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Researchers develop new strategy for treating multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is one of the most common blood cancers, and at present considered to be incurable. In a new study from Uppsala University, researchers now present a conceptually new model for the development and progression of multiple myeloma. The study was done in collaboration with Vrije Universitet Brussels and is published in the July edition of the on-line journal PLoS ONE.

16 Jul 2010

Penn researchers reverse cognitive decline in fruit flies with Alzheimer's gene mutation

Investigators have found that fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) males -- in which the activity of an Alzheimer's disease protein is reduced by 50 percent -- show impairments in learning and memory as they age. What's more, the researchers were able to prevent the age-related deficits by treating the flies with drugs such as lithium, or by genetic manipulations that reduced nerve-cell signaling.

16 Jul 2010

Study reveals improved process to obtain, store RNA from lung tumor biopsies

Analyzing the genes expressed by cancer cells allows for a better understanding of that patient's specific disease and in turn, a more personalized approach to treatment. But obtaining the RNA from a tumor in the lungs in order to conduct the genetic analysis is a challenging prospect. Currently, lung cancer researchers are limited to using RNA extracted from early-stage tumors removed during surgery. The small quantities of tissue extracted during routine diagnostic biopsies have not been useful to researchers, due to their small size and the variety of ways they have been processed.

16 Jul 2010

Study results to help researchers better understand cancer genetics, improve treatment regimens

The largest study to correlate genetics with response to cancer drugs releases its first results today. The researchers behind the study, based at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, describe in this initial dataset the responses of 350 cancer samples to 18 anticancer therapeutics.

16 Jul 2010

DNA copying error in autism sufferers discovered

Rubicon winner Dalila Pinto discovered a copying error in the DNA of trial subjects who suffered from autism or a similar condition. Some segments of their DNA were copied either once too often or missed out of the copying process. This is a highly promising result from the world's largest investigation into autism. The top journal Nature placed the results online on 9 June.

16 Jul 2010

Scientists discover that C35 gene becomes overactive in HER2 positive tumours

UK scientists have discovered that a gene called C35 can work together with other cancer-promoting genes to drive the growth and invasion of breast cancer cells in the lab.

16 Jul 2010

Nitto Denko, Quark collaborate to develop siRNA therapeutics for fibrotic diseases

Nitto Denko Corporation, Japan's leading diversified materials manufacturer and Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced the initiation of a collaboration and license agreement for the development of siRNA therapeutics for the treatment of fibrotic diseases.

15 Jul 2010

Smokers exposed to wood smoke are at increased risk of COPD: Research

Smokers who are exposed to wood smoke, either through home heating and cooking or through ambient neighborhood pollution, are not only at increased risk of COPD, but are also more likely to have epigenetic changes in the DNA that further increase their risk of COPD and related pulmonary problems.

15 Jul 2010

Fatness drives inactivity, not the other way around

According to a recent longitudinal study in children, inactivity does not lead to fatness! Moreover, the authors concluded that fatness is driving inactivity, and not the other way around. The authors noted that this "reverse causality" explains the observed association between inactivity and fatness. It also explains the repeated failures of the attempts to reduce childhood obesity by increasing physical activity. The study was published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood by Dr. Brad Metcalf and colleagues from Plymouth, UK.

15 Jul 2010

Study suggests chronic kidney disease affects persons of African, Hispanic heritage at higher rate

Chronic kidney disease affects millions in North America, with persons of African heritage being at a four-fold higher risk and those of Hispanic heritage having a two-fold higher risk compared to the rest of the population. An international study carried out by Dr. Karl Skorecki, from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, and his team points to the APOL1 gene as involved in the increased risk of kidney disease in this high-risk population. The results are to be published online in Springer's journal Human Genetics.

15 Jul 2010

Cigarette smoking affects entire networks of gene interaction: Research

The effects of smoking cigarettes on gene activity have been investigated in the largest study of its kind. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics studied white blood cells taken from 1,240 people to identify 323 unique genes whose expression levels were significantly correlated with smoking behavior.

15 Jul 2010

Eurofins MWG Operon, Genomatix Software offer joint services to develop complete human exome array

Eurofins MWG Operon, an expert in next generation sequencing and Certified Service Provider for Roche NimbleGen sequence capture, together with Genomatix Software GmbH, a leading company in complex analysis and interpretation of such NGS data, announce that they have developed a complete human exome array, based on Roche NimbleGen sequence capture technology.

15 Jul 2010

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announce that the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), established in 2005, will be funded for five more years. CoFAR will continue to foster new approaches to prevent and treat food allergies and also expand in scope to include research on the genetic causes underlying food allergy and studies of food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).

15 Jul 2010

Long-term exposure of arsenic may increase risk for lung cancer

To determine how arsenic increases the risk of lung cancer and to identify potential treatments, a Michigan State University researcher will use $1.7 million in federal funding during the next five years to examine why certain genes disrupt cells, leading to the disease.

15 Jul 2010

University of Louisville ophthalmology professor receives $60,000 RPB Special Scholar Award

Qingxian Lu, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has received the $60,000 William and Mary Greve Special Scholar Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) organization. The funds will go toward Lu's research in retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic disorders that can lead to night blindness, loss of peripheral vision and total blindness.

15 Jul 2010

Research supports population screening for fragile X syndrome in women of reproductive age

There's adequate research data to support population screening of women of childbearing age for fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited cause of cognitive impairment, according to a report in the July issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

14 Jul 2010

Scientists update criteria for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 today presented the first draft reports from three workgroups convened by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association to update the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease for the first time in 25 years.

14 Jul 2010

Exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression, study finds

In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research have found that exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression -- the process by which a gene's information is converted into the structures and functions of a cell. These alterations in response to smoking appear to have a wide-ranging negative influence on the immune system, and a strong involvement in processes related to cancer, cell death and metabolism.

14 Jul 2010

Improved delivery methods needed to advance gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer: Review

Improved delivery methods and better testing systems are needed to advance promising gene therapy strategies for treating prostate cancer, according to a series of review articles in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

14 Jul 2010

Life-or-death 'cell competition' process in mammalian tissue identified

A landmark study by Florida State University biologists, in collaboration with scientists in Britain, is the first to identify a life-or-death "cell competition" process in mammalian tissue that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves.

14 Jul 2010

Genes News and Research

Researchers develop new strategy for treating multiple myeloma

Penn researchers reverse cognitive decline in fruit flies with Alzheimer's gene mutation

Study reveals improved process to obtain, store RNA from lung tumor biopsies

Study results to help researchers better understand cancer genetics, improve treatment regimens

DNA copying error in autism sufferers discovered

Scientists discover that C35 gene becomes overactive in HER2 positive tumours

Nitto Denko, Quark collaborate to develop siRNA therapeutics for fibrotic diseases

Smokers exposed to wood smoke are at increased risk of COPD: Research

Fatness drives inactivity, not the other way around

Study suggests chronic kidney disease affects persons of African, Hispanic heritage at higher rate

Cigarette smoking affects entire networks of gene interaction: Research

Eurofins MWG Operon, Genomatix Software offer joint services to develop complete human exome array

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Long-term exposure of arsenic may increase risk for lung cancer

University of Louisville ophthalmology professor receives $60,000 RPB Special Scholar Award

Research supports population screening for fragile X syndrome in women of reproductive age

Scientists update criteria for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Exposure to cigarette smoke can alter gene expression, study finds

Improved delivery methods needed to advance gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer: Review

Life-or-death 'cell competition' process in mammalian tissue identified

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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