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Findings shed new light on BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast-cancer gene mutations in older and African-American women

Clearest picture yet of the prevalence and predictors of mutations in the breast-cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 among women in the general population.

15 Aug 2006

Gene test for cancers could mean more effective, tailored-made treatment

Scientists in the United States have developed a test which is able to predict which lung cancer tumours are most likely to recur.

14 Aug 2006

New novel protein-genome interaction mapping technology

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT) today have released details of the development and commercialisation of a powerful protein-genome interaction mapping technology termed 'DamID.'

14 Aug 2006

Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

A signaling system involved in many forms of leukemia and lymphoma is more powerful than scientists have thought, exerting control over our genes by affecting whole swaths of chromosomes in global fashion.

6 Aug 2006

Gene family expansion can begin even before a gene is duplicated

Theoretical biologist Stephen Proulx studies gene families to explore how genomes become diverse and evolve.

6 Aug 2006

DNA of human embryonic stem cells is chemically modified in a characteristic, predictable pattern

Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are undergoing a period of intense cellular activity, including the chemical addition of methyl groups to specific DNA sequences in a process known as DNA methylation.

6 Aug 2006

Genomic expansion and diversification in a African sleeping sickness parasite allow it to evade host detection

A team of scientists headed by Dr. Sara Melville at the University of Cambridge has shown that the parasite known to cause African sleeping sickness has evolved an unusual chromosomal structure as a result of environmental adaptation.

3 Aug 2006

BRIT1 gene plays a pivotal role in DNA damage detection and repair

A single gene plays a pivotal role launching two DNA damage detection and repair pathways in the human genome, suggesting that it functions as a previously unidentified tumor suppressor gene.

3 Aug 2006

Different genes may be responsible for causing autism in boys than in girls

Like detectives trying to solve a murder case, researchers searching for the biological cause of autism have come up with some surprising suspects.

2 Aug 2006

Genetic mutations may be responsible for schizophrenia

The higher risk of schizophrenia among offspring of expectant mothers living through famine could help us understand the genetic basis for that debilitating mental disorder.

2 Aug 2006

Global sharing of avian influenza virus samples

OFFLU, the OIE/FAO joint network of expertise on avian influenza, will systematically make avian influenza virus sequences accessible to the entire scientific community.

2 Aug 2006

Human papillomavirus type 16 and 18 variants

Variants of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 persist longer in people whose ancestors are from the same geographical area as the virus, according to a study in the August 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 Aug 2006

Mice more complicated than humans when it comes to telomeres

In terms of their telomeres, mice are more complicated than humans. That's the finding from a recent Rockefeller University study.

2 Aug 2006

Scientists identify genetic element that the dengue virus uses to replicate

The first step in the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses is no mystery: it's the pesky insect's bite that allows the virus to enter its victim's bloodstream.

2 Aug 2006

Innovative approach for creating a cytomegalovirus vaccine

Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus - almost one an hour.

2 Aug 2006

New genetic model for Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden are homing in on mechanisms that may explain one set of causes for Parkinson's disease.

1 Aug 2006

HHS to stockpile Anthrax immune globulin

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will purchase 10,000 therapeutic courses of treatment of Anthrax Immune Globulin (AIG) from Cangene Corporation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for a total of $143,833,719.

30 Jul 2006

Genes may be responsible for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder tends to run in families, causing members of several generations to experience severe anxiety and disturbing thoughts that they ease by repeating certain behaviors.

26 Jul 2006

New insights into how cells repair damaged DNA

Cancer researchers have discovered that a recently identified protein critical for repairing damaged genes uses an unusual mechanism to keep its repairs accurate.

26 Jul 2006