Genomics News and Research

RSS

Genomics is the study of the complete genetic material, including genes and their functions, of an organism.

Personalized therapies may improve survival and QoL of patients with glioblastoma

Personalized prognostic tools and gene-based therapies may improve the survival and quality of life of patients suffering from glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer, reports a new University of Illinois study funded by the NIH National Cancer Institute.

10 Jan 2012

Scientists identify key tumorigenic pathways in never-smoker lung adenocarcinoma patients

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have begun to identify mutations and cellular pathway changes that lead to lung cancer in never-smokers - a first step in developing potential therapeutic targets.

9 Jan 2012

Study shows high consistency of malignancy-risk gene signature on both breast cancer and NSCLC

A malignancy-risk gene signature developed for breast cancer has been found to have predictive and prognostic value for patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. The advancement was made by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., who published their study results in a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

7 Jan 2012

Bionomics, Ironwood partner to develop and commercialize novel anti-anxiety compound

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bionomics Limited today announced that they entered into a collaboration, research, and licensing agreement that will enable Ironwood to develop and commercialize Bionomics' investigational anti-anxiety compound BNC210 and other related compounds.

5 Jan 2012

Lithocholic acid can kill several types of cancer cells

Lithocholic acid (LCA), naturally produced in the liver during digestion, has been seriously underestimated. A study published in the journal Oncotarget shows that LCA can kill several types of cancer cells, such as those found in some brain tumors and breast cancer.

5 Jan 2012

RNF123 gene may play a role in major depression

Psychiatric disorders can be described on many levels, the most traditional of which are subjective descriptions of the experience of being depressed and the use of rating scales that quantify depressive symptoms. Over the past two decades, research has developed other strategies for describing the biological underpinnings of depression, including volumetric brain measurements using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the patterns of gene expression in white blood cells.

4 Jan 2012

Genomic architecture predisposes supercentenarians to age-related diseases

The first-ever published whole-genome sequences of not just one, but two supercentenarians, aged more than 114 years, reveal that both unusual and common genetic phenomena contribute to the genetic background of extreme human longevity.

4 Jan 2012

Soon therapies may be guided by genetic blueprints

In a futuristic bid the doctors have drawn up plans to sequence the full genetic code of thousands of people in a landmark project to personalize their medical care. Each person will have all 6 billion letters of their genome read, stored and linked to their medical records to help doctors prescribe more effective drugs and other therapies.

1 Jan 2012

Van Andel studies distinguish cancer subtypes and provide promising new drug targets

Two recent studies by Van Andel Research Institute scientists are providing a foundation for a more complete understanding of distinct kidney cancer subtypes, which could pave the way for better treatments.

30 Dec 2011

Four-year effort to map genetic code of 1,000 African-Americans

A Johns Hopkins-led team of experts in genetics, immunology, epidemiology and allergic disease has embarked on a four-year effort to map the genetic code, or whole genome, of 1,000 people of African descent, including men and women from Baltimore.

30 Dec 2011

Pioneer in infectious disease medicine shares his perspectives in new podcast series

Beginning this month, the journal Medicine launches a series of podcasts featuring pioneering infectious disease physician John Bartlett, MD. Medicine is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

28 Dec 2011

Biologists develop radar to track ADAR's RNA editing activity in neurons

To track what they can't see, pilots look to the green glow of the radar screen. Now biologists monitoring gene expression, individual variation, and disease have a glowing green indicator of their own: Brown University biologists have developed a "radar" for tracking ADAR, a crucial enzyme for editing RNA in the nervous system.

26 Dec 2011

Researchers present results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers at ASH 2011 meeting

Researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the nation's top 50 best hospitals for cancer, presented results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers - leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma -- during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego.

23 Dec 2011

Scientists discover mechanism by which TNFα stimulates tumor formation

An inflammation-promoting protein triggers deactivation of a tumor-suppressor that usually blocks cancer formation via the NOTCH signaling pathway, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers identify previously unknown gene fusion event in lung cancer

Smoking is a well-known risk factor for lung cancer, but nearly 25% of all lung cancer patients have never smoked. In a study published online today in Genome Research, researchers have identified a previously unknown gene fusion event that could explain a significant proportion of lung cancer cases in never-smokers, and might serve as a target for new therapies.

23 Dec 2011

CNVs appear to play a significant role in early onset bipolar disorder

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that abnormal sequences of DNA known as rare copy number variants, or CNVs, appear to play a significant role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.

22 Dec 2011

UC Davis professor monitors world's hot spots for signs of emerging diseases

It's not a matter of if a worldwide pandemic will strike but when, say experts like veterinarian and epidemiologist Jonna Mazet, a professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology in the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. That's why Mazet, who leads an early warning pandemic system called PREDICT, monitors the world's hot spots, or "hot interfaces" for signs of emerging diseases.

21 Dec 2011

Mammography appears to detect women with low-risk breast cancer

As a woman ages, her chances of being diagnosed with a lower-risk breast tumor increase, according to a novel study led by UCSF which found that for women over 50, a substantial number of cancers detected by mammograms have good prognoses.

20 Dec 2011

First nutrition and cognition research center

Abbott and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced today they have established the first-ever multi-disciplinary nutrition and cognition research center, which will be located on the Urbana campus. The Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory will lead directed and-solicited research on the impact of nutrition on learning and memory in the human brain.

19 Dec 2011

IGN joins BCCA Genome Science Center

Illumina, Inc. today announced that the British Columbia Cancer Agency's (BCCA) Genome Science Center has joined the Illumina Genome Network (IGN). IGN is designed to link researchers needing large-scale whole human genome sequencing with leading institutions that provide this application as a service using industry-leading Illumina sequencing platforms.

19 Dec 2011