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DTC genetic testing has negative consequences in children

A woman coping with the burden of familial breast cancer can't help but wonder if her young daughter will suffer the same fate. Has she inherited the same disease-causing mutation? Is it best to be prepared for the future, or to wait? During the last decade, genetic tests have been through a sea change, both in their availability and the technologies behind them. Today there are at least 34 companies that offer direct to consumer (DTC) DNA testing, some of which return health results. And now it is possible to sequence someone's entire genetic code for the price of a laptop.

3 Jul 2015

Scientists identify mechanism that reveals why stem cells undergo self-renewing divisions

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists collaborating with University of Michigan researchers have found a previously unidentified mechanism that helps explain why stem cells undergo self-renewing divisions but their offspring do not.

2 Jul 2015

Groundbreaking UVA research may lead to creation of male contraceptive

Groundbreaking new reproductive research from the School of Medicine has identified key molecular events that could be playing a critical role as sperm and egg fuse to create new life. The findings might one day lead to the creation of a male contraceptive.

24 Jun 2015

Higher obstetric risk identified in ART pregnancies not linked to poorer academic performance in children

The academic performance of children conceived by assisted reproduction techniques (ART) is no better or worse than that of spontaneously conceived children when assessed at the ninth grade of their school education.

15 Jun 2015

Study shows that women with endometriosis at increased risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy

Women with endometriosis are at an increased risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, according to results of a huge nationwide study presented today. Moreover, women with a history of endometriosis whose pregnancies progressed beyond 24 weeks were found to be at a higher than average risk of complications, including haemorrhage (ante- and postpartum) and preterm birth.

15 Jun 2015

Daily dose of aspirin effective at blocking breast tumor growth

"Take two aspirin and call me in the morning" has been the punchline for countless jokes. Could it also be good advice for cancer patients? A lab study to appear in the July 2015 issue of Laboratory Investigation found that a daily dose of aspirin was effective at blocking breast tumor growth. Previous studies have already shown a similar effect on colon, gastrointestinal, prostate, and other cancers.

12 Jun 2015

Combining lifestyle modification with metformin could help women manage polycystic ovary syndrome

A systematic review publishing today in the journal Human Reproduction Update has found that women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could manage some of the symptoms by combining a change in lifestyle with taking the drug metformin.

10 Jun 2015

ITbM researchers find new molecules that change circadian rhythm in mammals

A team of chemists and biologists at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University have succeeded in finding new molecules that change the circadian rhythm in mammals by applying synthetic chemistry methods, which makes use of highly selective metal catalysts.

10 Jun 2015

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany forms Global Fertility Alliance with Illumina and Genea

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials today announced the formation of the Global Fertility Alliance, a new collaboration to advance excellence in fertility technologies and processes within the assisted reproductive treatment (ART) laboratory.

From Illumina, Inc. 8 Jun 2015

UAB study finds how genetic variation in IIS/TOR molecular network may regulate variation in metabolism

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham finds genetic variants that occur in nature and lay the groundwork for future studies of diseases and treatments in humans.

3 Jun 2015

Yeast could serve as a test organism for study of human obesity

A team of biologists and a mathematician have identified and characterized a network composed of 94 proteins that work together to regulate fat storage in yeast.

2 Jun 2015

Academics from University of Zurich selected to receive EU's most prestigious research grant

Two male academics and one female academic from the University of Zurich have been selected to receive the EU's most prestigious research grant. Each will receive between 2.5 and 2.9 million Euro to support innovative research projects over the next five years.

1 Jun 2015

Palbociclib drug shows promise in women with HR+ metastatic breast cancer

Despite advances in managing and curing some forms of breast cancer, women whose disease becomes metastatic have fewer effective options. A new phase 3 study in some of the most difficult-to-treat patients, women with endocrine-resistant disease, showed that the newly approved drug, palbociclib, more than doubled the time to cancer recurrence for women with hormone-receptor (HR+) positive metastatic breast cancer.

30 May 2015

$Study analyses advantages of using fractions of ejaculate in IVF$

Study analyses advantages of using fractions of ejaculate in IVF

Sperm in the first fraction of ejaculate are more numerous, move more and present better quality DNA than those lagging behind. This is the conclusion of a study led by the Ginemed fertility clinic, which confirms that while the objective of the first fraction is to fertilise the egg, the second phase is so that no sperm from any other male has a chance to fertilise it.

27 May 2015

Linkam and Cambridge IVF work on the development of new protocols for sperm testing

IVF is becoming increasingly important as fertility and birth rates fall in developed countries. Ensuring patients get the right treatment is important both from an emotional and financial perspective...

From Linkam Scientific Instruments 18 May 2015

Serotonin and TGF-beta pathways link diet to health and ageing

Diet exerts a major impact on health and ageing. The nervous system plays an important role in this process but, thus far, how food signals are interpreted by the nervous system has been a mystery.

14 May 2015

Bamboo could increase spread of hantavirus, warns WSU ecologist

Washington State University researchers say the popularity of bamboo landscaping could increase the spread of hantavirus, with the plant's prolific seed production creating a population boom among seed-eating deer mice that carry the disease.

8 May 2015

New research could help predict outbreaks of West Nile virus disease in the U.S.

New research has identified correlations between weather conditions and the occurrence of West Nile virus disease in the United States, raising the possibility of being able to better predict outbreaks.

8 May 2015

Research findings may help identify genes that trigger BWS in humans

Humans and cattle share a similar epigenetic fetal overgrowth disorder that occurs more commonly following assisted reproduction procedures. In humans, this disorder is called Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), and in cattle it is called large offspring syndrome (LOS) and can result in the overgrowth of fetuses and enlarged babies.

29 Apr 2015

Common diabetes medication causes intersex in fish

A medication commonly taken for Type II diabetes, which is being found in freshwater systems worldwide, has been shown to cause intersex in fish -male fish that produce eggs.

27 Apr 2015