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The DNA proteome

The human genome complete sequencing project in 2003 revealed the enormous instruction manual necessary to define a human being.

22 Apr 2009

Potential genetic cause of congenital defect colonic atresia

In a finding that helps resolve a long-standing question in developmental biology, Klaus H. Kaestner, PhD, Professor of Genetics, and colleagues report in the journal Developmental Cell this week about how the mammalian gut forms. Mice were genetically engineered to lack the protein Cdx2 in the cells that normally go on to form the stomach and intestine.

22 Apr 2009

Another gene found for Rett syndrome

New research has revealed another gene for Rett syndrome which could lead to new treatments for the disorder.

22 Apr 2009

Potential new target for treatment of Rett syndrome

A research collaboration between Australia and Israel has identified a genetic variation that influences the severity of symptoms in Rett syndrome.

20 Apr 2009

Removal of ovaries during hysterectomy increases risk of death, outweighs benefits

Results of a landmark study led by a doctor at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center raises serious questions about the long-term survival benefits of removing a woman's ovaries during routine hysterectomy.

20 Apr 2009

New insights into transcription factors in human cells

Bioinformatics researchers from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode."

20 Apr 2009

Genetic source of rare cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma discovered

The search for the cause of an inherited form of a rare, aggressive childhood lung cancer has uncovered important information about how the cancer develops and potentially sheds light on the development of other cancers.

20 Apr 2009

First noninvasive technique to accurately predict mutations in human brain tumors

Donald O'Rourke, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues, were able to accurately predict the specific genetic mutation that caused brain cancer in a group of patients studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

20 Apr 2009

Chemopreventive isothiocyanates selectively depletes mutant p53 in tumor cells

Researchers at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center have demonstrated that naturally-occurring compounds can selectively deplete mutant p53 and restore "wild type" function to p53 in a variety of tumor cells.

20 Apr 2009

Protein FGFR3 a potential therapeutic target for several cancers

Several forms of cancer, including bladder cancer and multiple myeloma caused by the t(4;14) genetic abnormality, are associated with either overexpression or perpetual activation of the protein FGFR3.

20 Apr 2009

Discovery of nine new genes on X chromosome that, when knocked-out, lead to learning disabilities

The international team studied almost all X chromosome genes in 208 families with learning disabilities - the largest screen of this type ever reported.

20 Apr 2009

Fish oil protects against neurodegenerative diseases

Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's.

20 Apr 2009

Research shows how p53 mutations link to high-grade breast cancer, poor outcomes

In what is believed to be the largest study of its kind in the US, researchers have found that almost 26 percent of women studied who have breast cancer have mutations in a gene important in controlling cell growth and death, and that patients with mutations in this gene - known as p53 - had poorer outcomes including a significantly increased risk of death from the cancer.

20 Apr 2009

Computational model examines the pathways of Alzheimer's that strikes at the young

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a tragic disease that robs an individual of their memory and mental capacity.

20 Apr 2009

Move over, Y chromosome - it's time X got some attention

In the first evolutionary study of the chromosome associated with being female, University of California, Berkeley, biologist Doris Bachtrog and her colleagues show that the history of the X chromosome is every bit as interesting as the much-studied, male-determining Y chromosome, and offers important clues to the origins and benefits of sexual reproduction.

16 Apr 2009