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PHF21A gene plays a big role in Potocki-Shaffer syndrome

A gene whose mutation results in malformed faces and skulls as well as mental retardation has been found by scientists.

6 Jul 2012

MiR-125b downregulated in both aggressive and indolent forms of CLL

Loss of a particular microRNA in chronic lymphocytic leukemia shuts down normal cell metabolism and turns up alternative mechanisms that enable cancer cells to produce the energy and build the molecules they need to proliferate and invade neighboring tissue.

6 Jul 2012

Reprogramming asthma-promoting immune cells diminishes airway damage and inflammation

Reprogramming asthma-promoting immune cells in mice diminishes airway damage and inflammation, and could potentially lead to new treatments for people with asthma, researchers have found.

5 Jul 2012

Study shows cells from different Parkinson’s patients have unique drug responses

Researchers have taken a step toward personalized medicine for Parkinson's disease, by investigating signs of the disease in patient-derived cells and testing how the cells respond to drug treatments.

5 Jul 2012

Neighboring non-cancer cells may contribute to drug resistance

One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients. One of the burning questions in the field of cancer research has been and remains: how does cancer evade drug treatment?

5 Jul 2012

The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation supports Genetic Initiative at CCFA

The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, which actively supports science research, has given substantial support to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America to continue its Genetic Initiative to find a cure for the diseases.

4 Jul 2012

Study examines how cells exploit gene sequences to cope with toxic stress

Toxic chemicals wreak havoc on cells, damaging DNA and other critical molecules. A new study from researchers at MIT and the University at Albany reveals how a molecular emergency-response system shifts the cell into damage-control mode and helps it survive such attacks by rapidly producing proteins that counteract the harm.

4 Jul 2012

Epigenetic changes due to methylation play a key role in altering genes in RA

It's not just our DNA that makes us susceptible to disease and influences its impact and outcome. Scientists are beginning to realize more and more that important changes in genes that are unrelated to changes in the DNA sequence itself - a field of study known as epigenetics - are equally influential.

4 Jul 2012

Important insight into association between childhood maltreatment and suicide

Exposure to childhood maltreatment increases the risk for most psychiatric disorders as well as many negative consequences of these conditions. This new study, by Dr. Gustavo Turecki and colleagues at McGill University, Canada, provides important insight into one of the most extreme outcomes, suicide.

4 Jul 2012

Scientists reprogram amniotic fluid cells without introduction of extra genes

Stem cells found in amniotic fluid can be transformed into a more versatile state similar to embryonic stem cells, according to a study published today in the journal Molecular Therapy. Scientists from Imperial College London and the UCL Institute of Child Health succeeded in reprogramming amniotic fluid cells without having to introduce extra genes.

4 Jul 2012

Cigarette smoke reduces production of Fallopian tube gene - BAD

Cigarette smoke reduces the production of a Fallopian tube gene known as "BAD", which helps explain the link between smoking and ectopic pregnancy. The finding, from scientists led by Drs Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh, UK, was described today at the annual meting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) in Istanbul.

4 Jul 2012

Nicotine addiction: An interview with Dr. Crystal

Cigarette smoking and nicotine addiction are widespread problems throughout the world. Many people continue to smoke despite high taxes and the available public information on the dangers of smoking.

3 Jul 2012

NOTCH1 signaling promotes T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia-initiating cell regeneration

Research suggests that patients with leukemia sometimes relapse because standard chemotherapy fails to kill the self-renewing leukemia initiating cells, often referred to as cancer stem cells. In such cancers, the cells lie dormant for a time, only to later begin cloning, resulting in a return and metastasis of the disease.

3 Jul 2012

Safety tips to prevent heatstroke during hot weather

People across the country are experiencing sweltering weather with temperatures and the heat index reaching well into the 100-degree range. While many will take refuge in air-conditioned homes or at a local lake or pool, it's important to remember that the heat can be much more than bothersome. It can put your health at risk and even prove life threatening.

3 Jul 2012

PGD for breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible and established, with good success rates for those treated, according to investigators from the reproduction, oncology and genetics centres of the university hospitals of Maastricht and Brussels.

3 Jul 2012

Osteoarthritis susceptibility: eight potential genes discovered

The largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of osteoarthritis to date, published Online First in The Lancet, has uncovered eight new genetic variants or loci that appear to increase susceptibility to the most common form of arthritis, which affects about 40% of the world population older than 70 years. These findings bring the total number of osteoarthritis susceptibility genes isolated in European populations to 11.

3 Jul 2012