Chromosome 4 News and Research

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Humans normally have 46 chromosomes in each cell, divided into 23 pairs. Two copies of chromosome 4, one copy inherited from each parent, form one of the pairs. Chromosome 4 spans more than 191 million DNA building blocks (base pairs) and represents more than 6 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 4 likely contains between 1,300 and 1,600 genes.

Genes on chromosome 4 are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Smokers' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk is genetic

It's well known that puffing on cigarettes can eventually leave you out of puff.

11 Mar 2009

Measuring the strength needed to move chromosomes

It's about as long as the width of a human hair and only half that length across. So it's tiny - measured in millionths of a meter - and extremely tricky to manipulate. But the meiotic spindle plays so irresistibly important a role in separating our chromosomes during cell division that scientists are compelled to try to study it.

11 Mar 2009

Molecule tracking reveals mechanism of chromosome separation in dividing cells

University of Washington (UW) researchers are helping to write the operating manual for the nano-scale machine that separates chromosomes before cell division.

8 Mar 2009

Genes more important in cleft lip and palate than previously thought

Comparing 500,000 snippets of human DNA put scientists from the University of Bonn on the right track.

8 Mar 2009

Blood test predicts chance of frontal lobe dementia

Frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD) strikes people at an earlier age. After Alzheimer's disease, FTD is the form of dementia that occurs most frequently in patients younger than 65.

8 Mar 2009

Discovery of new gene associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

A collaborative research effort spanning nearly a decade between researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT, the Broad Institute, King's College London (KCL) and other institutions has identified a novel gene for inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

5 Mar 2009

Molecular test for cancer relapse in UK children

A molecular marker used in America to predict whether children with a form of kidney cancer, called Wilms' tumour, are more likely to relapse than other children, could be useful for UK patients.

3 Mar 2009

Researchers isolate gene mutations in patients with inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have discovered a new gene whose mutations cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder.

26 Feb 2009

New gene associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

A collaborative research effort spanning nearly a decade between researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and King's College London (KCL) has identified a novel gene for inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

26 Feb 2009

A second MND gene mutation in one year signifies rapid research progress

A collaborative research project involving Professor Christopher Shaw of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London (KCL), Dr Tom Kwiatkowski at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Professor Robert H Brown at University of Massachusetts, has revealed that mutations in a gene called FUS (fused in sarcoma) cause familial Motor Neuron Disease (also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

26 Feb 2009

Significant Rett syndrome discovery

A paper published online today in Nature Neuroscience reveals the presence of methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in glia. MeCP2 is a protein associated with a variety of neurological disorders, including Rett Syndrome, the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders.

23 Feb 2009

Discovery of novel genetic markers linked to increased risk of heart attack

An international team of researchers including scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München has succeeded in identifying new gene variants associated with an increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.

17 Feb 2009

2 genes influence social behavior, visual-spatial performance in people with Williams syndrome

Unraveling the genetics of social behavior and cognitive abilities, researchers at the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have traced the role of two genes,GTF2I and GTF2IRD, in a rare genetic disorder known as Williams Syndrome.

11 Feb 2009

Micro RNA plays a key role in melanoma metastasis

Scientists have long wondered how melanoma cells travel from primary tumors on the surface of the skin to the brain, liver and lungs, where they become more aggressive, resistant to therapy, and deadly.

9 Feb 2009

Lack of specific gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

9 Feb 2009

Missing gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

8 Feb 2009

Discovery of direct link between vitamin D and MS susceptibility 'gene'

Researchers have found evidence that a direct interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variant alters the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).

8 Feb 2009

Guidance for evaluating menopause-like condition in girls and young women

A comprehensive plan to help health care professionals diagnose and treat primary ovarian insufficiency-a menopause-like condition affecting girls and young women that may occur years before normal menopause is expected-has been developed by a scientist at the National Institutes of Health.

5 Feb 2009

Discovery of new schizophrenia gene

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are one gene closer to understanding schizophrenia and related disorders.

3 Feb 2009

Sociability traced to region of brain called amygdala

People with a genetic condition called Williams syndrome are famously gregarious. Scientists, looking carefully at brain function in individuals with Williams syndrome, think they may know why this is so.

29 Jan 2009