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New evidence of very recent human adaptation

A Cornell study of genome sequences in African-Americans, European-Americans and Chinese suggests that natural selection has caused as much as 10 percent of the human genome to change in some populations in the last 15,000 to 100,000 years, when people began migrating from Africa.

12 Jul 2007

Chemotherapy may benefit all women with a BRCA1 mutation

Breast cancer patients who possess one of the so-called "breast cancer" or BRCA genetic mutations do not have a higher risk of dying than patients with no BRCA mutations, according to a detailed study by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Toronto.

12 Jul 2007

New model of early biological evolution

In a study publishing in PLoS Computational Biology, Shakhnovich et al present a new model of early biological evolution , the first that directly relates the fitness of a population of evolving model organisms to the properties of their proteins.

12 Jul 2007

New genetic function involved in embryo development in organisms

Research aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying embryo development has taken a step forward thanks to collaborative work between biologists specialized in the study of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and scientists specialized in the design of mathematical models that simulate the functioning of biological systems.

11 Jul 2007

Master switch for the production of brown fat discovered

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a long-sought "master switch" in mice for the production of brown fat, a type of adipose tissue that generates heat and counters obesity caused by overeating.

11 Jul 2007

Cicardian system suffers and protects from prenatal cocaine exposure

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that prenatal cocaine exposure in zebrafish (which share the majority of the same genes with humans) can alter neuronal development and acutely dysregulate the expression of circadian genes and those affecting melatonin signaling, growth and neurotransmission.

11 Jul 2007

Discovery of gallstone gene

Scientists at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from Romania, have discovered a gene variant that significantly increases the risk of developing gallstones (Hepatology No. 46, 11 July 2007, DOI 10.1002/hep.21847).

11 Jul 2007

3-D microscopic views of tiny mouse brains available online

A multi-institutional consortium including Duke University has created startlingly crisp 3-D microscopic views of tiny mouse brains - unveiled layer by layer - by extending the capabilities of conventional magnetic resonance imaging.

10 Jul 2007

Rapid evolution of defense genes in plants may produce hybrid incompatibility

One of the basic tenets of evolution is speciation in which populations of the same species become so genetically and morphologically variable that they can be classified as two different species.

10 Jul 2007

African-Americans women more likely to present with later stage and higher grade breast cancer tumors compared to Caucasians

African-American women are diagnosed with more advanced breast cancer than Caucasians, according to a new, single hospital study.

10 Jul 2007

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

New weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Putting bacteria on birth control could stop the spread of drug-resistant microbes, and researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found a way to do just that.

10 Jul 2007

Neutral genetic drift

Johns Hopkins researchers have added to the growing mound of evidence that many of the genetic bits and pieces that drive evolutionary changes do not confer any advantages or disadvantages to humans or other animals.

10 Jul 2007

Bacterial biofilms

In one of the first potential applications of synthetic biology, an emerging field that aims to design and build useful biomolecular systems, researchers from MIT and Boston University are engineering viruses to attack and destroy the surface biofilms that harbor harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices.

10 Jul 2007

Racial differences in severity of breast cancer presentation confirmed

African-American women are diagnosed with more advanced breast cancer than Caucasians, according to a new, single hospital study.

10 Jul 2007

Genetic risk factor for colorectal and prostate cancer

A study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) has found that one of seven genetic risk factors previously identified as increasing the probability of developing prostate cancer also increases the probability of developing colorectal cancer.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers discover brain pathway of depression in rats

Scientists' hunt for the cause of depression has implicated so many suspects and found so many treatments with different mechanisms that the condition remains an enigma.

9 Jul 2007

Roche and Alnylam form RNAi therapeutics alliance

Roche and the US-based biopharmaceutical company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a major alliance in which Roche obtains a non-exclusive license to Alnylam's technology platform for developing RNAi (RNA interference) therapeutics.

9 Jul 2007

Scientists discover first common bowel cancer gene

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have for the first time identified a common genetic variant that can increase a person's risk of developing bowel cancer. Their findings appear in two papers published online in Nature Genetics.

9 Jul 2007

New ulcerative colitis gene found

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh have identified a previously unsuspected gene found to be associated with ulcerative colitis.

9 Jul 2007