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Study holds implications for gene therapy and stem cell biology

The study, conducted by scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and Hannover Medical School and Hamburg University in Germany, reveals important evidence that tells us more about how blood forming stem cells regenerate. On the other hand, scientists offer caution in regards to the side effects associated with genetic engineering of stem cells.

20 May 2005

Drugs that block the enzyme Odc prevent the onset of cancers

The drug DFMO prevents cancer in laboratory models of lymphoma but fails to kill existing cancerous cells that have lost the ability to self-destruct, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

16 May 2005

Researchers to explore genome of disease-fighting fungus

A team of Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists will soon begin genome sequencing a disease-fighting fungus used to protect crops, which has implications for both agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry.

15 May 2005

Virus that targets and kills glioblastoma

Yale School of Medicine scientists have identified a virus that targets and kills glioblastoma, a deadly type of human brain tumor resistant to current medical or surgical treatment, according to a study published as the cover article in the Journal of Virology.

11 May 2005

Benitec announces clinical candidate for the treatment of Hepatitis C

Benitec Ltd. announced today that it has identified a highly promising clinical candidate for its RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutic against the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

10 May 2005

Researchers make new advances in determining the structure of all possible DNA sequences

Oregon State University researchers have made significant new advances in determining the structure of all possible DNA sequences – a discovery that in one sense takes up where Watson and Crick left off, after outlining in 1953 the double-helical structure of this biological blueprint for life.

3 May 2005

Why stem cells divide and develop less vigorously as we age

A comprehensive study from Canada’s Robarts Research Institute has pinpointed two genes that shed significant light on why stem cells divide and develop less vigorously as we age.

2 May 2005

Specific genes play key role in the of regulation of human-blood stem cells

This work is the first to validate gene expression analysis in human stem cells with functional experiments. The findings also suggest that changes in the expression of genes associated with universal cell signaling pathways can have a substantial impact on human stem cell behavior.

2 May 2005

Defects in gene called RyR2 cause malfunctions in the heart's electrical system

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified defects in a second gene called RyR2 that causes malfunctions in the heart's electrical system and contributes to what were previously unexplained drownings.

2 May 2005

Age-related macular degeneration is triggered, possibly by an infection

Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, occurs when a common inherited gene variation is triggered, possibly by an infection, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and the University of Iowa, with an international research team.

1 May 2005

Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood

UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened.

27 Apr 2005

Researchers zero in on sleep gene

Zeroing in on the core cellular mechanisms of sleep, researchers at University of Wisconsin Medical School have identified for the first time a single gene mutation that has a powerful effect on the amount of time fruit flies sleep.

27 Apr 2005

Gene may boost schizophrenia risk

Clues about how a suspect version of a gene may slightly increase risk for schizophrenia are emerging from a brain imaging study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The gene variant produced a telltale pattern of activity linked to production of a key brain messenger chemical.

21 Apr 2005

RNA interference permanently silences key breast cancer gene

In laboratory mouse experiments, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have developed a way to use RNA interference (RNAi) so that it permanently hampers breast cancer development. The technique permanently silences activated STAT3, a crucial gene found in some human breast tumors, thus reducing the cancer's ability to become invasive.

20 Apr 2005

New method for obtaining sequence information from thousands of genomes simultaneously

One of the world’s leading scientists, Nobel Prize winner, Dr Sydney Brenner, has devised a new method for obtaining sequence information from thousands of genomes simultaneously. Current technologies can only analyse one genome at a time.

20 Apr 2005

Method shows how precisely gene expression signals are copied in DNA replication

Genetic information that determines hair color or whether an individual might develop a particular cancer is passed from one generation to the next through DNA. Genes encoded in the DNA contain information, but a process called methylation is one factor that often controls how that information is expressed.

19 Apr 2005

Common genetic mutation that increases the risk of inheriting Hirschsprung disease

Gene hunters at Johns Hopkins have discovered a common genetic mutation that increases the risk of inheriting a particular birth defect not by the usual route of disrupting the gene's protein-making instructions, but by altering a regulatory region of the gene. Although the condition, called Hirschsprung disease, is rare, its complex genetics mimics that of more common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.

13 Apr 2005

Bugs in the gut could help doctors develop individualised healthcare

The success of personalised healthcare hinges on a better understanding of how microbes in the gut interact with different medicines report scientists from Imperial College London and Astra Zeneca.

13 Apr 2005

Malaria's secret weapon revealed

A US-led international team of scientists have discovered how the deadliest malaria parasite is able to "hide" from the body's immune system.

10 Apr 2005

Assessing the function of unknown genes is feasible and can be done with a microarray phenotype

Microarrays provide a method of quantifying the expression and order of genes in a particular genome -- acting as a surrogate measure of cell physiology, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Genetics.

10 Apr 2005