Chromosome Y News and Research

RSS

The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans (the other is the X chromosome). The sex chromosomes form one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome spans about 58 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents almost 2 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Each person normally has one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell. The Y chromosome is present in males, who have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.

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. The Y chromosome likely contains between 70 and 200 genes. Because only males have the Y chromosome, the genes on this chromosome tend to be involved in male sex determination and development. Sex is determined by the SRY gene, which is responsible for the development of a fetus into a male. Other genes on the Y chromosome are important for male fertility.

Many genes are unique to the X or Y chromosome, but genes in an area known as the pseudoautosomal region are present on both chromosomes. As a result, men and women each have two functional copies of these genes. Many genes in the pseudoautosomal region are essential for normal development.

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

Discovery of new peptide communication factor in bacteria

Discovery by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers of a new communication factor that enables bacteria to "talk to each other" and causes their death could have significant consequences leading to development of a new class of antibiotic medications.

29 Oct 2007

New egg-specific gene, JY-1 offers clues to infertility

A newly identified gene that controls embryo development in cows may someday offer clues into the cause of infertility in women.

29 Oct 2007

Obesity-related hormone is higher in children with Down syndrome

Children with Down syndrome are more likely than their unaffected siblings to have higher levels of a hormone associated with obesity, according to pediatric researchers.

28 Oct 2007

Test gives insight into prognosis in patients with plasma cell malignancies

A new Mayo Clinic study due to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in San Diego this week shows that a chromosome test called “FISH” is better than conventional methods in identifying chromosomal genetic abnormalities associated with plasma cell malignancies.

24 Oct 2007

Researchers find crucial signal that switches on eye development

Researchers at the University of Warwick, funded by Wellcome Trust, have uncovered a crucial signal that switches on eye development.

24 Oct 2007

Advances in drug screening

With the discovery of suitable molecular targets - cellular molecules along pathways crucial for sustaining the life of cancer cells - comes the perplexing dilemma of where to find the next therapeutics that will bind to and disable those targets.

23 Oct 2007

Researchers discover genes linking stress, high blood pressure, alcoholism and tobacco addiction

A team led by a Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher has uncovered a series of genes linking mental stress, high blood pressure, alcoholism and tobacco addiction.

22 Oct 2007

Syngenta licenses chromatin gene stacking technology

Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. has announced that it has entered into a research and commercial license agreement for Chromatin's proprietary gene stacking technology.

22 Oct 2007

Chromatin licenses gene stacking technology to Syngenta Biotechnology

Chromatin Inc. has announced that it has entered into a research and commercial license agreement with Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. for Chromatin's proprietary gene stacking technology.

22 Oct 2007

New explanation for evolutionary changes in genetic sex-determination systems

In animals with separate sexes, embryos commit to becoming male or female at an early stage.

22 Oct 2007

Transgenics sped up

A new method of constructing artificial plant chromosomes from small rings of naturally occurring plant DNA can be used to transport multiple genes at once into embryonic plants where they are expressed, duplicated as plant cells divide, and passed on to the next generation -- a long-term goal for those interested in improving agricultural productivity.

19 Oct 2007

Oral medication restores missing protein in boys with muscular dystrophy

PTC124, an oral medication that changes the way muscle cells interpret genetic information, holds promise as a treatment for some patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the Muscular Dystrophy Association ( http://www.mda.org/ ) announced today.

19 Oct 2007

Genetic ancestry testing could spawn unwelcome societal consequences

For many Americans, the potential to track one's DNA to a specific country, region or tribe with a take-home kit is highly alluring.

19 Oct 2007

X chromosomes and evolution

Researchers at the University of Rochester believe they have just confirmed a controversial theory of evolution.

18 Oct 2007

Sex hormone signature indicates gender rather than just chromosomes

Help with assigning gender could one day be at hand for intersex individuals whose genital phenotypes and sex chromosomes don't match, thanks to the discovery of a stable sex hormone signature in our cells.

18 Oct 2007

The genetics of MLL leukemogenesis

In the November 1st issue of G&D, Dr. Michael Cleary (Stanford University School of Medicine) and colleagues identify the gene Meis1 as a critical player in the establishment of leukemia stem cells, and the development of MLL leukemia.

17 Oct 2007

Dmp1 gene and lung cancer

The first research to show the involvement of a gene known as Dmp1 in human lung cancer will hopefully lead to an increased understanding on what goes wrong at the cellular level to cause the disease, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reporting in Cancer Cell .

16 Oct 2007

Enhanced DNA-repair mechanism can cause breast cancer

Although defects in the "breast cancer gene," BRCA1, have been known for years to increase the risk for breast cancer, exactly how it can lead to tumor growth has remained a mystery.

16 Oct 2007

Network approach finds potential breast cancer susceptibility gene

Like a crossword-puzzle solver who uses the letters in some answers to figure out others, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an international group of collaborators have used data on genes involved in inherited forms of breast cancer to identify a gene linked to non-hereditary cases of the disease.

10 Oct 2007

Better understanding of what genomic changes paved the way for modern humans

Researchers have answered a similarly vexing (and far more relevant) genomic question: Which of the thousands of long stretches of repeated DNA in the human genome came first?

9 Oct 2007