Genetic News and Research

RSS

Conceived through ‘fertility fraud,’ she now needs fertility treatment

When Heather Woock was in her late 20s, she started researching her family history. As part of the project, she spit into a tube and sent it to Ancestry, a consumer DNA testing service. Then, in 2017, she started getting messages about the results from people who said they could be half siblings.

28 Jan 2020

Exploring link between elevated blood pressure early in life and dementia

Whether elevated blood pressure early in life translates to increased risk of dementia is a question scientists are working to answer.

28 Jan 2020

Holistic and data-driven health assessment can help achieve early disease detection

Human Longevity, Inc., an innovator in providing data-driven health intelligence and precision health to physicians and patients, announced today the publication of a ground-breaking study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jan 2020

New micro-scale technology holds promise for improved tumor diagnosis

Using a single-needle biopsy and new technology for tumor diagnosis developed by Baylor College of Medicine and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, researchers have been able to provide a more detailed and wider window into cancer biology, tumor type and the mechanisms of response and resistance to therapy than with conventional approaches.

27 Jan 2020

New gene correction therapy for hereditary muscular disease among children

Duchenne type muscular dystrophy is the most common hereditary muscular disease among children, leaving them wheelchair-bound before the age of twelve and reducing life expectancy.

27 Jan 2020

Discovery could unlock new ways to treat a rare blood disease

A cancer researcher at the University of Alberta has made a discovery that could unlock new ways to treat a rare blood disease.

27 Jan 2020

New insights into globular glial tauopathy could aid in the design of better drugs

Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of phospho-tau, in other words tau associated to phosphate groups.

27 Jan 2020

Expert genomics panel disputes certain genes linked to a dangerous heart condition

A panel of experts have said that nine genes linked to a dangerous heart disorder called long QT syndrome, are not associated with the condition.

27 Jan 2020

Study tracks milestones in the history of human disease genetics

Genetic discoveries over the past 25 years have substantially advanced understanding of both rare and common diseases, furthering the development of treatment and prevention for ailments ranging from inflammatory bowel diseases to diabetes, according to a study published in Nature Research in January.

27 Jan 2020

ClinGen expert panel disputes nine genes linked to long QT syndrome

Geneticists and heart specialists around the world had previously reported 17 genes to cause long QT syndrome, a little-known inherited heart condition. However, the Clinical Genome Resource's expert panel has critically reevaluated the scientific evidence for all 17 reported genes, disputing nine of the genes and revealing only three of the genes to be definitively associated with the most common form of the disease.

27 Jan 2020

Study traces the molecular roots of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The heart's ability to beat normally over a lifetime is predicated on the synchronized work of proteins embedded in the cells of the heart muscle.

27 Jan 2020

Robotic heart to replace human transplants on the horizon

Scientists are working to end the need for human heart transplants by 2028. A team of researchers in the UK, Cambridge, and the Netherlands are developing a robot heart that can pump blood through the circulatory network but is soft and pliable. The first working model should be ready for implantation into animals within the next 3 years, and into humans within the next 8 years.

26 Jan 2020

Indoor dust carrying bacteria that could be harbouring antibiotic resistance

Bacteria enter our homes on our the skin, or through the air, but once inside they may transfer antibiotic resistance traits to other bacteria residing in the indoor dust, a possibility raised by a new study

26 Jan 2020

Marburg virus detected in fruit bats of Sierra Leone

The Marburg virus is a close relative of the Ebola virus explain researchers. It may also lead to the deadly life threatening hemorrhagic disease in patients as seen with Ebola. Until now there have been no reported cases of Marburg infection in Sierra Leone say health officials. The detection in the bats however could signal the risk the local population might be at or getting infected.

26 Jan 2020

Data from high-quality registries to be considered in benefit assessment of drugs

Particularly in the case of accelerated drug approvals and drugs for rare diseases (orphan drugs), the evidence available at the time of market access is often insufficient for the early benefit assessment of drugs.

24 Jan 2020

UCI-led study reveals link between early life adversity and opioid addiction

Individuals with a history of early life adversity are disproportionately prone to opioid addiction. A new UCI-led study reveals why.

24 Jan 2020

Determining Microsatellite Instability Status Using Multiplex PCR-Based Methods

Determining microsatellite instability status using multiplex PCR-based methods used to screen for Lynch Syndrome, a dominant hereditary cancer propensity.

From Promega Corporation 24 Jan 2020

Taming pathogens with mucus and phages

Millions of people are treated with antibiotics each year for infections or as a preventative measure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that at least 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, meaning the germs have found ways to overpower antibiotics and continue to grow.

24 Jan 2020

Jumping genes play surprising role in stabilizing DNA folding patterns

"Jumping genes" -- bits of DNA that can move from one spot in the genome to another -- are well-known for increasing genetic diversity over the long course of evolution.

24 Jan 2020

A single number aids biomedical data scientists in finding deadly cancer cells

Biomedical data scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that the number of genes a cell uses to make RNA is a reliable indicator of how developed the cell is, a finding that could make it easier to target cancer-causing genes.

24 Jan 2020