Gene Expression News and Research

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Gene Expression is the process by which a gene gets turned on in a cell to make RNA and proteins. Gene expression may be measured by looking at the RNA, or the protein made from the RNA, or what the protein does in a cell.

Researchers discover how microRNAs control protein synthesis

While most RNAs work to create, package, and transfer proteins as determined by the cell's immediate needs, miniature pieces of RNA, called microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression.

10 Jul 2007

Gene therapy offers promising approach to tackle pancreatic cancer

A molecularly engineered therapy selectively embeds a gene in pancreatic cancer that shrinks or eradicates tumors, inhibits metastasis, and prolongs survival with virtually no toxicity, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the July 9 edition of Cancer Cell.

10 Jul 2007

Chronic fatigue: clues in the blood

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) believe that blood may hold vital insights into what is happening in the brain of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

8 Jul 2007

RNA molecules can orchestrate gene activity across vast portions of the human genome

Large, seemingly useless pieces of RNA - a molecule originally considered only a lowly messenger for DNA - play an important role in letting cells know where they are in the body and what they are supposed to become, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered.

29 Jun 2007

Support for chromosomal theory of cancer found in cancers' development of drug resistance

Thirty-six years into the war on cancer, scientists have not only failed to come up with a cure, but most of the newer drugs suffer from the same problems as those available in the pre-war days: serious toxicity, limited effectiveness and eventual resistance.

28 Jun 2007

New genetic test advances detection and diagnosis of muscular dystrophy

A new genetic test targeting the most common types of muscular dystrophy--those caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene--is far quicker with greater accuracy and sensitivity than existing tests.

28 Jun 2007

New genetic marker characterizes aggressiveness of cancer cells

Levels of a small non-coding RNA molecule called let-7 appear to define different stages of cancer better than some of the "classical" markers for tumor progression, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the June 25, 2007, early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

26 Jun 2007

Mushrooms show promise for creation of new drugs

Mushrooms might serve as biofactories for the production of various beneficial human drugs, according to plant pathologists who have inserted new genes into mushrooms.

23 Jun 2007

Smoking affects ligament healing

The list of reasons you shouldn't smoke has gotten longer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting that smoking interferes with ligament healing.

23 Jun 2007

Turn-ons and turn-offs for neurons

Our brain consists of billions of nerve cells enabling to learn, remember and reason.

20 Jun 2007

Master regulator of the stem cell state

For more than 25 years, stem cells have been defined based on what they can become: more of themselves, as well as multiple different specialized cell types.

20 Jun 2007

New understanding of how the DNA helix replicates

A team of researchers led by University of Virginia Health System geneticists has uncovered a major secret in the mystery of how the DNA helix replicates itself time after time.

18 Jun 2007

Circadian rhythms and genetics

New research from Colorado State University shows that the function of all genes in mammals is based on circadian -- or daily -- rhythms. The study, publishing in PLoS Computational Biology on June 15, refutes the current theory that only 10 percent to 15 percent of all genes were affected by nature's clock.

18 Jun 2007

New area of stroke drug discovery for the 22nd century

A new therapy to re-activate silenced genes in patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases or stroke is being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Cornell University.

17 Jun 2007

New understanding of how Staphylococcus aureus hides

A major cause of human and animal infections, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria may evade the immune system" defences and dodge antibiotics by climbing into our cells and then lying low to avoid detection.

17 Jun 2007

25,000 genes that have clocks!

A chemical signal acts as time clock in the expression of genes controlled by a master gene called a coactivator, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in the journal Cell today.

17 Jun 2007

Gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs

A gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs, report researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2007

Tumor vessels identified by unique molecular markers

Results from a new study have made it easier for scientists to distinguish between growing blood vessels in healthy tissues and those that are associated with tumors.

16 Jun 2007

Nanosized bioceramic particles could function as efficient gene delivery vehicles with target specificity for the spleen

A detailed comparison of different types of ceramic nanoparticles has found that those made of silica can efficiently transport therapeutic genes to the spleen and trigger a potent immune response capable of attacking tumors.

14 Jun 2007

Cholesterol causes changes in gene expression

Experts from the University of Granada carried out research on atherosclerosis from its earliest stages to discover the origin of atheromatous plaques, fatty deposits gradually and irregularly formed in the main arteries, causing the narrowing of the blood vessel.

14 Jun 2007