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Drugs that enhance oxidative stress kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells

Drugs that enhance a process called oxidative stress were found to kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells growing in the laboratory and possibly bolstered the effectiveness of chemotherapy against this aggressive tumor of muscle and other soft tissue. The findings are the latest from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project and appear in the December 9 edition of the scientific journal Cancer Cell.

10 Dec 2013

New drug that blocks defective gene can arrest Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia in animal models

In nearly one-third of patients with Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia, a specific genetic mutation switches on the disease, and a new drug that blocks the defective gene can arrest the disease in animal models, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and allied institutions will report at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

10 Dec 2013

Researchers develop new technique to cure human diseases caused by misfolded protein molecules

A team led by a longtime Oregon Health & Science University researcher has demonstrated in mice what could be a revolutionary new technique to cure a wide range of human diseases - from cystic fibrosis to cataracts to Alzheimer's disease - that are caused by "misfolded" protein molecules.

9 Dec 2013

MUC5B protein plays key role in many lung-related ailments

An international team of researchers has zeroed in on a protein that plays a key role in many lung-related ailments, from seasonal coughing and hacking to more serious diseases such as MRSA infections and cystic fibrosis.

9 Dec 2013

Research explores epigenetic effects that contribute to psychiatric disorders in offspring

Advanced paternal age has been associated with greater risk for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. With an increase in paternal age, there is a greater frequency of certain types of mutations that contribute to these disorders in offspring.

9 Dec 2013

Findings hold great promise for potential use of ELABELA as therapeutic molecule for heart diseases

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology have identified a gene encoding a hormone that could potentially be used as a therapeutic molecule to treat heart diseases. The hormone - which they have chosen to name ELABELA - is only 32 amino-acids long, making it amongst the tiniest proteins made by the human body.

9 Dec 2013

NYSCF, PersonalGenomes.org partner to identify genetic contributions to disease development

Today, the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute and PersonalGenomes.org announced a partnership to identify genetic and environmental contributions to trait and disease development. Cell lines generated by NYSCF will complement genomic data and medical histories contributed by participants in the Harvard Personal Genome Project, creating a unique and powerful resource to help researchers identify causes of disease.

9 Dec 2013

New form of gene therapy shows promising outcomes for "bubble boy" disease

Researchers reported promising outcomes data for the first group of boys with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID-X1), a fatal genetic immunodeficiency also known as "bubble boy" disease, who were treated as part of an international clinical study of a new form of gene therapy. The mechanism used to deliver the gene therapy is designed to prevent the serious complication of leukemia that arose a decade ago in a similar trial in Europe, when one-quarter of boys treated developed the blood cancer.

9 Dec 2013

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Patients with epilepsy and, in particular, those with severe syndromic forms of the disorder, harbor a risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Cardiac arrhythmias are a proposed cause. In a test of this theory, researchers have demonstrated that mice harboring a human SCN1A gene mutation that results in Dravet Syndrome, a severe and intractable genetic epilepsy, have electrical disturbances in the heart that culminate in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.

9 Dec 2013

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes are implicated in discrete phenotypes or forms of epilepsy, other genes are implicated in a wider range of phenotypes. Although ion channel genes are a common cause of epilepsy, the researchers also report a significant number of epilepsy patients with mutations in non-ion channel genes. The studies have important implications for treatment, prognosis and risk counseling.

9 Dec 2013

Study helps explain why survival gap persists for African-Americans with head and neck cancer

A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins and in Texas has identified a handful of genetic mutations in black Americans, in addition to some chemical alterations affecting gene activity, which may help explain why the death rate among African-Americans from the most common form of head and neck cancer continues to hover some 18 percent higher above the death rate of whites with the same cancer.

9 Dec 2013

Gene discovered to play a part in one per cent of all cancers

Researchers have identified a gene that drives the development of tumours in over one per cent of all cancer patients. This is the first time that the gene CUX1 has been broadly linked to cancer development.

9 Dec 2013

Scientists identify gene encoding hormone to treat heart diseases

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IMCB) have identified a gene encoding a hormone that could potentially be used as a therapeutic molecule to treat heart diseases.

9 Dec 2013

Saudi Human Genome Program to study genetic basis of all disease in the Kingdom

The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia's national funding agency, and Life Technologies Corporation today announce The Saudi Human Genome Program – a national research project to study the genetic basis of all disease in the Kingdom and throughout the Middle East and use the findings to offer the ultimate personal care in Saudi Arabia.

8 Dec 2013

New research finds that H7N9 still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans

Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. In contrast to some initial studies that had suggested that H7N9 poses an imminent risk of a global pandemic, the new research found, based on analyses of virus samples from the Chinese outbreak, that H7N9 is still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans.

6 Dec 2013

Biocartis, VIB partner to develop novel MSI biomarkers for colorectal cancer

Today Biocartis and VIB announced their exclusive license agreement on a novel panel of microsatellite instability biomarkers for several cancers, in particular colorectal cancer.

From Biocartis 6 Dec 2013

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from the drugs designed to target them, resulting in drug resistance. The study was published in the December 5, 2013 online issue of Science.

6 Dec 2013

Johns Hopkins researchers discover some cases of scleroderma likely to be initiated by cancer

The Scleroderma Research Foundation today reported that researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered that some cases of scleroderma are likely to have been initiated by cancer.

6 Dec 2013

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator Paul S. Mischel, MD, a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has found that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down the gene mutation targeted by drugs, then re-amplify that growth-promoting mutation after therapy has stopped.

6 Dec 2013

New findings by UCI, German researchers could aid in saving sight of millions

Groundbreaking new findings by UC Irvine and German chemists about how cataracts form could be used to help prevent the world's leading cause of blindness, which currently affects nearly 20 million people worldwide.

6 Dec 2013

Mutation News and Research

Drugs that enhance oxidative stress kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells

New drug that blocks defective gene can arrest Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia in animal models

Researchers develop new technique to cure human diseases caused by misfolded protein molecules

MUC5B protein plays key role in many lung-related ailments

Research explores epigenetic effects that contribute to psychiatric disorders in offspring

Findings hold great promise for potential use of ELABELA as therapeutic molecule for heart diseases

NYSCF, PersonalGenomes.org partner to identify genetic contributions to disease development

New form of gene therapy shows promising outcomes for "bubble boy" disease

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Study helps explain why survival gap persists for African-Americans with head and neck cancer

Gene discovered to play a part in one per cent of all cancers

Scientists identify gene encoding hormone to treat heart diseases

Saudi Human Genome Program to study genetic basis of all disease in the Kingdom

New research finds that H7N9 still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans

Biocartis, VIB partner to develop novel MSI biomarkers for colorectal cancer

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

Johns Hopkins researchers discover some cases of scleroderma likely to be initiated by cancer

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

New findings by UCI, German researchers could aid in saving sight of millions

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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