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Scientists discover enzyme that controls K-Ras gene responsible for lung cancer growth

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that an enzyme called C-Raf controls a hugely important gene responsible for the development of lung cancer, according to research published in Cancer Discovery.

13 May 2011

New computational model can analyze living cells, social networks

At first glance, a diagram of the complex network of genes that regulate cellular metabolism might seem hopelessly complex, and efforts to control such a system futile. However, an MIT researcher has come up with a new computational model that can analyze any type of complex network - biological, social or electronic - and reveal the critical points that can be used to control the entire system.

13 May 2011

Scientists uncover gene responsible for Adams-Oliver Syndrome

Scientists at King's College London have, for the first time, uncovered a gene responsible for Adams-Oliver Syndrome, a condition which can cause birth defects of the heart, limbs, or blood vessels.

13 May 2011

Study provides evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells

A single adult cell from one of the most impressive masters of regeneration in the animal kingdom - the planarian - is all it takes to build a completely functional new worm, researchers have learned. The study provides the first hard evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells - cells capable of producing the diverse range of tissue types necessary to build a complete animal.

13 May 2011

Liver cells made in the lab using skin cells: Study

In a medical breakthrough, researchers have been able to convert skin cells into liver cells. This could one day eliminate the need for organ transplants, they say.

12 May 2011

$100,000 needed to analyze '$1,000' genetic data

Advances in technology have almost lifted the curtain on the long-awaited era of the "$1,000 genome" - a time when all the genes that make up a person can be deciphered for about that amount - compared to nearly $1 million a few years ago.

12 May 2011

Noninvasive stool test can detect pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest mortality rates of any of the major cancers, and of the 43,000-plus Americans diagnosed with the disease each year, more than 94 percent die within five years of diagnosis. One reason for this high number of deaths is a lack of effective screening tools for catching the disease early.

12 May 2011

Salmonella enterica bacterium activates virulence genes through Fur protein

Salmonella enterica, one of the main causes of gastrointestinal infections, modulates its virulence gene expression, adapting it to each stage of the infection process, depending on the free iron concentration found in the intestinal epithelium of its host.

12 May 2011

New genome-wide study identifies causes of serious childhood immune disorder

A new genomics study, led by the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, sets the stage for the first predictive diagnostic test in a serious immunodeficiency disease in children. If the disorder, common variable immunodeficiency disease, can be diagnosed early, children may receive life-saving treatments before the disease can progress.

12 May 2011

Novel ultrasound-targeted microbubble-destruction technology advances cure for prostate cancer

Cancer researchers are a step closer to finding a cure for advanced prostate cancer after effectively combining an anti-cancer drug with a viral gene therapy in vivo using novel ultrasound-targeted microbubble-destruction (UTMD) technology.

11 May 2011

Zebrafish research identifies undiscovered high-risk genetic features in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer; it also occurs in adults. Now researchers working with zebrafish at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified previously undiscovered high-risk genetic features in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL), according to an article published online May 9, 2011, in the cancer research journal Oncogene.

11 May 2011

Couples having marital difficulties may have infants with sleep problems

Couples having marital difficulties may have infants who are losing sleep, according to a new study - and that may have a continuing impact on the children.

11 May 2011

Long non-coding RNA promotes melanoma cell survival and invasion

Traditionally, RNA was mostly known as the messenger molecule that carries protein-making instructions from a cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm. But scientists now estimate that approximately 97 percent of human RNA doesn't actually code for proteins at all. A flurry of research in the past decade has revealed that some types of non-coding RNAs switch genes on and off and influence protein function.

11 May 2011

Researchers discover role of MAN2C1 protein in prostate cancer development

It's a disease affecting those closest to us - our fathers, brothers and sons. Prostate cancer impacts one in six men in Canada. Last year, roughly 24,600 men were diagnosed with the disease.

11 May 2011

'Healthy' smokers have gene expression profiles similar to COPD patients

'Healthy' smokers experience changes in the gene expression of their lungs similar to that suffered by smokers who have developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This is the conclusion of a new study, led by Catalan researchers, which confirms the crucial role that smoking plays in causing these alterations.

10 May 2011

EAS receives NIH grant to continue Alzheimer's disease research

An estimated five million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Health experts expect the number of cases to rise dramatically as the population ages - reaching 13.5 million by 2050.

10 May 2011

Researchers design new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code

Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code. A team led by Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., succeeded in switching individual genes off and on in zebrafish, then observing embryonic and juvenile development.

10 May 2011

Scientists decipher genome of tropical marine organism

An international team of researchers led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has deciphered the genome of a tropical marine organism known to produce substances potentially useful against human diseases.

10 May 2011

UCSF scientists receive CIRM grants to advance degenerative muscle disease research

Three UCSF scientists have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance their investigations of treatment strategies for degenerative muscle diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, and heart disease, and to determine why human embryonic stem cells are susceptible to forming tumors.

10 May 2011

Genetic mutation linked to Kufs disease

According to a new study, a genetic mutation thought to be responsible for the rare hereditary brain disorder Kufs disease is finally identified. The research was carried out by Dr Melanie Bahlo and her team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's bioinformatics department in Parkville, Australia, in partnership with neurologist and epilepsy specialists Professor Sam Berkovic and Dr Todor Arsov from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

10 May 2011