Gene Expression News and Research

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Gene Expression is the process by which a gene gets turned on in a cell to make RNA and proteins. Gene expression may be measured by looking at the RNA, or the protein made from the RNA, or what the protein does in a cell.

Discovery of gene key to Alzheimer's-like reversal

A team led by researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn

6 May 2009

Three genes play a role in breast cancer's spread to the brain

New research led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) identifies three genes that specifically mediate the metastasis, or spread, of breast cancer to the brain and illuminates the mechanisms by which this spread occurs. The study was published online today in Nature.

6 May 2009

Rarefaction for gene discovery

Researchers at Purdue University have found a way to save time, money and a little frustration in searches for specific genes that shed light on the biological processes associated with all forms of life.

6 May 2009

Scientists coax skin cells to behave like muscle cells and vice versa

Even cells aren't immune to peer pressure. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now shown that skin cells can be coaxed to behave like muscle cells - and muscle cells like skin cells - solely by altering who they hang out with: the relative levels of the ingredients inside the cell.

5 May 2009

Potential molecular target for new schizophrenia treatments

A study on schizophrenia has implicated machinery that maintains the flow of potassium in cells and revealed a potential molecular target for new treatments. Expression of a previously unknown form of a key such potassium channel was found to be 2.5 fold higher than normal in the brain memory hub of people with the chronic mental illness and linked to a hotspot of genetic variation.

5 May 2009

Scientists discover pattern of genetic faults to predict cancer drug success

A pattern of genetic defects in tumours could indicate whether ovarian cancer patients will respond to common chemotherapy drugs before treatment starts, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday).

4 May 2009

Oral delivery system for RNAi therapeutics

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) report on a novel approach to the delivery of small bits of genetic material in order to silence genes using "RNA interference"-and in the process, discovered a potent method of suppressing inflammation in mice similar to what occurs in a range of human diseases.

30 Apr 2009

SUMO protein guides chromatin remodeler to suppress genes

In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes.

27 Apr 2009

Clinical and scientific cooperation to fight lung cancer

Prevention, personalized therapies and closer collaborations between surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists will result in better outcomes for lung cancer patients and those at risk, a leading European expert says.

27 Apr 2009

Welcome news on Dengue fever

The news that scientists in the United States have identified host factors which are critical to Dengue virus infection will be particularly welcome in tropical northern Queensland, which has suffered one of the worse Dengue fever outbreaks in decades.

26 Apr 2009

Using combinatorial libraries to engineer genetic circuits advances synthetic biology

Streamlining the construction of synthetic gene networks has led a team of Boston University researchers to develop a technique that couples libraries of diversified components with computer modeling to guide predictable gene network construction without the back and forth tweaking.

22 Apr 2009

Scientists identify dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon

By painstakingly silencing genes one at a time, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon to grow and spread among mosquitoes and humans.

22 Apr 2009

Common gene variant linked to development of prostate cancer

Researchers have described how a common genetic variation may be involved in the development of prostate cancer.

22 Apr 2009

Discovery of genetic pattern that may predict response to Gleevec in GIST

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center uncovered a genetic pattern that may help predict how gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients respond to the targeted therapy imatinib mesylate (Gleevec).

22 Apr 2009

Genetic source of rare cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma discovered

The search for the cause of an inherited form of a rare, aggressive childhood lung cancer has uncovered important information about how the cancer develops and potentially sheds light on the development of other cancers.

20 Apr 2009

Key genetic mechanism a potential key to new class of antibiotics

Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a new class of antibiotics, according to an accelerated publication that appeared online today as a "paper of the week" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

20 Apr 2009

Mammalian alpha-fetoprotein affects the development of rat colons

Mammalian alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a single-chain glycoprotein and altered serum AFP levels have been observed concurrent with aberrant growth manifestations in some congenital defects and cancer.

20 Apr 2009

Addition of dasatinib to standard chemo cocktail may enhance effect in certain ovarian cancers

The addition of a chemotherapeutic drug for leukemia to a standard regimen of two other chemotherapy drugs appears to enhance the response of certain ovarian cancers to treatment, according to a pre-clinical study led by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

20 Apr 2009

Novel method of isolating high quality RNA from Kupffer cells

Kupffer cells, resident tissue macrophages that line the liver sinusoids, play a key role in modulating inflammation in a number of experimental models of liver injury.

20 Apr 2009