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NARSAD honours UNC's Patrick Sullivan with 2010 Distinguished Investigator Award

Patrick Sullivan, MD has received a 2010 Distinguished Investigator Award from NARSAD for a comparison of genetics in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

13 May 2010

Genetic variations do not improve ability to predict risk of AD: Study

Although genome-wide analysis identified two genetic variations associated with Alzheimer disease, these variations did not improve the ability to predict the risk of AD, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

12 May 2010

Researchers develop new method for tracing carbon flux

Microbial communities are performing important functions all around us - from the earth in our flowerpots to the human gut. Now researchers have developed a method for studying the metabolic functions of microbial communities in detail.

12 May 2010

RIKEN OSC to purchase CLC bio's high-throughput sequencing analysis solution

Today, RIKEN and CLC bio Japan announced an agreement for the purchase of CLC bio's enterprise platform software by RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC). CLC bio's high-throughput sequence analysis infrastructure will empower both OSC's scientists and OSC's Genome Network Analysis Service (GeNAS) with a user-friendly and fast workflow to efficiently manage and analyze large quantities of genomics data.

11 May 2010

Gene variations may increase risk of developing schizophrenia: Study

By analyzing the genomes of patients with schizophrenia, genetics researchers have discovered numerous copy number variations—deletions or duplications of DNA sequences—that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Significantly, many of these variations occur in genes that affect signaling among brain cells.

11 May 2010

Personalized treatments for thyroid disorders to be presented at ATA meeting

Internationally recognized thyroid disease experts will meet to discuss "Thyroid Disorders in the Era of Personalized Medicine" May 13 - 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the American Thyroid Association's (ATA) (www.thyroid.org) Spring Meeting to be held at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency Hotel.

11 May 2010

Research may aid in developing new cancer therapies

Immortality and uncontrolled cell division are the fundamental differences between cancer cells and normal cells.

11 May 2010

More genetic sites associated with increase in breast cancer risk discovered

Scientists have found five new regions of the genome that increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by between six and 16 per cent, according to a study in Nature Genetics today (Sunday)1.

10 May 2010

Discovery of new genetic clues to breast cancer

Researchers at Cambridge University have identified five genetic clues for women who have a family history of breast cancer. The study brings up the number of common genetic variations linked to increased risk of breast cancer in women to 18. The study was published in Nature Genetics.

9 May 2010

Fragile X syndrome iPS cells and embryonic stem cells behave differently: Study

In the last three years, a new technique for reprogramming adult cells has given scientists an easier and less controversial way to harness the power of embryonic-like stem cells to study human disease from its earliest beginnings in hopes of gleaning new insights into the root causes of disease and developing new therapies.

7 May 2010

Manual provides laboratory methods, information and resources on new collection of model species

Mice, frogs, and E. coli are standard organisms in biology laboratories. But in the last few years, due in part to technical advances, the reduced costs of genome sequencing, and increased interest in evolution and development, the range of organisms used for research has greatly expanded. Scientists now have more flexibility in choosing a model system that might better address their specific research question.

7 May 2010

DNA capture techniques enable sequencing of ancient Neandertal DNA

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute (MPI), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Agilent Technologies Inc., and other prestigious institutions worldwide have shown that DNA capture techniques can greatly enable the sequencing of ancient Neandertal DNA, providing new insight into the nature of these prehistoric hominids.

7 May 2010

ETH Zurich researchers discover HIV transmission chains

Since the emergence of the first AIDS cases in the early 1980s, an infectious wave has spread over Switzerland. Every year, several hundred people are infected with the HI-virus which triggers the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS. Does the infection spread according to a particular pattern? Do these patterns vary among the transmission groups such as drug addicts, homosexual or heterosexual persons?

7 May 2010

Inadvertent reprogramming of genes in peripheral nervous system may cause chronic pain

Chronic pain severely limits patients' quality of life and is among the cost drivers in U.S. health care. Patients can suffer pain without an apparent cause and often fail to respond to available treatments. Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators now report that chronic pain may be caused by the inadvertent reprogramming of more than 2,000 genes in the peripheral nervous system. The research findings appear in the current issue of the journal Genome Research.

7 May 2010

DNA sequence of amphibian genome sheds light on the study of embryonic development

A pair of University of Houston researchers contributed to the assembly of the first comprehensive DNA sequence of an amphibian genome, which will shed light on the study of embryonic development, with implications for preventing birth defects and more effectively treating many human diseases.

7 May 2010

Advances in genetic research could help develop personalized pain medications

In the not too distant future, it may be possible to discern an individual's genetic predisposition to chronic pain conditions and treat them proactively to prevent lifetime afflictions, according to research presented today at the American Pain Society's (www.ampainsoc.org) annual scientific meeting.

7 May 2010

The emerging science of epigenetics

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess remarkable properties of self-renewal and pluripotency, the ability to become almost any kind of cell within the body. And yet they share the same genome or set of genes with lineage-committed cells, cells fated to be or do one thing.

7 May 2010

Scientists analyze genetic networks of microRNAs in tumors

Genes interact in complex networks that govern cellular processes, much like people connect a social network through relationships. Researchers are now discovering how biological networks change and are rewired in cancer.

6 May 2010

RayBiotech announces biomarker grant winners

RayBiotech, Inc. has announced the winners of its Biomarker Discovery Pilot Grant program. In total, 18 award recipients were chosen for grants of up to $20,000 each, redeemable for RayBiotech products and services. "By offering these grants," states Dr. Ray (Ruopan) Huang, Founder and President of RayBiotech, "we intend to demonstrate that any researcher with a modest research budget can successfully discover and validate disease-related biomarkers using our antibody arrays."

6 May 2010

Researchers to identify rare genetic mutation to produce histamine against TS

A single, very unusual family with Tourette syndrome has led Yale School of Medicine researchers to identify a rare mutation in a gene that is required to produce histamine. The finding provides a new framework to understand many years of data on the role of histamine function in the brain and points to a potentially novel approach to treatment of tics and Tourette.

6 May 2010