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Validation of a tool for identifying women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer

A new screening tool for the general practitioner effectively identifies patients at risk for hereditary breast cancer, according to a new study.

11 Sep 2006

Study shows how the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis causes disease

The bacteria responsible for the plague and some forms of food poisoning "paralyze" the immune system of their hosts in an unexpected way, according to a new study in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

NIH launches "Knockout Mouse Project"

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today awarded a set of cooperative agreements, totaling up to $52 million over five years, to launch the Knockout Mouse Project.

7 Sep 2006

Genetic code for breast and colon cancers

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have completed the first draft of the genetic code for breast and colon cancers.

7 Sep 2006

New avenue for the pursuit of therapies for Alzheimer's disease

The genes responsible for an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease play a direct role within cells that has largely been overlooked, according to a report in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

New sunscreen ingredient that actively repairs sunburnt skin

People who suffer from sunburn could soon benefit from a new sunscreen ingredient that actively repairs sunburnt skin and helps prevent the onset of skin cancer, according to research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

7 Sep 2006

China appears to have beaten the world to a bird flu vaccine

Scientists in China have developed a potential vaccine against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus currently sweeping across Asia.

7 Sep 2006

Closing in on lethal arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in young athletes

Johns Hopkins experts on the genetics of a potentially lethal heart rhythm defect that runs in families and targets young athletes report they have greatly narrowed the hunt for the specific genetic mutations that contribute to the problem.

7 Sep 2006

New York Times examines debate over preimplantation genetic diagnosis

The New York Times on Sunday examined the debate over preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a technique that allows physicians to identify embryos without genetic defects or chromosomal abnormalities and then implant the embryos most likely to result in a live, healthy infant.

5 Sep 2006

Useful insights into mechanisms of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Familial genetic defects are responsible for several cases of unexpected sudden cardiac death in young and otherwise healthy individuals.

5 Sep 2006

Older fathers almost six times more likely to have autistic children

Researchers in the U.S. have found that children fathered by older men have a higher risk of developing autism, possibly because of mutations or other genetic changes.

5 Sep 2006

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Sep 2006

Ducks in Pennsylvania found with a strain of bird flu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found bird flu in wild ducks in Crawford County in northwestern Pennsylvania as part of a routine sampling procedure, but the strain is apparently not the deadly H5N1 strain currently sweeping across Asia.

4 Sep 2006

MRSA - surveillance, rapid screening and hospital hygiene

The origins and future perspectives about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are outlined in a Review in this week's issue of The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Largest review of Loeys-Dietz syndrome to date

At least three severe, potentially fatal genetic diseases leave patients with aortas so flimsy that they can rupture in pregnancy and labor or even lesser activities, often without warning.

31 Aug 2006

New cell-based targets for treating autoimmune inflammatory diseases

Patients with systemic autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often suffer loss of kidney function.

31 Aug 2006

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated

High-tech laboratory tools, like computers, are often updated publicly as their analytical capabilities expand. In the September issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, NIH grantees report they have developed a second generation "lab on a silicon chip" called the MitoChip v2.0 that for the first time rapidly and reliably sequences all mitochondrial DNA.

30 Aug 2006

Morphotek granted two European technology patents

Morphotek has announced that the European Patent Office has given a "Decision of Grant" regarding the Company's US Patent 6,921,666 entitled "Methods for Generating Hypermutable Yeast" and US Patent 6,737,268 entitled "A Method for Generating Genetically Altered Antigens."

30 Aug 2006