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Autoimmune response, triggered by genes, can be a barrier to producing a viable offspring

Plant biologists at the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that an autoimmune response, triggered by a small number of genes, can be a barrier to producing a viable offspring.

4 Sep 2007

University of Utah receives $19.2 Million for HIV research

University of Utah biochemist Wesley I. Sundquist, Ph.D., has been awarded a five-year, $19.2 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to establish an HIV research center to study the structural biology of the AIDS-causing virus.

3 Sep 2007

First common height gene identified by researchers behind 'obesity gene' finding

Whilst we all know that tall parents are more likely to have tall children, scientists have been unable to identify any common genes that make people taller than others. Now, however, scientists have identified the first gene, known as HMGA2, a common variant of which directly influences height.

3 Sep 2007

Genetic variant linked to human height discovered

It became clear nearly a century ago that many genes likely influence how tall a person grows, though little progress, if any, has followed in defining the myriad genes. Now an international research team brings light to this age-old question by pinpointing a genetic variant associated with human height - the first consistent genetic link to be reported.

3 Sep 2007

Discovery suggests location of genes for breast density, a strong risk factor for breast cancer

Studying the DNA of 889 people, gene hunters at the Mayo Clinic and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Centers have identified a region on chromosome 5p that is significantly associated with dense breast tissue, a known risk factor for breast cancer.

2 Sep 2007

One species' entire genome discovered inside another's

Scientists at the University of Rochester and the J. Craig Venter Institute have discovered a copy of the entire genome of a bacterial parasite residing inside the genome of its host species.

30 Aug 2007

Discovery of novel cause of iron overload in patients with thalassemia

According to the study, thalassemia patients overproduce a protein called GDF15, which suppresses the production of a liver protein, hepcidin, which in turn leads to an increase in the uptake of dietary iron in the gut.

30 Aug 2007

Contact disorder makes cancer cells mobile

The loss of the protein VMP1 in cancer cells increases their tendency to detach from the initial tumor - the first step towards metastasis.

30 Aug 2007

Big leap in genomic screening of blood vessels from patient tissue

Scientists have developed a new method of capturing a complete genome-wide screening of blood vessel cells in their actual disease state, advancing the potential for genetic research on the tissue responsible for delivering nourishment that can accelerate the growth of both a cancer tumor or wound healing.

30 Aug 2007

Gene regulation in humans is closer than expected to simple organisms

Gene networks are some of the most basic features of a living organism. An external or internal stimulus activates some genes, which in turn control others genes whose activity turns on or off various biological processes (such as the cell cycle, energy production, DNA repair, cellular suicide etc).

30 Aug 2007

Scientists identifiy successfully reprogrammed cells by looks alone

Some scientific results are hard to spot, especially in genetic research. Often scientists are unable to physically see if the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait.

28 Aug 2007

Novel approach used to uncover genetic components of aging

People who live to 100 or more are known to have just as many - and sometimes even more - harmful gene variants compared with younger people.

26 Aug 2007

MedImmune licenses reverse genetics technology to Novartis

MedImmune, Inc. has announced that it has licensed its proprietary reverse genetics intellectual property to Novartis to support the development and construction of new vaccine strains to produce inactivated human seasonal, pre-pandemic and pandemic influenza vaccines.

24 Aug 2007