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DNA imprinting defect may affect children diagnosed with osteosarcoma

Children diagnosed with osteosarcoma may be impacted by a DNA imprinting defect also found in parents, according to new research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. DNA imprinting is a phenomenon in which just one of the two inherited genes is active while the other is present but inactive.

27 Jan 2016

Genes that influence people's health also have impact on some cognitive functions

Genes that influence people's health also shape how effectively they think, a study shows. Scientists found that genes associated with diseases including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism also have an impact on some cognitive functions.

27 Jan 2016

Researchers identify three single-driver genetic alterations that occur in neuroepithelial tumors

The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) has identified critical driver genes that account for disease-related alterations in a range of uncommon low-grade neuroepithelial tumors.

26 Jan 2016

Genetic code and epigenetics revealing adaption traits

A well-known songbird, the great tit, has revealed its genetic code, offering researchers new insight into how species adapt to a changing planet. Their initial findings suggest that epigenetics -- what's on rather than what's in the gene -- may play a key role in the evolution of memory and learning. And that's not just true for birds.

26 Jan 2016

Scientists find how APOBEC protein becomes dangerous when DNA replication process goes wrong

Cancer is caused by the growth of an abnormal cell which harbours DNA mutations, "copy errors" occurring during the DNA replication process. If these errors do take place quite regularly without having any damaging effect on the organism, some of them affect a specific part of the genome and cause the proliferation of the mutant cell, which then invades the organism.

25 Jan 2016

Biomedical innovation in the UK: an interview with Zahid Latif

The biomedical research base is one of the UK's strengths; over 1500 companies in the Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology area are established in the UK employing over 70,000.

22 Jan 2016

PGD model could provide policy guideposts for human genome editing

Human genome editing for both research and therapy is progressing, raising ethical questions among scientists around the world.

22 Jan 2016

Cells communicate to their neighbors and compare notes before making a move

To decide whether and where to move in the body, cells must read chemical signals in their environment. Individual cells do not act alone during this process, two new studies on mouse mammary tissue show. Instead, the cells make decisions collectively after exchanging information about the chemical messages they are receiving.

22 Jan 2016

Study provides evidence for use of inherited genetic markers to improve melanoma prognostication

Melanoma is the most dangerous and lethal form of skin cancer. But just how long will a patient survive following the removal of a melanoma tumor? A more definitive answer to that question could come from new studies at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center. Researchers there have discovered an inherited genetic marker that might provide clinicians with a personalized tool to gauge an individual's survival and determine which patients require closer monitoring in the years following surgery.

21 Jan 2016

UC Berkeley researchers make major improvement in CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have made a major improvement in CRISPR-Cas9 technology that achieves an unprecedented success rate of 60 percent when replacing a short stretch of DNA with another.

21 Jan 2016

NIST researchers simulate new method for fast, precise DNA sequencing

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have simulated a new concept for rapid, accurate gene sequencing by pulling a DNA molecule through a tiny, chemically activated hole in graphene--an ultrathin sheet of carbon atoms--and detecting changes in electrical current.

19 Jan 2016

Findings offer potential new therapeutic target to boost strength of heart muscle contractions

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a previously unrecognized small protein in cells of the human heart that plays a key role in heart muscle contraction. The protein is made from an RNA that was previously believed to be a blank or non-coding RNA, suggesting there may be many other small 'non-coding' segments that play important biological roles.

18 Jan 2016

Researchers reveal totally new biological mechanism that underlies cancer

In a landmark study, researchers from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital reveal a completely new biological mechanism that underlies cancer. By studying brain tumors that carry mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes, the team uncovered some unusual changes in the instructions for how the genome folds up on itself.

13 Jan 2016

CPMC study discovers six genes that affect sleep duration

The Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative, a research initiative exploring the utility of genetic information in the clinical setting, has published a study and identified six noteworthy genes that affect human sleep duration.

13 Jan 2016

New gene-filtering tool aims to predict disease-causing mutations

Despite their bad reputations, the vast majority of mutations are not harmful. Even in very rare genetic disorders, only one or two genetic variations — out of tens of thousands — is actually the cause of disease. Distinguishing between harmful and harmless mutations has long been a challenge.

13 Jan 2016

Researchers discover molecular target for DNA repair defects behind Fanconi anemia

Researchers have identified a molecular target and experimental treatment strategy for DNA repair defects behind Fanconi anemia – a complex genetic disorder responsible for birth anomalies, organ damage, anemia and cancer.

12 Jan 2016

Genomics portfolio expanded by Illumina

Illumina, Inc., the global leader in sequencing and array-based technologies, today announced the newest addition to its industry-leading next-generation sequencing (NGS) portfolio with the launch of the MiniSeq Sequencing System.

From Illumina, Inc. 12 Jan 2016

IMB scientists identify two proteins vital for demethylation of DNA

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have identified a missing piece of the puzzle in understanding how epigenetic marks are removed from DNA. The research on DNA demethylation sheds new light on a fundamental process that is important in development and diseases such as cancer.

12 Jan 2016

Three new genetic associations identified for primary open angle glaucoma

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have led an international effort to identify three genetic associations that influence susceptibility to primary open angle glaucoma -- the most common form of adult onset glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

12 Jan 2016

Novel drug shows promise against metastatic breast cancer in mouse models

A doctor treating a patient with a potentially fatal metastatic breast tumor would be very pleased to find, after administering a round of treatment, that the primary tumor had undergone a change in character - from aggressive to static, and no longer shedding cells that can colonize distant organs of the body.

12 Jan 2016