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Study shows link between autoimmune diseases and gene regulatory elements

Investigators with the National Institutes of Health have discovered the genomic switches of a blood cell key to regulating the human immune system.

17 Feb 2015

Scientists demonstrate the importance of RNA editing in melanoma development

The importance of RNA editing in melanoma has been demonstrated by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study revealed that a lack of RNA editing, a process by which information inside RNA molecules is transformed, leads to tumor growth and progression through manipulation of proteins.

17 Feb 2015

Research: Complex nerve circuits first evolved in common ancestor of humans and cnidarians

New research shows that a burst of evolutionary innovation in the genes responsible for electrical communication among nerve cells in our brains occurred over 600 million years ago in a common ancestor of humans and the sea anemone.

17 Feb 2015

Study shows that de novo mutations can be detected in human in vitro fertilized embryos using PGD

Reprogenetics, the largest U.S. genetics laboratory specializing in Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), announced today the publication of new clinical data in the March issue of Genome Research demonstrating that de novo single base mutations can be detected in embryos after in vitro fertilization (IVF).

16 Feb 2015

A*STAR's GIS scientists develop new system that can predict treatment targets for cancer

In recent months, several national initiatives for personalized medicine have been announced, including the recently launched precision medicine initiative in the US, driven by rapid advances in genomic technologies and with the promise of cheaper and better healthcare. Significant challenges remain, however, in the management and analysis of genetic information and their integration with patient data.

15 Feb 2015

New study indicates that malaria-causing parasite is unlikely to cross from animals to humans

In recent years, public health experts have increasingly explored the idea of eliminating the most dangerous malaria-causing parasite. But they have questioned whether getting rid of this species, called Plasmodium falciparum, would allow other species of the parasite to simply jump into the gap and start infecting humans with malaria.

13 Feb 2015

SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics designated as FAO Reference Centre for bioinformatics

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has appointed SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics as the FAO Reference Centre for bioinformatics.

12 Feb 2015

Researchers identify molecular pathways associated with distinct subsets of SSc patients

For years, doctors have been baffled about why some patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) respond to therapy while others do not.

12 Feb 2015

Single genomic change can make beneficial bacteria into pathogenic bacteria

We, as most animals, host many different beneficial bacteria. Being beneficial to the host often pays off for the bacteria, as success of the host determines the survival and spread of the microbe. But if bacteria grow too much they may become deadly.

11 Feb 2015

UNC researchers create new research tool to help crack the histone code

University of North Carolina scientists have created a new research tool, based on the fruit fly, to help crack the histone code. This research tool can be used to better understand the function of histone proteins, which play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression in animals and plants.

11 Feb 2015

TAU researchers identify novel genetic mutation as source of specific rare disease

Rare diseases -- those that affect fewer than one in 200,000 people -- are often identified early in life. Some 30 percent of children afflicted by these "orphan diseases" do not live to see their fifth birthday. While the U.S. Orphan Drug Act of 1983 was written into law to promote research on the topic, the cost of identifying the source and progression of these diseases remains prohibitive for many families.

10 Feb 2015

New NIH grant to help restore function after spinal cord injury

Restoring function after spinal cord injury, which damages the connections that carry messages from the brain to the body and back, depends on forming new connections between the surviving nerve cells. While there are some delicate surgical techniques that reconnect the nerves, researchers are also looking at ways to restore the connections themselves at a cellular level.

10 Feb 2015

Discovery leads to new understanding of cancer metastasis

In a breakthrough in the understanding of how cancer spreads, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a substance secreted by lung cancer cells that enables them to metastasize, beginning their deadly march to other sites in the body.

10 Feb 2015

Study links previously unknown genetic anomalies to breast cancer in African American family members

The "Jewels in our Genes" study, led by University at Buffalo researcher Heather Ochs-Balcom, has uncovered previously unknown segments of DNA shared by African American family members who have breast cancer. "The discovery of these regions supports our hypothesis that there are still undiscovered breast cancer genes that may be unique to African Americans," says Ochs-Balcom, PhD, a genetic epidemiologist in the UB Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health.

10 Feb 2015

Researchers develop quality assurance tool for genome editing

A research team at Boston Children's Hospital's Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine has developed a quality assurance tool for scientists using genome-editing technologies like the increasingly popular CRISPR. The assay, called high throughput genome translocation sequencing (HTGTS), rapidly gauges—for any given gene—these technologies' accuracy and their risk for causing potentially dangerous genomic collateral damage.

9 Feb 2015

New findings could pave way to develop drug therapies for necrosis-related diseases

Strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries are separate diseases with certain shared pathologies that achieve a common end - cell death and human injury due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

9 Feb 2015

Research finding could help predict the next outbreak of plague

Biologists at the University of Oslo, Norway, are now making a giant effort to identify the relationship between climate change, rat infestations, and the many major plague epidemics throughout history. The knowledge may be used to predict the next plague outbreak.

9 Feb 2015

New study sheds light on anorexia nervosa

A study led by Howard Steiger, PhD, head of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Eating Disorders Program, in Montreal, in collaboration with Linda Booij, a researcher with Sainte-Justine Hospital and an assistant professor at Queen's University, is the first to observe effects suggesting that the longer one suffers from active anorexia nervosa (AN), the more likely they are to show disorder-relevant alterations in DNA methylation.

9 Feb 2015

Investigators develop microbiome map of New York City subway system

The microbes that call the New York City subway system home are mostly harmless, but include samples of disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to drugs -- and even DNA fragments associated with anthrax and Bubonic plague -- according to a citywide microbiome map published today by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators.

9 Feb 2015

CLL aggressiveness linked to genetic variability

The genetic variability of a tumour could be a predictor for its aggressiveness: the greater the variability in gene expression, the more aggressive the tumour is likely to be. This is the hypothesis that the CNIO Structural Biology and Biocomputing Programme, led by Alfonso Valencia, is testing, after their findings on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), now published in the journal Genome Medicine.

6 Feb 2015

Genome News and Research

Study shows link between autoimmune diseases and gene regulatory elements

Scientists demonstrate the importance of RNA editing in melanoma development

Research: Complex nerve circuits first evolved in common ancestor of humans and cnidarians

Study shows that de novo mutations can be detected in human in vitro fertilized embryos using PGD

A*STAR's GIS scientists develop new system that can predict treatment targets for cancer

New study indicates that malaria-causing parasite is unlikely to cross from animals to humans

SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics designated as FAO Reference Centre for bioinformatics

Researchers identify molecular pathways associated with distinct subsets of SSc patients

Single genomic change can make beneficial bacteria into pathogenic bacteria

UNC researchers create new research tool to help crack the histone code

TAU researchers identify novel genetic mutation as source of specific rare disease

New NIH grant to help restore function after spinal cord injury

Discovery leads to new understanding of cancer metastasis

Study links previously unknown genetic anomalies to breast cancer in African American family members

Researchers develop quality assurance tool for genome editing

New findings could pave way to develop drug therapies for necrosis-related diseases

Research finding could help predict the next outbreak of plague

New study sheds light on anorexia nervosa

Investigators develop microbiome map of New York City subway system

CLL aggressiveness linked to genetic variability

The art of CRISPR: The power and promise of gene editing eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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