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New technology to analyse human cells

A new technology which enables scientists to identify proteins by making a map of the energy flow inside the protein is revealed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

23 Sep 2008

Genetic fishing expedition yields surprising catch important to mammals

Johns Hopkins investigators report the discovery of master controllers of a gene critical to human and all mammalian development by trawling, implausibly enough, through anonymous genetic sequences using tiny zebrafish embryos.

21 Sep 2008

Prostate cancer genes behave like those in embryo

Gene activity in prostate cancer is reminiscent of that in the developing fetal prostate, providing further evidence that all cancers are not equal, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The finding could help scientists investigate how to manipulate the genetic program to fight a disease whose biology remains poorly understood despite more than half a century of investigation.

16 Sep 2008

Scientists identify ependymoma genes

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have isolated three important genes involved in the development of a type of childhood brain cancer. The breakthrough is revealed in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

15 Sep 2008

Inherited one-hit gene mutation provides new opportunity for colon cancer prevention

More than 30 years ago, Alfred Knudson Jr., M.D., Ph.D., revolutionized the field of cancer genetics by showing that a person must lose both their paternal and maternal copies of a particular class of cancer-inhibiting genes, called tumor-suppressor genes, in order to develop cancer.

15 Sep 2008

Scientists discover common variants in the human genome conferring risk of bladder cancer

Scientists at deCODE genetics and colleagues at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands today report the discovery of two common single-letter variants in the human genome (SNPs) that confer increased risk of urinary bladder cancer.

14 Sep 2008

Drug-resistant plague - A bioterrorism concern?

The bacterium responsible for the "Black Plague," which led to the deaths of over 75 million people worldwide in the 14th century, may have other nasty tricks. Yersinia pestis can normally be treated and cured with a course of antibiotics, if caught within a few days of the symptoms.

11 Sep 2008

New ependymoma genes identified

Scientists have isolated three important genes involved in the development of a type of childhood brain cancer- reveals a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

10 Sep 2008

The Cancer Genome Atlas reports first results

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has reported results from its first comprehensive study which focused on the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma.

8 Sep 2008

Invitrogen launches patent licensing program for random prime amplification of nucleic acids

Invitrogen Corporation today announced that it has signed non-exclusive agreements with New England Biolabs, Inc., QIAGEN GmbH, and Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories, Inc. (KPL), whereby the companies have licensed Invitrogen's patented technology covering the random prime amplification of nucleic acids. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

4 Sep 2008

Human herpes virus 6 weaves itself into the DNA transferred from parents to babies

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes.

2 Sep 2008

Genetic link discovered to common form of leukaemia

Researchers in the UK have discovered a genetic link to a common form of leukaemia.

1 Sep 2008

Discovery of new genes for inflammatory bowel disease in children

Researchers have discovered two new genes that increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood.

31 Aug 2008

Low levels of 'brain derived neurotrophic factor' may lead to obesity

A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.

28 Aug 2008

Berries show to have a genome-wide effect on the expression of genes involved in cancer development

New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene.

27 Aug 2008

Breakthrough discovery may lead to new drugs to fight bird flu, other epidemics

Researchers at Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin have reported a discovery that could help scientists develop drugs to fight the much-feared bird flu and other virulent strains of influenza.

25 Aug 2008

Researchers discover key allergy gene

Together with colleagues from the Department of Dermatology and Allergy and the Center for Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) of the Technische Universitat Munchen, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen have pinpointed a major gene for allergic diseases. The gene was localized using cutting edge technologies for examining the whole human genome at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen.

24 Aug 2008

Variation in Ankyrin 3 gene shows strong association with bipolar disorder

The largest genetic analysis of its kind to date for bipolar disorder has implicated machinery involved in the balance of sodium and calcium in brain cells. Researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health, found an association between the disorder and variation in two genes that make components of channels that manage the flow of the elements into and out of cells, including neurons.

17 Aug 2008

Cancer signatures uncovered

A new systematic analysis of the relationship between the neoplastic and developmental transcriptome provides an outline of trends in cancer gene expression. The research, published recently in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, describes how cancers can be divided into three groups distinguished by disparate developmental signatures.

17 Aug 2008

Researchers show how DNA repairs may reshape the genome

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have shown how broken sections of chromosomes can recombine to change genomes and spawn new species.

13 Aug 2008