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Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel prize for stem cell research

Medical Research Council funded scientist Sir Martin Evans, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 alongside Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells".

9 Oct 2007

Reservoir of Marburg virus identified in a species of fruit bat

The Marburg virus, like its fearsome cousin Ebola, belongs to the Filoviridae family. It carries the name of the German town where it was first detected in 1967, after a mysterious epidemic had hit employees of the Behring laboratory.

8 Oct 2007

Genes that increase rheumatoid arthritis risk found

Researchers in the United States and Sweden have identified a genetic region associated with increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic and debilitating inflammatory disease of the joints that affects an estimated 2.1 million Americans.

8 Oct 2007

Fungus genome yielding answers to protect grains, people and animals

Why a pathogen is a pathogen may be answered as scientists study the recently mapped genetic makeup of a fungus that spawns the worst cereal grains disease known and also can produce toxins potentially fatal to people and livestock.

8 Oct 2007

Largest study of child health ever conducted in the United States

The UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities has been selected as one of 22 new study centers for the National Children's Study, a nationwide project designed to assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on children's health in the United States.

4 Oct 2007

Human embryonic stem cells remain embryonic because of epigenetic factors

A human embryonic stem cell is reined in - prevented from giving up its unique characteristics of self-renewal and pluripotency - by the presence of a protein modification that stifles any genes that would prematurely instruct the cell to develop into heart or other specialized tissue.

4 Oct 2007

What our genes tell us - Identifying biomarkers for key environmental risk factors

Identifying biomarkers for the key environmental risk factors responsible for two diseases that significantly contribute to death and disease of hundreds of thousands annually will be the initial focus of a new center being established at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

4 Oct 2007

Gene-chip studies provide new leads in treating abnormal lung development in premature newborns

Some 20 to 40 percent of extremely premature infants suffer abnormal lung development leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems.

4 Oct 2007

PAZAR - virtual bazaar of gene regulation data

An international team has opened a virtual bazaar, called PAZAR, which allows biologists to share information about gene regulation through individually managed 'boutiques' (data collections).

4 Oct 2007

Cholesterol levels both high and low linked to premature births

A new study suggests that not only is a very low level of cholesterol a danger to pregnant women, but high cholesterol too increases the risk of premature birth.

3 Oct 2007

Indian bug is the ancestor of Crohn's disease pathogen

An Indian team of researchers led by Seyed E. Hasnain of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), University of Hyderabad, India has found that a seemingly unknown mycobacterial organism Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) could be the earliest ancestor of the 'generalist' branch of mycobacterial pathogens.

3 Oct 2007

Low maternal cholesterol levels may lead to adverse birth outcomes

Pregnant women who have very low cholesterol may face a greater risk of delivering their babies prematurely than women with more moderate cholesterol levels, a team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reported today.

2 Oct 2007

Protein architectures provide window on the history of life

The present can tell you a lot about the past, but you need to know where to look.

2 Oct 2007

Feeding the world without genetic engineering

The work of a Kansas State University professor is challenging the assumption that genetically engineered plants are the great scientific and technological revolution in agriculture and the only efficient and cheap way to feed a growing population.

1 Oct 2007

New Giardia lamblia research provides hope for millions of sufferers

Today's issue of the scientific journal Science presents research on the genetic make-up and biology of the parasite Giardia lamblia that ultimately may lead to better diagnosis and treatment of the diarrhea disease giardiasis, which affects 200 million people every year.

29 Sep 2007

Genomic profiling of lung tumors helps doctors choose most effective treatment

Determining the genetic profile of a particular lung tumor can help clinicians make the crucial decision about which chemotherapy treatment to try first.

29 Sep 2007

BioNanomatrix and Complete Genomics form joint venture after NIST grant awarded

BioNanomatrix, Inc. and Complete Genomics Inc. (CGI) have announced that they have formed a joint venture that has received an $8.8 million grant award from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP) to develop a system capable of sequencing the entire human genome in eight hours at a cost of less than $100

29 Sep 2007

New view of what causes greatest genetic variability among individuals

A study by Yale researchers offers a new view of what causes the greatest genetic variability among individuals - suggesting that it is due less to single point mutations than to the presence of structural changes that cause extended segments of the human genome to be missing, rearranged, or present in extra copies.

27 Sep 2007

Genetic sequence of Giardia complete

Giardia lamblia, one of the most common human parasites in the United States, causes more than 20,000 intestinal infections a year, often through contact with contaminated drinking or swimming water.

27 Sep 2007

Variations in two genes linked to suicidal thinking

Specific variations in two genes are linked to suicidal thinking that sometimes occurs in people taking the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, according to a large study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

27 Sep 2007