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New approach to diagnose tuberculosis

Researchers working in the UK and The Gambia, have developed a new approach to the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) that relies on direct sequencing of DNA extracted from sputum (a technique called metagenomics) to detect and characterize the bacteria that cause TB without the need for time-consuming culture of bacteria in the laboratory.

23 Sep 2014

Absence of thyroid hormone during development can cause congenital deafness

Fatigue, weight gain, chills, hair loss, anxiety, excessive perspiration - these symptoms are a few of the signs that the thyroid gland, which regulates the body's heart rate and plays a crucial role in its metabolism, has gone haywire.

23 Sep 2014

MIT engineers find new strategy to combat superbugs

In recent years, new strains of bacteria have emerged that resist even the most powerful antibiotics. Each year, these superbugs, including drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and staphylococcus, infect more than 2 million people nationwide, and kill at least 23,000. Despite the urgent need for new treatments, scientists have discovered very few new classes of antibiotics in the past decade.

22 Sep 2014

Sequencing the Asian liver fluke genome: an interview with Dr Neil Young

Opisthorchis viverrini is a parasitic flatworm (or liver fluke) endemic throughout Thailand, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Vietnam and Cambodia. Humans are infected with this parasite when they eat a fluke encysted in inadequately cooked/preserved freshwater fish.

21 Sep 2014

Longer telomeres increase melanoma risk

A leading Dartmouth researcher, working with The Melanoma Genetics Consortium, GenoMEL, an international research consortium, co-authored a paper published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that proves longer telomeres increase the risk of melanoma.

21 Sep 2014

Studies explore role of STXBP5 gene in development of cardiovascular disease

Two independent groups of researchers led by Sidney (Wally) Whiteheart, PhD, of the University of Kentucky, and Charles Lowenstein, MD, of the University of Rochester, have published important studies exploring the role that a gene called STXBP5 plays in the development of cardiovascular disease.

18 Sep 2014

Scientists find 23 new genetic variants that increase risk for prostate cancer

In an analysis of genetic information among more than 87,000 men, a global team of scientists says it has found 23 new genetic variants - common differences in the genetic code -- that increase a man's risk for prostate cancer. The so-called "meta-analysis," believed to be the largest of its kind, has revealed once hidden mutations among men in a broad array of ethnic groups comprising men of European, African, Japanese and Latino ancestry.

18 Sep 2014

Sigma-Aldrich enters into new gene editing partnership with U-M Medical School's Vector Core

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation announced today it has entered into a new gene editing partnership with the University of Michigan Medical School's Vector Core. Under the partnership, Sigma-Aldrich will provide the Vector Core with Sigma CRISPR technology, experimental design consultation, and dedicated gene editing bioinformaticians.

18 Sep 2014

APOC3 gene variant dramatically reduces triglyceride levels in the blood

Research using data collected from around 4,000 healthy people in the UK has enabled scientists to identify a rare genetic variant that dramatically reduces levels of certain types of lipids in the blood. The study is the first to emerge from the UK10K Project's cohort of samples from the general public and demonstrates the power of whole genome sequencing at scale.

17 Sep 2014

NIH awards grant to scientist to link drugs, genes and diseases

The National Institutes of Health wants to make the process of finding new drugs faster and better. The effort will help all 27 of its research institutes and centers. So, the nation's medical research agency awarded Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, a 2-year $4.9 million grant to develop a tool scientists can use to link information about drugs, diseases and genes.

17 Sep 2014

Novel genetic discovery identifies new avenues for prostate cancer treatment

A genetic discovery out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is leading to a highly accurate test for aggressive prostate cancer and identifies new avenues for treatment.

17 Sep 2014

Global study identifies another 23 new prostate cancer risk loci

Scientists could soon better predict a man's risk of getting prostate cancer after a worldwide team of researchers carried out the largest-ever analysis of the cancer's genetic biomarkers, reported in Nature Genetics today.

16 Sep 2014

MSU researchers show how bacterial immune systems fight off viruses

When this week's print issue of the journal Science comes out, a collective cheer will go up from New Mexico, Montana and even the Netherlands, thanks to the type of collaborative effort that is more and more the norm in these connected times. Yes, the research was brilliant, and if we're lucky, it will produce innovations in biology, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. It could save lives, and it happened because this scientist talked with that one, that one knew another one, and brilliant minds overcame geographic distance to advance human understanding.

16 Sep 2014

New research shows schizophrenia comprises 8 genetically distinct disorders

New research shows that schizophrenia isn't a single disease but a group of eight genetically distinct disorders, each with its own set of symptoms. The finding could be a first step toward improved diagnosis and treatment for the debilitating psychiatric illness.

16 Sep 2014

Collaborative study takes important step toward finding targeted treatments for bladder cancer

The story of cancer care seems so simple: find the mutated gene that causes cancer and turn it off or fix it. But rarely does a single gene cause cancer. More often, many genes are altered together to drive the disease. So the challenge becomes sorting out which altered genes are the most to blame in which cancers.

16 Sep 2014

Patients with particular genetic variation more prone to drug-induced pancreatitis

Doctors have discovered that patients with a particular genetic variation are four times more likely to develop pancreatitis if they are prescribed a widely used group of drugs.

16 Sep 2014

Six research institutions awarded NIH grants to create database of human cellular responses

Building on a successful three-year pilot project, the National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $64 million to six research institutions to create a database of human cellular responses, the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures.

15 Sep 2014

BGI-VPC Joint Research Laboratory to apply genome research to develop new cancer therapies

BGI, the world’s largest genomics organization, based in China, and The Vancouver Prostate Centre, a global leader in translational research in cancer, today announced the establishment of the BGI-VPC Joint Research Laboratory, a sequencing and translational research facility, to jointly discover and advance basic and translational programs in oncology, including personalized oncology.

15 Sep 2014

Human stem cells can be reset to their native undifferentiated state

Scientists at the Babraham Institute, in collaboration with colleagues at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute, have made a breakthrough in stem cell research. Their paper, published today in Cell, describes how human stem cells can be reverted back to non-specialised cells.

11 Sep 2014

Research gives scientists new insight into evolution of gibbon genome

A team led by an Oregon Health & Science University researcher has sequenced and annotated the genome of the only ape whose DNA had yet to be sequenced - the gibbon, an endangered small ape that inhabits the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

11 Sep 2014