Mutation News and Research

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Autopsy study links prostate cancer to single rogue cell

One cell...one initial set of genetic changes - that's all it takes to begin a series of events that lead to metastatic cancer. Now, Johns Hopkins experts have tracked how the cancer process began in 33 men with prostate cancer who died of the disease. Culling information from autopsies, their study points to a set of genetic defects in a single cell that are different for each person's cancer.

16 Apr 2009

African sleeping sickness parasite breaks its own DNA to avoid detection

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei, which causes African sleeping sickness, is like a thief donning a disguise.

15 Apr 2009

Strange glaucoma puzzle solved

Scientists studying a rare form of glaucoma have discovered why people in the disparate Roma communities are at greater risk of inheriting a condition leading to permanent blindness than other groups in the population.

15 Apr 2009

Deafness - cure a hair away?

Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf.

14 Apr 2009

Scientists show how gene alteration can lead to the development of a type of brain cancer

An international team of scientists from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, the University of North Carolina and several institutions in China have explained how a gene alteration can lead to the development of a type of brain cancer, and they have identified a compound that could staunch the cancer's growth.

14 Apr 2009

Researchers study signaling networks that set up genetic code

In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois have identified and visualized the signaling pathways in protein-RNA complexes that help set the genetic code in all organisms.

14 Apr 2009

Mutations that help HIV hide undermine the virus's ability to replicate

When HIV infects a cell, a complex of human immune proteins called HLA (short for human leukocyte antigen) alert killer T cells by displaying bits of the virus on the surface of the cell. The T cells recognize these HIV fragments and mobilize an attack.

13 Apr 2009

Discovery of variations in resistance to sulfadoxine across Africa

Researchers have discovered that malaria parasites in east and west Africa carry different resistance mutations, which suggests that the effectiveness of sulfadoxine as an antimalarial drug may vary across Africa.

13 Apr 2009

Creating ideal neural cells for clinical use

Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have developed a protocol to rapidly differentiate human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into neural progenitor cells that may be ideal for transplantation.

13 Apr 2009

Gene mutation the trigger for deadly melanoma

According to British researchers as many as 70% of melanoma skin cancers may be triggered by a gene mutation.

13 Apr 2009

Discovery of chemical compound that may stop deadly brain tumors

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have identified a compound that could be modified to treat one of the most deadly types of cancer, and discovered how a particular gene mutation contributes to tumor growth.

12 Apr 2009

Natural heart pacemakers?

Artificial heart pacemakers have saved and extended the lives of thousands of people, but they have their shortcomings - such as a fixed pulse rate and a limited life.

12 Apr 2009

Discovery of compound that may stop glioblastoma multiforme

12 Apr 2009

Synthetic green-glowing genes show how 'silent' mutations influence protein production

Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed a hidden code that determines the expression level of a gene, providing a way to distinguish efficient genes from inefficient ones.

12 Apr 2009

New approach for surveying phosphorylation

Scientists have developed a new approach for surveying phosphorylation, a process that is regulated by critical cell signaling pathways and regulates several key cellular signaling events.

12 Apr 2009

New genetic understanding of progressive hearing loss

In parallel studies in human and mouse, two groups of researchers have come to the same conclusion: that a new kind of gene is associated with progressive hearing loss.

12 Apr 2009

Discovery of key decision-point at which cells with broken DNA repair themselves or die

When cells undergo potentially catastrophic damage, for example as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, they must make a decision: either to fix the damage or program themselves for death, a process called apoptosis.

12 Apr 2009

Researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments

The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end.

12 Apr 2009

Multifocal lung cancers appear to originate from single cancer clone

Multiple, anatomically distinct lung cancer tumors may frequently arise from a single cancer cell, according to a retrospective analysis of patient tumor samples published in the April 7 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Apr 2009

Antibiotics could treat cystic fibrosis, other genetic diseases

By modifying the properties of the common antibiotic gentamicin, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed what could become an effective treatment for many human genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Usher Syndrome and numerous cancers.

8 Apr 2009