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New model of early biological evolution

In a study publishing in PLoS Computational Biology, Shakhnovich et al present a new model of early biological evolution , the first that directly relates the fitness of a population of evolving model organisms to the properties of their proteins.

12 Jul 2007

Sigma-Aldrich launches Imprint DNA Modification kit

Sigma-Aldrich has announced the launch of the Imprint DNA Modification kit.

11 Jul 2007

Neutral genetic drift

Johns Hopkins researchers have added to the growing mound of evidence that many of the genetic bits and pieces that drive evolutionary changes do not confer any advantages or disadvantages to humans or other animals.

10 Jul 2007

Bacterial biofilms

In one of the first potential applications of synthetic biology, an emerging field that aims to design and build useful biomolecular systems, researchers from MIT and Boston University are engineering viruses to attack and destroy the surface biofilms that harbor harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices.

10 Jul 2007

Genetic risk factor for colorectal and prostate cancer

A study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) has found that one of seven genetic risk factors previously identified as increasing the probability of developing prostate cancer also increases the probability of developing colorectal cancer.

9 Jul 2007

Scientists discover first common bowel cancer gene

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have for the first time identified a common genetic variant that can increase a person's risk of developing bowel cancer. Their findings appear in two papers published online in Nature Genetics.

9 Jul 2007

Discovery of enzyme critical in DNA replication

In this week's issue of Science, researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Umea University in Sweden report an important discovery about a critical new role that an enzyme called DNA polymerase epsilon plays in replicating DNA in higher organisms such as yeast and perhaps even humans.

9 Jul 2007

Common genetic risk factor for multiple cancers identified

9 Jul 2007

Chromosome linked to colorectal cancer identified

Researchers at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Cancer Care Ontario have successfully identified a specific genetic variation on chromosome 8 that is associated with colorectal cancer.

9 Jul 2007

Genome detectives reveal gene suspect for bowel cancer

Scientists in Britain have identified a gene they say increases the risk of bowel cancer by 20%.

8 Jul 2007

Breakthrough new asthma gene found

In a large-scale study conducted with 2,643 children, international researchers with the participation of the Department of Experimental Pneumology of Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany (Prof. Dr. Albrecht Bufe), have discovered a gene variant that contributes significantly to the risk of childhood asthma.

5 Jul 2007

Cutting-edge bioinformatics software programs

Large-scale undertakings such as the Human Genome Project have produced massive amounts of data.

4 Jul 2007

Artificially replicating the male genome may help infertile men

Artificially replicating the male genome could help men with very low sperm counts become fathers, a scientist told the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

4 Jul 2007

RNA molecules can orchestrate gene activity across vast portions of the human genome

Large, seemingly useless pieces of RNA - a molecule originally considered only a lowly messenger for DNA - play an important role in letting cells know where they are in the body and what they are supposed to become, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered.

29 Jun 2007

Breakthrough in understanding of noroviruses

A breakthrough announced this week by scientists at the University of Southampton's School of Medicine will lead to greater understanding of noroviruses, the most common cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis around the world.

27 Jun 2007

New genetic marker characterizes aggressiveness of cancer cells

Levels of a small non-coding RNA molecule called let-7 appear to define different stages of cancer better than some of the "classical" markers for tumor progression, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the June 25, 2007, early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

26 Jun 2007

Scoliosis gene found

Physicians have recognized scoliosis, the abnormal curvature of the spine, since the time of Hippocrates, but its causes have remained a mystery -- until now. For the first time, researchers have discovered a gene that underlies the condition, which affects about 3 percent of all children.

26 Jun 2007

Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease vector mosquitoes

The genes that make up the immune system of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits deadly viral diseases to humans have been identified in new research in Science.

23 Jun 2007

Mushrooms show promise for creation of new drugs

Mushrooms might serve as biofactories for the production of various beneficial human drugs, according to plant pathologists who have inserted new genes into mushrooms.

23 Jun 2007

Scientists identify gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder

Scientists have identified the gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, a common inherited neurological disease, thanks to the chance appearance of a strain of impaired 'pale tremor' mice in a University of Michigan research laboratory.

23 Jun 2007