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Medical investigators discover new aspect of gene-splicing process that produces mRNA

A rare, small RNA turns a gene-splicing machine into a switch that controls the expression of hundreds of human genes. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor of Biochemistry Gideon Dreyfuss, PhD, and his team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discovered an entirely new aspect of the gene-splicing process that produces messenger RNA (mRNA).

22 Aug 2013

Study: Mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own aging

As we age, our cells change and become damaged. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging have shown that aging is determined not only by the accumulation of changes during our lifetime but also by the genes we acquire from our mothers.

22 Aug 2013

Influenza researchers use genetic sequencing to trace source and evolution of avian H7N9 virus

An international team of influenza researchers in China, the United Kingdom and the United States has used genetic sequencing to trace the source and evolution of the avian H7N9 influenza virus that emerged in humans in China earlier this year. The study, published today in Nature, was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations.

22 Aug 2013

Researchers identify gene that contributes to development of acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) have identified a gene that contributes to the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This pivotal finding follows 40 years of University of Chicago research that has slowly unraveled the genetic basis of leukemia.

21 Aug 2013

Genetics may play role in how people's taste receptors send signals

Genetics may play a role in how people's taste receptors send signals, leading to a wide spectrum of taste preferences, according to Penn State food scientists. These varied, genetically influenced responses may mean that food and drink companies will need a range of artificial sweeteners to accommodate different consumer tastes.

21 Aug 2013

Researchers find genetic correlation between eating disorders and alcohol dependence

Part of the risk for alcohol dependence is genetic, and the same is true for eating disorders. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found it's likely some of the same genes are involved in both.

21 Aug 2013

Research suggests gene therapy approach may be feasible option to treat Rett Syndrome

The concept behind gene therapy is simple: deliver a healthy gene to compensate for one that is mutated. New research published today in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests this approach may eventually be a feasible option to treat Rett Syndrome, the most disabling of the autism spectrum disorders.

21 Aug 2013

Chinese herbal medicine JSK protects against injury caused by damage to spinal cord blood vessels

A new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience demonstrates that Chinese herbal medicine Ji-Sui-Kang (JSK), given systemically for three weeks after injury in rats, improved locomotor function, reduced tissue damage, and preserved the structure of neural cells compared to control rats.

20 Aug 2013

Researchers find new strategy that has potential to change standard of care for DLBCL patients

Patients with an aggressive lymphoma that often relapses and kills within two years experienced a remission of their cancer and stayed disease-free as long as 28 months after taking a commercially-available drug that made chemotherapy more effective.

20 Aug 2013

Study shows complement activation plays an important role in inherited macular degeneration

In a study published on line this week in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, Drs. Donita Garland, Rosario Fernandez-Godino, and Eric Pierce of the Ocular Genomics Institute at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, along with their colleagues, reported the unexpected finding that in mice genetically engineered to have an inherited form of macular degeneration, turning off the animals' complement system, a part of the immune system, prevented the disease.

20 Aug 2013

Researchers create mouse models to advance the study of unusual deadly diseases

By directly manipulating a portion of the prion protein-coding gene, Whitehead Institute researchers have created mouse models of two neurodegenerative diseases that are fatal in humans. The highly accurate reproduction of disease pathology seen with these models should advance the study of these unusual but deadly diseases.

20 Aug 2013

Caltech biologists identify mechanism by which beneficial bacteria reside, thrive in gastrointestinal tract

The human body is full of tiny microorganisms-hundreds to thousands of species of bacteria collectively called the microbiome, which are believed to contribute to a healthy existence. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract-and the colon in particular-is home to the largest concentration and highest diversity of bacterial species.

20 Aug 2013

Illumina announces availability of its newest reagent kits for MiSeq benchtop sequencer

Illumina, Inc. today announced the availability of its newest reagent kits for the MiSeq, the industry's most accurate and easiest-to-use benchtop sequencer. The improved chemistry doubles sequencing output to 15 gigabases (Gb) by increasing the number of sequencing reads (up to 25 million reads) and overall read length (up to 2x300 base pairs). These innovations enable researchers to perform new applications including exome sequencing on the MiSeq.

From Illumina, Inc. 19 Aug 2013

Powerful mechanism helps viruses evade body's immune response

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a powerful mechanism by which viruses such as influenza, West Nile and Dengue evade the body's immune response and infect humans with these potentially deadly diseases. The findings may provide scientists with an attractive target for novel antiviral therapies.

19 Aug 2013

Study: Gene that controls ageing process linked to cancer

A gene that helps control the ageing process by acting as a cell's internal clock has been linked to cancer by a major new study.

19 Aug 2013

Arrays of nanoscale sensors detect flaws in drugs and help improve production

MIT chemical engineers have discovered that arrays of billions of nanoscale sensors have unique properties that could help pharmaceutical companies produce drugs - especially those based on antibodies - more safely and efficiently.

17 Aug 2013

DLBCLs resistant to chemotherapy can be reprogrammed to respond using azacitidine

A phase I clinical trial showed diffuse, large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) resistant to chemotherapy can be reprogrammed to respond to treatment using the drug azacitidine, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Aug 2013

Scientists shed new light on molecular causes of age related degenerative disease

An international collaboration jointly led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin has shed new light on the origins and molecular causes of age related degenerative conditions including Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The new perspective provided by this work may lead the way to new treatments and early diagnoses.

16 Aug 2013

Study provides information that validates genetic basis of adaptation to high altitudes

Research led by scientists from the University of California, San Diego has decoded the genetic basis of chronic mountain sickness (CMS) or Monge's disease. Their study provides important information that validates the genetic basis of adaptation to high altitudes, and provides potential targets for CMS treatment.

16 Aug 2013

Researchers make significant advancement in childhood cancer

A significant advance in the understanding of a childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma has been made by scientists from the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin.

16 Aug 2013

Genes News and Research

Medical investigators discover new aspect of gene-splicing process that produces mRNA

Study: Mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own aging

Influenza researchers use genetic sequencing to trace source and evolution of avian H7N9 virus

Researchers identify gene that contributes to development of acute myeloid leukemia

Genetics may play role in how people's taste receptors send signals

Researchers find genetic correlation between eating disorders and alcohol dependence

Research suggests gene therapy approach may be feasible option to treat Rett Syndrome

Chinese herbal medicine JSK protects against injury caused by damage to spinal cord blood vessels

Researchers find new strategy that has potential to change standard of care for DLBCL patients

Study shows complement activation plays an important role in inherited macular degeneration

Researchers create mouse models to advance the study of unusual deadly diseases

Caltech biologists identify mechanism by which beneficial bacteria reside, thrive in gastrointestinal tract

Illumina announces availability of its newest reagent kits for MiSeq benchtop sequencer

Powerful mechanism helps viruses evade body's immune response

Study: Gene that controls ageing process linked to cancer

Arrays of nanoscale sensors detect flaws in drugs and help improve production

DLBCLs resistant to chemotherapy can be reprogrammed to respond using azacitidine

Scientists shed new light on molecular causes of age related degenerative disease

Study provides information that validates genetic basis of adaptation to high altitudes

Researchers make significant advancement in childhood cancer

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