Inherit News and Research

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Shyness, genetics and parents

New research from the Child Development Laboratory at the University of Maryland shows that shyness in kids could relate to the manner in which a stress-related gene in children interacts with being raised by stressed-out parents.

5 Mar 2007

Everyday plastics and pesticides may influence obesity

Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises).

18 Feb 2007

Shortening chromosomes cause for earlier cancer onset in families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

In families with a high incidence of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, the ends of individuals' chromosomes act somewhat like a lit fuse, according to researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Their findings detail how telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes, shorten with every successive generation, leading to more severe cancers at an earlier age.

15 Feb 2007

New genetic theory of parental teamwork

A molecular 'battle of the sexes' long considered the major driving force in a baby's development is being challenged by a new genetic theory of parental teamwork.

From The University of Manchester 2 Dec 2006

Eye color reflects a simple, predictable and reliable genetic pattern of inheritance

Before you request a paternity test, spend a few minutes looking at your child's eye color. It may just give you the answer you're looking for.

23 Oct 2006

Gene mutation explains type of brittle bone disease

A newly identified gene mutation helps explain a subset of cases of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease, whose origin had until now remained mysterious.

20 Oct 2006

Green tea slows down plaque formation in Huntington's disease

Green tea can apparently inhibit the formation of the lethal protein aggregates that are a characteristic feature of Huntington's disease (HD).

13 Sep 2006

Breast and ovarian cancers linked by heredity - women need to know their risks

During September, Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF) urges women to learn more about familial breast-ovarian cancer syndrome.

12 Sep 2006

Validation of a tool for identifying women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer

A new screening tool for the general practitioner effectively identifies patients at risk for hereditary breast cancer, according to a new study.

11 Sep 2006

Genetic link to chronic fatigue

Unexplained disabling fatigue in childhood is mainly due to genetic inheritance, a study of twins has revealed.

7 Sep 2006

New avenue for the pursuit of therapies for Alzheimer's disease

The genes responsible for an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease play a direct role within cells that has largely been overlooked, according to a report in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

Reproductive technologies and designer babies

The well-educated are significantly more open to the idea of "designing" babies than the poorly educated, according to a new study by psychologists at the University of East Anglia.

5 Sep 2006

Researchers identify genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

A discovery at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes has identified a genetic risk for type 1 diabetes three to four times higher than previously thought possible.

4 Sep 2006

Genetic mutations may be responsible for schizophrenia

The higher risk of schizophrenia among offspring of expectant mothers living through famine could help us understand the genetic basis for that debilitating mental disorder.

2 Aug 2006

Paternal relatives and family history of breast cancer

Taking a family history is one of the most accessible genomic screens for breast cancer. However, a history of cancer on the paternal side may not be as well reported.

25 Jul 2006

Gene variant increases risk of type 2 diabetes - but healthy lifestyle changes reduce genetic risk

Researchers have confirmed that a gene variant confers susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in participants of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a large clinical trial in adults at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

21 Jul 2006

Scientists unravel breast cancer risk gene mystery

The risk of developing breast cancer is doubled in women who inherit a damaged version of a gene called ATM, according to a study published by Cancer Research UK funded scientists and collaborators in Nature Genetics.

10 Jul 2006

Stem cells contain immortal DNA

EuroStemCell scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris have demonstrated one of the body's most sophisticated ways of regulating the genetic material of stem cells.

26 Jun 2006

New genetic clue discovered about breast cancer

New research has discovered that women in Iceland with a particular gene that raises the risk of breast cancer were virtually certain to develop the disease if they also had a mutation in another gene.

20 Jun 2006

MRI cost-effective for some women at high-risk of breast cancer

A computer model simulation suggests that adding breast MRI screening may be cost-effective for women of certain ages who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

23 May 2006