Genetic Information News and Research

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Location location location, even for genes

Moving an active gene from the interior of the nucleus to its periphery can inactivate that gene report scientists from the University of Chicago Medical Center in an article to be published early online Feb.13, 2008, in the journal Nature.

14 Feb 2008

Discovery of 'overdrive' protein could broaden drug design options

New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows for the first time that an important family of proteins known to function at the cell surface also functions at a site within the cell.

13 Feb 2008

Researchers decode genetics of chlorophyll d

A bacterium that harvests far-red light by making a rare form of chlorophyll (chlorophyll d) has revealed its genetic secrets, according to a team of researchers who recently sequenced the bacteria's genome.

8 Feb 2008

New understanding of cancer initiation

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha have assisted in a significant discovery - the understanding of a common mechanism of cancer initiation - that could result in better cancer assessment, prevention and detection.

7 Feb 2008

A possible H5N1 vaccine

A vaccine against the most common and deadliest strain of avian flu, H5N1, has been engineered and tested by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Novavax Inc.

4 Feb 2008

Direct sequencing of single RNA strands with tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The genetic alphabet contains four letters. Although our cells can readily decipher our genetic molecules, it isn't so easy for us to read a DNA sequence in the laboratory. Scientists require complex, highly sophisticated analytical techniques to crack individual DNA codes.

28 Jan 2008

Telepathic genes recognize similarities in each other

Genes have the ability to recognise similarities in each other from a distance, without any proteins or other biological molecules aiding the process, according to new research published this week in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

25 Jan 2008

Cell division studies hint at future cancer therapy

When a cell's assets get divided between daughter cells, Dr. Quansheng Du wants to make sure both offspring do well.

23 Jan 2008

New knowledge base of gene-disease relationships

The 12 Million Euro 'GEN2PHEN' project, funded by the European Commission, aims to harness the web to capture and unify genetic information that fundamentally impacts on a person's health and disease processes.

22 Jan 2008

British scientists given go-ahead for human-animal embryo research

Scientists in Britain have been given the go-ahead to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

20 Jan 2008

New genetic variations associated with lipid levels, risk for coronary artery disease

Environmental and genetic factors influence a person's blood fat, or lipid levels, important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). While there is some understanding of the environmental contribution, the role of genetics has been less defined.

14 Jan 2008

Asf1, the protein that oversees DNA replication and packaging in the cell

At the Institut Curie, the CNRS team of Genevieve Almouzni has just discovered how the protein Asf1 ensures the correct (re)organization of duplicated DNA. During DNA replication, all the information in the mother cell must be transmitted to the daughter cells.

11 Jan 2008

Small pieces of ribonucleic acid prevent spread of breast cancer

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified small pieces of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that suppress the spread of breast cancer to the lungs and bone.

10 Jan 2008

Real concerns over the ethics of a DNA database

The inventor of DNA fingerprinting, Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, of the University of Leicester, has voiced his concerns over the ethics of a DNA database.

10 Jan 2008

New understanding of cell's inner workings

A group of scientists in Princeton's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology has uncovered a new biological mechanism that could provide a clearer window into a cell's inner workings.

7 Jan 2008

Australian researchers tackle antibiotic resistance

The development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria that are problematic and expensive to treat is a major healthcare problem around the world. The "selective pressure" of antibiotic usage inevitably results in the emergence and proliferation of resistant bacteria.

20 Dec 2007

$1.7 million grant to advance understanding of genetic influences on diabetes

Scientists at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) expect to make big leaps in their understanding of genetic influences on diabetes, thanks to a new $1.7 million grant awarded to Dr. Joanne Curran, the grant's principal investigator.

13 Dec 2007

Genetic evidence that human evolution is speeding up

Researchers discovered genetic evidence that human evolution is speeding up – and has not halted or proceeded at a constant rate, as had been thought – indicating that humans on different continents are becoming increasingly different.

10 Dec 2007

Research institutes from Finland and Singapore develop remote healthcare services

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research from Singapore have developed remote healthcare services that allow patients to be treated globally independent of time and location and irrespective of the solutions provided by hardware and data system suppliers. In Finland, the first trial services for treating cardiac patients and patients suffering from chronic illnesses have been promising.

5 Dec 2007

New genetic markers found that increase a person's risk for schizophrenia

Scientists at the Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have identified nine genetic markers that can increase a person's risk for schizophrenia.

4 Dec 2007