Inherit News and Research

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Biologist investigates CAPV-EAE population for hereditary breast and ovary cancer

Between 5 % and 10 % of breast cancer cases are hereditary, arising because the patient inherits from the father or mother a mutation in a gene that is susceptible to causing the illness. BRCA1 and BRCA2 have already been identified as two of the genes to be monitored. It is estimated that 30 % of hereditary breast cancer cases are due to mutations in one of these two genes.

19 Feb 2011

New approaches for controlling sleeping sickness caused by trypanosomes

The research could eventually lead to new approaches for controlling sleeping sickness in humans and wasting diseases in livestock which are caused by trypanosomes carried by the bloodsucking tsetse fly.

18 Feb 2011

Lifestyle, rather than hereditary factors, plays major role in life expectancy

How long your parents lived does not affect how long you will live. Instead it is how you live your life that determines how old you will get, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg recently published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

8 Feb 2011

New study provides insight into mechanism behind breast cancer mutation

A new study sheds light on why individuals who inherit a particular family of mutations have a high risk of developing a very aggressive form of breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press on February 4th in the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows that breast tissue cells from these individuals make abnormal cell-fate decisions even before cancer develops and provides exciting new insights into the mechanisms behind one of the most lethal types of breast cancer.

4 Feb 2011

Genetic component to Parkinson’s disease discovered

Parkinson’s disease, a severely degenerative disease of the brain leading to tremors, muscle rigidity and finally immobility was until the 1990’s believed to be due to environmental factors, lifestyle and a person’s age. However, now scientists have discovered five more genes that influence its development.

3 Feb 2011

DNAnexus announces new cloud-based tools for analyzing large-scale genomic variation datasets

DNAnexus, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based solutions for analyzing, visualizing, and managing next-generation sequencing data, today announced the availability of a comprehensive set of new informatics tools that enable life science researchers to efficiently analyze and manage large-scale genomic variation datasets in a cloud-based workflow.

3 Feb 2011

Multi-national group of researchers announce launch of International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project

The launch of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) - a collaboration formed to discover and map the genes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease - was announced today by a multi-national group of researchers including Drs. Lindsay Farrer and Sudha Seshadri at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). The collaborative effort, spanning universities from both sides of the Atlantic, will combine the knowledge, staff and resources of four consortia that work on Alzheimer's disease genetics.

2 Feb 2011

Global consortium aims to discover and map all Alzheimer's genes

The launch of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) – a collaboration formed to discover and map the genes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease – was announced today by a multi-national group of researchers. The collaborative effort, spanning universities from both Europe and the United States, will combine the knowledge, staff and resources of four consortia that conduct research on Alzheimer's disease genetics.

1 Feb 2011

Octapharma supports development of 'Diagnosis and Management of von Willebrand Disease' CE supplement

An unrestricted grant from Octapharma USA supported the development of a Continuing Education (CE) initiative entitled the "The Diagnosis and Management of von Willebrand Disease," a program of the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA).

25 Jan 2011

Neurology professor receives MFRF's 'See the Light' award for Tay-Sachs research

Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, associate professor of neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was presented with the annual "See the Light" award from the Mathew Forbes Romer Foundation in recognition of his work for leading the fight against children's genetic diseases of the brain.

12 Jan 2011

Researchers report gene therapy strategy that improves Beta Thalassemia in mice model

Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital report a gene therapy strategy that improves the condition of a mouse model of an inherited blood disorder, Beta Thalassemia.

11 Jan 2011

Professor Puchta receives ERC's Advanced Researcher Grant

Tomatoes that resist pests and extreme weather while still tasting like tomatoes are among Professor Holger Puchtas long-term research goals. The molecular biologist develops techniques that will allow him to control inheritance in plants to selectively improve the properties of different species through nature's existing gene pool. For his fundamental research, Puchta now is awarded an Advanced Researcher Grant by the European Research Council.

10 Jan 2011

Researchers say women with multiple sclerosis have more HLA genes than men

Women who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have a gene associated with multiple sclerosis than men with the disease and it is this gene region where environment interacts with the genetics, according to a study published in the January 5, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Jan 2011

Study: Multitude of genes are linked to adult height

As much as 90 percent of variation in adult height may be caused by genetic inheritance, but a multitude of genes are involved. Most of these have yet to be discovered.

4 Jan 2011

Low levels of microbe-killing molecules improve survival rate of people with CGD

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present.

30 Dec 2010

BIOMICs oversees SGIker DNA Bank to know genetic heritage of Basque lineage

The BIOMICs Group, based at the Lucio Lascaray building in the álava/Araba campus of the University of the Basque Country, is specially known for overseeing the SGIker DNA Bank, not only undertaking this task, but also feeding data into the gene research bank and making good use of it for their own lines of research.

28 Dec 2010

Paternal diet affects lipid metabolizing genes in offspring

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered evidence that environmental influences experienced by a father can be passed down to the next generation, "reprogramming" how genes function in offspring. A new study published this week in Cell shows that environmental cues-in this case, diet-influence genes in mammals from one generation to the next, evidence that until now has been sparse.

24 Dec 2010

Research highlighting treatment for pediatric SCD, malaria presented at ASH 2010

Red blood cells have the very important role of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; therefore, disorders that affect RBCs can have a significant impact on quality of life. Sickle cell disease and malaria are two common RBC diseases that affect a significant portion of the U.S. and global populations. Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that causes deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Americans, while malaria affects approximately 1,500 Americans annually and 190 to 311 million people worldwide.

6 Dec 2010

Drugs that target DNA in later-stage cancers could be effective in treating breast tumors

Breast cancers that arise sporadically, rather than through inheritance of certain genes, likely start with defects of DNA repair mechanisms that allow environmentally triggered mutations to accumulate, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

30 Nov 2010

Study finds association between DGKK gene and hypospadias

Hypospadias is a common congenital malformation of the male external genitalia, affecting 1 in 375 boys. In hypospadias patients, the urethral opening is not located at the tip of the penis, but somewhere halfway, at the base of the penis, or even in the scrotum.

29 Nov 2010