Genes News and Research

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Scientists tackle gene doping in athletes

Gene doping has the potential to spawn athletes capable of out-running, out-jumping and out-cycling the strongest of champions.

7 Aug 2007

New research may lead to future gene therapies for patients with sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers studying hemoglobin genes, mutations of which play a role in genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, have identified two proteins that are responsible for regulating overlapping groups of genes during the development of red blood cells.

7 Aug 2007

New understanding of Leber congenital amaurosis

People suffering from a severe retinal disease will sooner or later lose their eyesight considerably or even become completely blind.

7 Aug 2007

Green tea holds promise for psoriasis and dandruff

Green tea could hold promise as a new treatment for skin disorders such as psoriasis and dandruff, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

7 Aug 2007

Genetic factors strongly shape how peers are chosen

As we develop, the company we keep may be increasingly influenced by our genes, according to a new study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

7 Aug 2007

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Brain areas that control attention thinnest in children with ADHD

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

7 Aug 2007

18 to 25 percent of women suffer from migraines

For every man with a migraine, three women are struck by the severe headaches that often come with nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and aura.

6 Aug 2007

Mechanistic model of DNA repair

Ionizing radiation, toxic chemicals, and other agents continually damage the body's DNA, threatening life and health: unrepaired DNA can lead to mutations, which in turn can lead to diseases like cancer.

6 Aug 2007

Ten ALS genes found

Blood samples from more than 220 ALS patients at the Methodist Neurological Institute were used in research that revealed significant changes in or around 10 specific genes in sporadic ALS, the most common form of ALS.

6 Aug 2007

LKB1 gene - new lung tumor-suppressor

Collaborating scientists in Boston and North Carolina have found that a particular gene can block key steps of the lung cancer process in mice.

6 Aug 2007

Discovery of mechanism in malaria parasite that helps it adapt to infected individuals

Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the most severe forms of human malaria.

6 Aug 2007

Biologists discover one reason why chromosomes break, often leading to cancer

In the past ten years, researchers in genome stability have observed that many kinds of cancer are associated with areas where human chromosomes break.

6 Aug 2007

Gene fusion subtypes in prostate carcinoma have clinical implications

Building on an earlier study that used Oncomine to identify ETS-fusion proteins in prostate cancer (Science, Oct 28 2005), Tomlins et al. report the identification of four additional classes of ETS rearrangements in prostate cancer, each of which activates ETV1 by a different genetic mechanism (Nature, Aug 2 2007).

3 Aug 2007

Discredited Korean embryonic stem cells' true origins revealed

A report from researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute sheds new light on a now-discredited Korean embryonic stem cell line, setting the historical record straight and also establishing a much-needed set of standards for characterizing human embryonic stem cells.

3 Aug 2007

Possible anthrax drug targets

In the American government's biodefense efforts, the potential for terrorists to cause a deadly anthrax outbreak remains a significant concern, six years after the letter attacks that shook the nation shortly after 9/11.

3 Aug 2007

Gene variation makes people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram

A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

3 Aug 2007

Detection of gene fusions in prostate cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered how genes turn on the switch that leads to prostate cancer.

3 Aug 2007

Prototype vaccine against tuberculosis

Using a novel approach, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a prototype vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) that works better in animal models than the only TB vaccine now available.

2 Aug 2007

Biological markers of narcolepsy

The first report to identify the biological markers of narcolepsy using gene expression in white blood cells finds that the MX2 gene, which is relevant to the immune system, is significantly less expressed in narcoleptics compared with normal subjects.

2 Aug 2007