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.

Radioactive "tag" added to formaldehyde helps monitor body chemistry, disease

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have devised a simple, fast method for adding a radioactive "tag" to formaldehyde, a common organic chemical.

7 Jul 2008

RNAs emerge as major players in gene regulation

Tiny strands of genetic material called RNA - a chemical cousin of DNA - are emerging as major players in gene regulation, the process inside cells that drives all biology and that scientists seek to control in order to fight disease.

6 Jul 2008

Resveratrol mimics the beneficial effects of eating fewer calories

Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol improves health, but not longevity in aging mice

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

3 Jul 2008

Body's own 'marijuana' is good for the skin

Scientists from Hungary, Germany and the U.K. have discovered that our own body not only makes chemical compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana (THC), but these play an important part in maintaining healthy skin

2 Jul 2008

Designer diet for prostate cancer

Eating one or more portions of broccoli every week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and the risk of localised cancer becoming more aggressive.

1 Jul 2008

Electrostatic-based RNA assays technique could revolutionize medical diagnostics

The dream of personalized medicine - in which diagnostics, risk predictions and treatment decisions are based on a patient's genetic profile - may be on the verge of being expanded beyond the wealthiest of nations with state-of-the-art clinics.

30 Jun 2008

New way to limit gene transfer and expression

Researchers from Northwestern University and Texas A & M University have discovered a new way to limit gene transfer and expression to specific tissues in animals.

23 Jun 2008

Improving understanding of cell behaviour in breast cancer

The invasion and spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is a principal cause of death in patients diagnosed with breast cancer.

19 Jun 2008

New hope for patients with breast cancers resistant to tamoxifen

Researchers have found a new family of therapeutic agents that interferes with the ability of estrogen to stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. The results of the new study will be presented by Nicole Patterson at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

Computer predicts anti-cancer molecules

A new computer-based method of analyzing cellular activity has correctly predicted the anti-tumour activity of several molecules.

16 Jun 2008

European researchers take lid off the genome

European researchers have made significant progress unravelling how genes are governed and why this sometimes goes wrong in disease.

15 Jun 2008

Smad proteins regulate microRNA processing

Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center have found that Smad proteins regulate microRNA (miRNA) processing.

11 Jun 2008

Addicted cells provide early cancer diagnosis

Scientists at the Institute of Food Research have detected subtle changes that may make the bowel more vulnerable to the development of tumours.

10 Jun 2008

New molecular mechanism for colorectal cancer

Scientists in Portugal just found a new molecular mechanism behind colorectal cancer in which a mutated and a normal, but over-expressed, gene cooperate and are both needed to create the disease.

4 Jun 2008

More evidence red wine keep hearts young

How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?

3 Jun 2008

New clues for nerve cell repair

A new study at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University identifies a key mechanism for the normal development of motor nerve cells (motor neurons) - cells that control muscles. This finding is crucial to understanding and treating a range of conditions involving nerve cell loss or damage, from spinal cord injury to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

3 Jun 2008

Mouse ovaries and testes age in unique ways

Aging leads to large changes in gene activity in the ovaries of mice, but only limited changes in testes, according to research published in the open-access journal, BMC Biology.

2 Jun 2008

BiPar Sciences presents data for novel DNA repair inhibitor

BiPar Sciences, Inc. today announced the results of first-in-human clinical studies of its lead product, BSI-201, in patients with solid tumors.

2 Jun 2008

How advanced prostate cancer becomes resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy

For the past 70 years the treatment of choice for advanced, metastatic prostate cancer has been androgen-deprivation therapy. That is, the suppression of circulating testosterone - the hormone that fuels prostate-cancer growth - via surgical castration (orchiectomy) or medical castration with testosterone-blocking drugs. While such therapy buys time for patients, it is not a cure, as inevitably the cancer becomes resistant to the androgen deprivation and continues to grow.

2 Jun 2008