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Professor Puchta receives ERC's Advanced Researcher Grant

Tomatoes that resist pests and extreme weather while still tasting like tomatoes are among Professor Holger Puchtas long-term research goals. The molecular biologist develops techniques that will allow him to control inheritance in plants to selectively improve the properties of different species through nature's existing gene pool. For his fundamental research, Puchta now is awarded an Advanced Researcher Grant by the European Research Council.

10 Jan 2011

Researchers say women with multiple sclerosis have more HLA genes than men

Women who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have a gene associated with multiple sclerosis than men with the disease and it is this gene region where environment interacts with the genetics, according to a study published in the January 5, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Jan 2011

Study: Multitude of genes are linked to adult height

As much as 90 percent of variation in adult height may be caused by genetic inheritance, but a multitude of genes are involved. Most of these have yet to be discovered.

4 Jan 2011

Low levels of microbe-killing molecules improve survival rate of people with CGD

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present.

30 Dec 2010

BIOMICs oversees SGIker DNA Bank to know genetic heritage of Basque lineage

The BIOMICs Group, based at the Lucio Lascaray building in the álava/Araba campus of the University of the Basque Country, is specially known for overseeing the SGIker DNA Bank, not only undertaking this task, but also feeding data into the gene research bank and making good use of it for their own lines of research.

28 Dec 2010

Paternal diet affects lipid metabolizing genes in offspring

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered evidence that environmental influences experienced by a father can be passed down to the next generation, "reprogramming" how genes function in offspring. A new study published this week in Cell shows that environmental cues-in this case, diet-influence genes in mammals from one generation to the next, evidence that until now has been sparse.

24 Dec 2010

Research highlighting treatment for pediatric SCD, malaria presented at ASH 2010

Red blood cells have the very important role of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; therefore, disorders that affect RBCs can have a significant impact on quality of life. Sickle cell disease and malaria are two common RBC diseases that affect a significant portion of the U.S. and global populations. Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that causes deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Americans, while malaria affects approximately 1,500 Americans annually and 190 to 311 million people worldwide.

6 Dec 2010

Drugs that target DNA in later-stage cancers could be effective in treating breast tumors

Breast cancers that arise sporadically, rather than through inheritance of certain genes, likely start with defects of DNA repair mechanisms that allow environmentally triggered mutations to accumulate, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

30 Nov 2010

Study finds association between DGKK gene and hypospadias

Hypospadias is a common congenital malformation of the male external genitalia, affecting 1 in 375 boys. In hypospadias patients, the urethral opening is not located at the tip of the penis, but somewhere halfway, at the base of the penis, or even in the scrotum.

29 Nov 2010

Scientists establish new biological links between early puberty and obesity

An international group of scientists, including researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC), has discovered 30 genes that control the age at which girls reach sexual maturity. They found that many of the genes responsible for puberty also play a strong role in how the body metabolises fat, establishing new biological links between going through puberty at a young age and being at increased risk of obesity.

23 Nov 2010

NJIT expert to discuss history of sickle cell disease at NIH symposium

The history of sickle cell disease in the 20th century and its link to race is the focus of a Nov. 16, 2010 talk at a national symposium by NJIT Associate Professor Stephen Pemberton, PhD, an expert on the history of diseases. Pemberton will speak and join a panel discussion at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, 100th anniversary symposium commemorating the discovery of sickle cell disease by Chicago physician James B. Herrick.

11 Nov 2010

Genetic constitution can influence changes in tumor growth: Study

The genes we possess not only determine the color of our eyes and hair and how our bodies grow, they might also influence the changes that occur in tumors when we develop cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Grand Challenges Explorations projects receive new grants for tuberculosis research

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it was awarded two $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the next phase of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage bold and unconventional ideas for global health.

10 Nov 2010

deCODE genetics publishes high resolution recombination map of human genome in Nature journal

Scientists from deCODE genetics today publish in Nature the highest resolution recombination map of the human genome yet developed. Recombination is the reshuffling of the genome that occurs in the formation of eggs and sperm: we inherit one version of each chromosome from each of our parents, and create novel blends of the two that we pass on to our offspring.

28 Oct 2010

Researchers develop new method to identify chemical histone modifications

Test system on Drosophila should provide the key to histone function. The genetic inherited material DNA was long viewed as the sole bearer of hereditary information. The function of its packaging proteins, the histones, was believed to be exclusively structural. Additional genetic information can be stored, however, and passed on to subsequent generations through chemical changes in the DNA or histones. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have succeeded in creating an experimental system for testing the function of such chemical histone modifications and their influence on the organism.

12 Oct 2010

Opeds: Editorials weigh in on success -- or not -- of 'Obama's' health reform

Six months after the passage of health care reform, it is easy to forget how far we have come in such a short time. It will take years to make the law's most important changes.

8 Oct 2010

Majority of cancer patients are concerned about treatment costs: MDLinx

Ninety five percent of the nation's oncologists report a rise in their patients' concerns over treatment costs in the past six months, according to a survey conducted by MDLinx, one of the U.S.'s largest doctor portals.

7 Oct 2010

Siblings of children with autism have language delays: Study

Siblings of children with autism have more frequent language delays and other subtle characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. Girls also may be mildly affected more often than recognized in the past.

1 Oct 2010

Study: College women with heavy roommates gain less weight during freshman year

A new University of Michigan study finds that college women with roommates who weigh more than average gain less weight during their freshman year than women with slimmer roommates: half a pound versus 2.5 pounds.

22 Sep 2010

Penn study reveals structure of cell division's key molecule

On average, one hundred billion cells in the human body divide over the course of a day. Most of the time the body gets it right but sometimes, problems in cell replication can lead to abnormalities in chromosomes resulting in many types of disorders, from cancer to Down Syndrome.

18 Sep 2010