Locus News and Research

RSS

New genetic discoveries from Autism Genome Project

An international consortium of researchers working under the auspices of Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, has announced new genetic discoveries from the second phase of its collaborative study: the Autism Genome Project. The results were published today in the journal Nature, one of the world's most respected peer-reviewed scientific publications.

10 Jun 2010

Gene variant linked to ability of Tibetans to cope with low-oxygen conditions identified

A new study pinpoints the genetic changes that enable Tibetans to thrive at altitudes where others get sick.

8 Jun 2010

Scientists identify new susceptibility genes in genome-wide association study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Scientists from Singapore, China and USA have identified three new susceptibility genes in a genome-wide association study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study, led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Centre, identified genetic risk factors of NPC that advance the understanding of the important role played by host genetic variation in influencing the susceptibility to this cancer.

31 May 2010

Weill Cornell Medical College commences construction of 18-story, $650 million Medical Research Building

Weill Cornell Medical College today celebrated the start of construction on its new Medical Research Building, a state-of-the-art facility that will more than double the institution's existing research space. The 18-story, $650 million building is the centerpiece of Weill Cornell's $1.3 billion Discoveries that Make a Difference Campaign, the country's largest for a medical college. A total of $1 billion has been raised toward this goal in a record time of less than four years.

27 May 2010

Genetic variations do not improve ability to predict risk of AD: Study

Although genome-wide analysis identified two genetic variations associated with Alzheimer disease, these variations did not improve the ability to predict the risk of AD, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

12 May 2010

Researchers identify new genetic link to systemic scleroderma

An international research consortium including scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has identified a new genetic link to the systemic form of scleroderma. Researchers believe a thorough understanding of the genetic nature of the disease is crucial to developing a cure.

30 Apr 2010

Sigma Life Science announces global release of CompoZr Targeted Integration Kit

Sigma® Life Science, the innovative biological products and services brand of Sigma-Aldrich®, today announced an extension to its award-winning CompoZr® product offering with the global release of the CompoZr Targeted Integration Kit, AAVS1. This kit provides a powerful method for the controlled transgene integration and expression of any gene in any human cell line using Sigma-Aldrich's proprietary CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology.

20 Apr 2010

Gene duplications can lead to functional diversity in organisms

New information about early Native Americans' horticultural practices comes not from hieroglyphs or other artifacts, but from a suite of four gene duplicates found in wild and domesticated sunflowers.

5 Apr 2010

Epeius Biotechnologies' tumor-targeted vaccine technology for cancer immunotherapy receives patent protection

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation, an emerging leader in the field of targeted genetic medicine, received a notice of allowance from the USPTO for a crucial patent covering its leading tumor-targeted vaccine technology for cancer immunotherapy. The issuance of this valuable patent protection for tumor targeted immunotherapy follows on the heels of two international patents covering targeted gene medicine in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, and places Epeius Biotech at the forefront of these emerging fields of clinical medicine with best-of-breed solutions and incontrovertible proofs-of-principle in the clinic.

16 Mar 2010

Genetic variant increases risk of lung cancer for light and heavy smokers, say researchers

Individuals with a certain type of genetic susceptibility to lung cancer face a greatly increased risk for the deadly disease with even a small exposure to cigarette smoke, a study team that includes researchers from the University of Cincinnati has concluded.

10 Mar 2010

Gene involved in susceptibility and resistance to TB identified

University of Washington researchers have identified a gene involved in susceptibility and resistance to tuberculosis. This same gene, they have found, has a role in the severity of leprosy, which is caused by a related pathogen. The researchers also have learned why this gene is important for susceptibility.

5 Mar 2010

Study: Genetic variant of LTA4H offers protection against TB and leprosy

A study into why some people are more resistant than others to diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy has identified a new genetic variant which affects susceptibility to these diseases. The findings, published today in the journal Cell, may have implications for future treatments for the two conditions.

5 Mar 2010

New gene locus influencing risk for atrial fibrillation identified

Atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia - a chronic irregularity of heartbeat - which affects an estimated 1 million people in Germany. Although the condition is not acutely life-threatening, it does increase the risk of developing more serious illnesses, such as cardiac insufficiency, stroke and dementia. In the third of a series of genomewide asssociation studies, an international team of researchers, led by LMU physician PD Dr. Stefan K--b, now reports the identification of a new gene locus that has a significant influence on risk for atrial fibrillation.

22 Feb 2010

Emerging concepts from gene regulation studies in immune cells

The seventh meeting in the “Emergence and Convergence” series jointly organized by La Fondation IPSEN and Nature brings together today in San Antonio (Texas, USA) leading experts to discuss concepts emerging from gene regulation studies in immune cells that have led to insights into the initiation and maintenance of epigenetic chromatin marks necessary for proper differentiation and function of these cells in the immune system.

19 Feb 2010

Rubicon Genomics reaches agreement with ZyGEM to market its PicoPlex single-cell amplification kits

Rubicon Genomics, Inc., a developer of pre-analytical amplification products that enable more comprehensive genetic analysis of clinical and research samples, announced today that it has reached agreement with ZyGEM to non-exclusively market Rubicon's PicoPlex™ single-cell amplification kits in Australia and New Zealand.

30 Jan 2010

New genetic findings may lead to better interventional therapies for obsessive compulsive disorders

A collaboration between the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has identified a genetic locus on canine chromosome 7 which coincides with an increased risk of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) susceptibility.

7 Jan 2010

Scientists rediscover Cyclin G1 gene as prime target for anti-cancer therapies

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation, an emerging leader in the field of targeted genetic medicine, gained international validation of the cutting-edge science behind its lead oncology product, Rexin-G, when scientists around the world rediscovered the Cyclin G1 gene to be a major locus of cancer pathogenesis and disease progression, and thus a prime target for anti-cancer therapies.

16 Dec 2009

Findings suggest severity of atherosclerosis depends on the rate of white blood cell migration

By measuring the total gene activity in organs relevant for coronary artery disease (CAD), scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have identified a module of genes that is important for the recruitment of white blood cells into the atherosclerotic plaque.

4 Dec 2009

MUHC researchers identify first genetic resistance factor against TB infection

Why do some people who are exposed to tuberculosis not become infected or develop the disease? Dr. Erwin Schurr and his team at the Research Institute from the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), in collaboration with Dr. Alexandre Alcais, from the Institut national de la sant- et de la recherche m-dicale (INSERM) in Paris, has shed light on this question for the first time. Their

2 Dec 2009

Possible new approach to slow the progression of cognitive decline in Down's syndrome

A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome.

19 Nov 2009