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New diagnostic procedure helps differentiate psoriasis from eczema

In some patients, the chronic inflammatory skin diseases psoriasis* and eczema** are similar in appearance. Up to now, dermatologists have therefore had to base their decision on which treatment should be selected on their own experience and an examination of tissue samples.

10 Jul 2014

TCGA finds novel mutations in key cancer-causing pathway in lung adenocarcinoma

Researchers from The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network have identified novel mutations in a well-known cancer-causing pathway in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common subtype of lung cancer.

10 Jul 2014

Rockefeller scientists identify protein that makes breast cancer cells more likely to metastasize

Using an innovative tool that captures heretofore hidden ways that cells are regulated, scientists at Rockefeller University have identified a protein that makes breast cancer cells more likely to metastasize.

10 Jul 2014

Neuroprotective effects of lithium are likely related to gene expressions

Lithium, as a neuroprotective agent, benefits for neuronal survival. Recent cDNA array studies have demonstrated that mood stabilizer lithium exhibits neuroprotective effects through multiple targets.

9 Jul 2014

U.S. scientists fail to study possible role of innate variation in athletic performance

Compared to scientists working in other countries, U.S.-based scientists are underrepresented as authors of articles on the potential role of innate variation in athletic performance that are published in peer-reviewed science journals, according to Grand Valley State University researchers.

9 Jul 2014

Samples from Chobani yogurt contain most virulent form of fungus

Samples isolated from Chobani yogurt that was voluntarily recalled in September 2013 have been found to contain the most virulent form of a fungus called Mucor circinelloides, which is associated with infections in immune-compromised people.

8 Jul 2014

Researchers identify new genes that likely contribute to asthma

In a study published yesterday in the scientific journal Nature Immunology, a group at the La Jolla Institute (LJI) led by Pandurangan Vijayanand, Ph.D. identify new genes that likely contribute to asthma, a disease that currently affects over 200 million people world wide.

8 Jul 2014

Pseudogenes may play key role in the discovery of new biomarkers

Dysfunctional, unloved and seemingly of little use, these poor-cousin relatives of genes have lost their protein-coding abilities. They contain material not essential for an organism's survival and are the "last stop" for removal of genomic waste.

8 Jul 2014

CWRU receives $12.6 million from NIA to identify rare genetic variants that contribute to Alzheimer's

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are part of a five-university collaboration receiving a $12.6 million, four-year grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to identify rare genetic variants that may either protect against, or contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk.

8 Jul 2014

AutoGenomics, Genomas sign agreement to develop DNA-guided diagnostic systems

AutoGenomics, Inc, a leader in automated microarray technology for molecular diagnostics, and Genomas, a biomedical company enabling DNA-guided medicine for personal healthcare, announced today that they have signed an agreement to jointly develop genetic tests and DNA-guided diagnostic systems for optimal selection of statins and for improved delivery of statin therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.

7 Jul 2014

Research on intestinal microbiota overturns vision of human gut ecosystem

An international research team within the MetaHIT consortium coordinated by INRA and involving teams from CEA, CNRS and Université d'Evry, has developed a new method to analyse the global genome, or the metagenome of the intestinal microbiota.

7 Jul 2014

CNIOA researchers update number of human genes to 19,000

How nutrients are metabolised and how neurons communicate in the brain are just some of the messages coded by the 3 billion letters that make up the human genome.

4 Jul 2014

MEF2 gene: A potential therapeutic target to protect neuronal loss in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

A new study by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) has identified a chemical "switch" that controls both the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells and the survival of existing nerve cells in the brain.

4 Jul 2014

Transcription factor IRF4 plays key role in brown fat's thermogenic process

The body contains two types of fat cells, easily distinguished by color: White and brown. While white fat serves to store excess calories until they're needed by the body, brown adipocytes actually burn fat by turning it into heat.

4 Jul 2014

Scientists find unexpected degree of complexity in transcriptional enhancers’ interactions

Contrary to what was thought, sequences of DNA called enhancers - which control a gene's output - find their targets long before they are activated during embryonic development, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found.

4 Jul 2014

Researchers reveal how schizophrenia-linked genetic variation alters skeletons of developing brain cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have begun to connect the dots between a schizophrenia-linked genetic variation and its effect on the developing brain. As they report July 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, their experiments show that the loss of a particular gene alters the skeletons of developing brain cells, which in turn disrupts the orderly layers those cells would normally form.

4 Jul 2014

Researchers discover new way by which metabolism is linked to regulation of DNA

A research team at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way by which metabolism is linked to the regulation of DNA, the basis of our genetic code. The findings may have important implications for the understanding of many common diseases, including cancer.

4 Jul 2014