic diseases.

11 Jan 2017

Study examines how ApoE gene may function differently in infectious environment

You've likely heard about being in the right place at the wrong time, but what about having the right genes in the wrong environment? In other words, could a genetic mutation (or allele) that puts populations at risk for illnesses in one environmental setting manifest itself in positive ways in a different setting?

30 Dec 2016

TSRI scientists develop new methods to design precision medicines against disease-causing RNAs

Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have developed broad methods to design precision medicines against currently incurable diseases caused by RNA.

20 Dec 2016

Presence of tumor DNA in blood linked to poor outcomes in pancreatic cancer patients

The presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) isolated from blood samples of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma was associated with poor outcomes.

19 Dec 2016