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Novel bioelectric signals can cause stem cells to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells

Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered that a change in membrane voltage in newly identified "instructor cells" can cause stem cells' descendants to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells. The Tufts team also found that this metastatic transformation is due to changes in serotonin transport. The discovery could aid in the prevention and treatment of diseases like cancer and vitiligo as well as birth defects.

19 Oct 2010

Genetic variations linked to early menopause: Study

In a new study scientists have found that particular genetic variations are linked to early menopause before the age of 45. They compared the DNA of more than 2,000 women who had experienced early menopause with that of women who had menopause later than 45 years.

19 Oct 2010

Discovery may aid in developing new psoriasis therapies

Scientists at the University of Michigan Heath System and their collaborators have found four new DNA “hotspots” that may one day help guide new treatments for psoriasis, one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the country.

18 Oct 2010

Obese have impaired autonomic function which may lead to overeating

Research on obesity examining the role of hormones and the autonomic functions of the digestive system was presented at the 75th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American CoIlege of Gastroenterology.

18 Oct 2010

Beta carotene improves vision in people with Incurable Retinal Disease Retinitis pigmentosa: Report

Today's Scientific Program of the 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) - Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting includes a report on beta carotene's ability to improve vision in people with certain incurable retinal diseases. The AAO-MEACO meeting-the world's largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference-is in session October 16 through 19 at McCormick Place, Chicago.

18 Oct 2010

GeoVax Labs contributes article for HIV vaccine

Robert T. McNally, Ph.D., president and CEO of GeoVax Labs, Inc. a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, has contributed an article on the search for an HIV vaccine to the October 15 issue of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

18 Oct 2010

Emollient creams on eczemous skin likely to make condition worse

New research at the University of Bath suggests that using emollient creams to relieve the symptoms of eczema could actually make the condition worse.

18 Oct 2010

Possibilities of genetics research, personalized medicine, and behavioral intervention

Personalized medicine - improving the fit between patient and treatment - has become a major focus of research in fields from cancer treatment to the psychopharmacology of mental disorders. Genetic studies have suggested that an individual's genetic makeup renders him either more or less sensitive to stressful social environments - but can an individual's unique genotype also determine the effectiveness of preventative or therapeutic behavioral interventions?

18 Oct 2010

Environment plays a key role in determining sexual over asexual reproduction

Evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto (U of T) have found that environment plays a key role in determining whether a species opts for sexual over asexual reproduction.

18 Oct 2010

ESHRE study shows advantages of CGH technique in IVF procedure

Two women taking part in the world's first controlled study of a comprehensive genetic screening test before IVF have given birth to healthy babies. The babies, twin girls born in Germany in June and a singleton boy born in Italy in September, are the first deliveries in a pilot study of comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) by microarray, a new method of screening oocytes for IVF for a full range of chromosomal disorders.

18 Oct 2010

UCSF professor receives National Medal of Science

UCSF Nobel laureate Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, UCSF professor of neurology and director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, today (Oct. 15, 2010) was named to receive the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and technology.

18 Oct 2010

Metabolon announces publication of metabolic analysis of biochemical changes in CF primary lung epithelial cells

Metabolon, Inc., the leader in global metabolomics, biomarker discovery and analysis, announces the publication of "Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Biochemical Pathways and Biomarkers Associated with Pathogenesis in Cystic Fibrosis Cells", in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

18 Oct 2010

Major advance in treatment of brain disorders with external genes

In the October 17 issue of Nature Methods, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University describe how they can transfer genes into brain neurons intravenously, using a viral gene delivery vehicle (vector) that causes no side effects.

18 Oct 2010

IDRI's TB vaccine protects against drug-resistant tuberculosis

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) announces it has developed a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine that protects against TB including drug-resistant strains of the disease in animal studies. The results of these studies are published in Science Translational Medicine today.

18 Oct 2010

Genetic link to depression: New avenues for therapy

Yale University scientists have found a gene that appears to play a key role in the onset of depression. This could mean new avenues of therapy for the disease. The gene in question is called MKP-1 and was identified after comparing the genetic codes of 21 deceased people who had been diagnosed with depression with those of 18 otherwise healthy individuals. The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine on 17th of October.

18 Oct 2010

Scientists find unexpected function of cell's protein-making machinery

When cells make the proteins that carry out virtually every function of life, it's vital that the right things happen at the right times, and maybe more importantly that wrong things are stopped from happening at the wrong times.

18 Oct 2010

Researchers identify genes that predict early menopause

The first research from the Breakthrough Generations Study could lead to a test to predict a woman's reproductive lifespan. The findings, published today in Human Molecular Genetics, could have considerable impact on women in the UK and other western countries, where many start having children at a later age. Early menopause affects one in 20 UK women.

18 Oct 2010

Former U.N. Secretary-General, Gates Foundation CEO, Ethiopian official address World Food Prize conference

In a speech at the World Food Prize conference on Thursday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed several topics related to food security and said that discrimination against women is limiting agricultural development in Africa, the Des Moines Register reports.

18 Oct 2010

2010 AAO-MEACO meeting focuses on genetic medicine

Genetic medicine is the focus of two presentations at today's Scientific Program of the 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting. The AAO-MEACO meeting is in session October 16 through 19 at McCormick Place, Chicago. It is the largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference in the world.

18 Oct 2010