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Pacific Biosciences raises additional $68 million in financing

Pacific Biosciences, a private company pioneering the development of a transformative DNA sequencing technology, announced today it has raised an additional $68 million in financing.

12 Aug 2009

Discovery of gene linked to maturity-onset diabetes of the young

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have linked another gene to a rare form of diabetes, a finding that could prove beneficial to those with the more common type 2 diabetes.

10 Aug 2009

Reduced ovarian reserve is associated with an increased risk of trisomic pregnancy

Women who have a diminished number of eggs in their ovaries, either because they are older or for some other reason such as ovarian surgery, may be more at risk of a trisomic pregnancy than women with an ovarian reserve within the normal, fertile range.

30 Jun 2009

Two studies on polycystic ovarian syndrome shed light on its causes and its effect on brothers of women with the condition

Researchers have found evidence that chronic disease in either a mother or father can create unfavourable conditions in the womb that are associated with the development of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in daughters. In another study, researchers found that brothers of women with PCOS and insulin resistance are themselves at greater risk of developing insulin resistance or diabetes, suggesting that factors associated with the condition can be passed down to sons as well as daughters.

30 Jun 2009

New test detects genetic and chromosomal abnormalities in embryos - ready for clinical trials

One-step screening for both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities has come a stage closer as scientists announced that an embryo test they have been developing has successfully screened cells taken from spare embryos that were known to have cystic fibrosis.

30 Jun 2009

New pieces in the autism inheritance puzzle

Pieces in the complex autism inheritance puzzle are emerging in the latest study from a research team including geneticists from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The study identified 27 different genetic regions where rare copy number variations - missing or extra copies of DNA segments - were found in the genes of children with autism spectrum disorders, but not in the healthy controls. The findings are published June 26 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

30 Jun 2009

Fishing industry contributing to spread of HIV around Africa's Lake Victoria

The fishing industry and some cultural practices in communities living around Africa's Lake Victoria are contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in the area, according to a panel of experts at a recent meeting in Kisumu, Kenya, The Citizen reports.

28 May 2009

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives - nearly unthinkable just a decade ago - are drawing new interest as everyday Americans wrestle with the time and expense of providing long-term health care, a University of Illinois legal expert says.

27 May 2009

Endorphins, personality, and inheritance

A new article published in Elsevier's journal Bioscience Hypotheses suggests that our feelings in our lifetime can affect our children.

14 May 2009

Advances in cystic fibrosis genetic testing

San Juan Capistrano, CA and Chantilly, VA –Three reports describing advances in cystic fibrosis genetic testing appear in the May 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics .

27 Apr 2009

Researchers discover that gene switches on during development of epilepsy

A discovery made by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine while studying mice may help explain how some people without a genetic predisposition to epilepsy can develop the disorder.

23 Apr 2009

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia linked to seven different gene variants

A national team of researchers led by Mayo Clinic has found that patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are more likely to have similar DNA changes or variants in up to six genes, compared to people who do not have the cancer.

21 Apr 2009

New clues to how stem cells form

An Emory University study shows some of the first direct evidence of a process required for epigenetic reprogramming between generations – a finding that could shed more light on the mechanisms of fertilization, stem-cell formation and cloning.

16 Apr 2009

For cancer cells, genetics alone is poor indicator for drug response

In certain respects, cells are less like machines and more like people.

12 Apr 2009

Rogue Alzheimer's gene causes early brain changes

British scientists have found that some young adults who carry a certain genetic variant have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and distinct brain patterns and changes in their brain activity started decades before any symptoms appeared.

8 Apr 2009

Two new hereditary corneal disorders discovered

Two new disorders affecting the cornea have been discovered by researchers at Linkoping University. The hereditary disorders were discovered in two Swedish families.

7 Apr 2009

Young adults at future risk of Alzheimer's have different brain activity

Young adults with a genetic variant that raises their risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease show changes in their brain activity decades before any symptoms might arise, according to a new brain imaging study by scientists from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

6 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene linked to short-rib polydactyly syndrome

After 12 years of searching, UCLA scientists have tracked down the first known gene mutation responsible for a heartbreaking disorder that kills newborn babies.

1 Apr 2009

Discovery of genetic link to blood cancers

The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has shown that susceptibility to a series of blood cancers, known as myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), is linked to a particular area of the patient's DNA, which is prone to developing mutations.

22 Mar 2009