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Epigenetics: A New Tool for Forensic Detectives

Developing analytical methods can help the triers of fact, judges and juries, better understand the events surrounding the circumstances of a crime. In forensic analysis, we are talking about determining the identity of unknown individuals through DNA and using DNA and other chemical signatures to determine and clarify the circumstances of the crime.

From Pittcon 20 Dec 2017

New study explains why one identical twin more at risk for autoimmune diseases

It does not matter if you raise them the same, feed them the same, or dress them the same, any parent with identical twins knows their two children are remarkably different. Identical twins are identical in genes, but they are not identical in gene expressions, a difference due to epigenetics.

12 Dec 2017

Researchers reveal pathological mechanisms in congenital myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is the most common form of genetic muscular dystrophy that begins in adulthood. DM is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness. People with this disorder often have prolonged muscle contractions (myotonic) and are not able to relax certain muscles after use.

12 Dec 2017

Research findings will help identify genetic causes of brain disorders

New findings will help to identify the genetic causes of brain disorders: researchers at the Universities of Basel, Bonn and Cologne have presented a systematic catalog of specific variable locations in the genome that influence gene activity in the human hippocampus, as they report in the journal Nature Communications.

27 Nov 2017

GHIT Fund announces US$16.7 million to support development of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, a unique Japanese public-private partnership formed to battle infectious diseases around the globe, today announced US$16.7 million to support development of new compounds for fighting malaria and tuberculosis, a leishmaniasis vaccine and drug, and a treatment for a long-ignored flesh-eating infection.

31 Oct 2017

Increased enzyme production by the liver causes fatty liver, obesity and insulin resistance

In mice that are given a high-fat diet, an increased production of the enzyme DPP4 by the liver promotes an increase in body fat, the development of fatty liver disease and insulin resistance.

24 Aug 2017

DNA-sensing mechanism of innate immune system controls cellular senescence

Cells in the body or in cultures eventually stop replicating. This phenomenon is called "senescence" and is triggered by shortening of telomeres, oxidative stress or genetic damage to the cells, either acute or simply due to the cell growing "old".

31 Jul 2017

Study identifies new mutations linked to hereditary neuroendocrine tumors

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors with a strong hereditary component. Half the genes whose alterations confer hereditary susceptibility to develop this condition code for enzymes involved in the Krebs cycle, a metabolic route involved in cellular respiration.

20 Jul 2017

AAOS issues new guidelines for treatment of hip osteoarthritis

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recently released a new clinical practice guideline on the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip that strongly recommends the use of pre-surgical treatments to ease pain and improve mobility, including corticosteroid injections, physical therapy and non-narcotic medications.

11 Apr 2017

Refugees with PTSD regulate stress differently than individuals without the disorder, study finds

New Michigan State University research has found that refugees diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder regulate stress differently than those who don't have the disorder, but may have experienced similar suffering.

16 Mar 2017

Research shows role played by PAMPs in immune system signaling and response

How big you are may be as important as what you look like, at least to immune system cells watching for dangerous bacteria and viruses.

18 Jan 2017

Insights into immune system pathways may be key to developing effective TB vaccine

New research findings provide insight into the immune system pathways that may be key to developing an effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine.

22 Dec 2016

UAB researchers find microRNA as potential therapeutic target for MDD

A tiny RNA appears to play a role in producing major depression, the mental disorder that affects as many as 250 million people a year worldwide.

9 Sep 2016

NIBIB researchers develop nanovaccine to enhance cancer immunotherapy

NIBIB researchers have created a nanovaccine that could make a current approach to cancer immunotherapy more effective while also reducing side effects.

25 Aug 2016

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent, disabling and expensive public health crises in the United States. It affects more than 100 million Americans, with annual costs estimated at $635 billion, says a 2014 report from the American Pain Society.

22 Jun 2016

DNA sequence features predict genome-wide binding pattern of key protein involved in brain disorders

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California-Davis are combining in vivo experimentation with computation for highly accurate prediction of the genome-wide binding pattern of a key protein involved in brain disorders.

25 Mar 2016

Penn researchers develop new mathematical model to estimate mutation rates in the human genome

It turns out that the type, how frequent, and where new mutations occur in the human genome depends on which DNA building blocks are nearby, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in an advanced online study published this week in Nature Genetics.

22 Feb 2016

Mtss1 'tumour suppressor' for CML

The metastasis suppressor 1 protein acts a tumour suppressor in chronic myeloid leukaemia stem cells, reveals research published in Leukemia.

17 Feb 2016

Patient recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis treatment: an interview with Dr Nowell

The study, “When patients write the guidelines: Patient panel recommendations for the treatment of RA,” published in Arthritis Research & Care, demonstrated the feasibility of developing CPG recommendations based on a voting panel composed entirely of patients.

8 Jan 2016

Research reveals MECP2 Duplication Syndrome can be reversed

The methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) produces a protein of the same name, the level of which is critical for normal brain function. Mutations leading to protein under-expression cause Rett Syndrome while gene duplication causing over-expression lead to MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. Both disorders are severely debilitating childhood neurological diseases.

26 Nov 2015