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Haploidentical bone marrow transplants for sickle cell disease: an interview with Dr. Javier Bolaños Meade

Bone marrow transplant (also called stem cell transplant) is a medical intervention that allows a physician to deliver very high doses of chemotherapy (if needed) but more importantly, deliver a new immune system to the patient to fight a disease (such as cancer).

3 Oct 2012

Pressure to be thin may be influenced by genes in some women

Genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin, a study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders has found. From size-zero models to airbrushed film stars, thinness is portrayed as equaling beauty across Western culture, and it's an ideal often cited as a cause of eating disorder symptoms in young women.

3 Oct 2012

New insights on mechanisms involved in regeneration of insulin-producing cells

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that a blood vessel-building gene boosts the ability of human bone marrow stem cells to sustain pancreatic recovery in a laboratory mouse model of insulin-dependent diabetes.

3 Oct 2012

Genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin

Genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin, a study led by Michigan State University researchers has found.

3 Oct 2012

Biologists combine laser cutting technology with modern sequencing to analyze gene activity in fungi

With a combination of microscopic laser scissors and modern sequencing methods, biologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t have analyzed the activity of genes in the entire genome of certain fungi in one fell swoop.

3 Oct 2012

HDL may protect against abdominal aortic aneurysm

High levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol inhibit the formation of abdominal aortic aneurysm, findings from experimental mouse models suggest.

2 Oct 2012

CIB2 gene responsible for progression and severity of Usher syndrome

Usher syndrome is a hereditary disease in which affected individuals lose both hearing and vision. The impact of Usher syndrome can be devastating. In the United States, approximately six in every 100,000 babies born have Usher syndrome.

2 Oct 2012

Loyola launches experimental immune system therapy clinical trial for melanoma in the Midwest

Loyola University Medical Center has launched the first clinical trial in the Midwest of an experimental melanoma treatment that genetically engineers a patient's immune system to fight the deadly cancer.

2 Oct 2012

Hormone and androgen receptor genes combined affect sperm motility

The combination of alleles for genes encoding the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor and androgen receptor has a significant impact on sperm motility, emphasising the importance of the genes in sperm quality, say Greek scientists.

1 Oct 2012

Genetic profile predicts postradiation erectile dysfunction

Scientists have identified a group of genetic markers that can predict the risk for erectile dysfunction after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

1 Oct 2012

Autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis halted in mice

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a gene-based therapy to stop the rodent equivalent of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis by specifically targeting the destructive immune response the disorder triggers in the body.

1 Oct 2012

Study opens new door to more personalized treatment of advanced breast cancer

For the first time, researchers have conducted a large trial in which they tested the entire genome of individual breast cancers to help personalize treatment. They released their findings at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

A new study out today (Sunday 30 September) reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

1 Oct 2012

Common RNA pathway links frontotemporal lobar dementia with ALS

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them.

1 Oct 2012

Exelix reports preliminary data from cabozantinib phase 1 study on solid tumors

Exelixis, Inc. today reported preliminary data from an ongoing phase 1 dose escalation study of cabozantinib in Japan.

1 Oct 2012

People with SIRT1 genetic variation more likely to develop vibration-induced white finger disease

Vibration-induced white finger disease (VWF) is caused by continued use of vibrating hand held machinery (high frequency vibration >50 Hz), and affects tens of thousands of people. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Clinical Epigenetics finds that people with a genetic polymorphism (A2191G) in sirtuin1 (SIRT1), a protein involved in the regulation of endothelial NOS (eNOS), are more likely to suffer from vibration-induced white finger disease.

1 Oct 2012

Study finds differences and similarities between iPSCs and cancer cells

UC Davis investigators have found new evidence that a promising type of stem cell now being considered for a variety of disease therapies is very similar to the type of cells that give rise to cancer. The findings suggest that although the cells -- known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) -- show substantial promise as a source of replacement cells and tissues to treat injuries, disease and chronic conditions, scientists and physicians must move cautiously with any clinical use because iPSCs could also cause malignant cancer.

29 Sep 2012

Researchers identify IL-27 molecule involved in counterbalancing the immune system attack

We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune diseases like lupus, asthma or inflammatory bowel disease.

29 Sep 2012

PLOS ONE journal releases report on validation of Falcon Genomics' Cancer BioChip System

The online journal PLOS ONE released a scientific report on the validation of Falcon Genomics' Cancer BioChip System (CBCS) as a tool for identifying inhibitors of breast cancer.

29 Sep 2012

Autism Speaks announces new round of research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of new research grants totaling nearly $5 million. "Autism Speaks is committed to continuing our research which has tremendous potential to increase our understanding of autism and addressing the needs of individuals with autism," said Autism Speaks Co-founder Bob Wright, "and we are grateful to the donors who make this research possible."

29 Sep 2012