Mutation News and Research

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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

FDA clears rapid test for the detection of influenza A/H5N1

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing a new, more rapid test for the detection of influenza A/H5N1, a disease-causing subtype of the avian influenza A virus that can infect humans.

7 Apr 2009

Rare window on spinal muscular atrophy genetics

Caused by a mutation of the SMN gene, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an infantile and juvenile neurodegenerative disorder where motor neuron loss causes progressive paralysis.

6 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene variant associated with increased risk of atopic dermatitis

Scientists of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité - University Medical School, Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with researchers from the Klinikum rechts der Isar of Technical University Munich and Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, have identified a gene variant on chromosome 11 that is associated with an increased risk of atopic dermatitis.

6 Apr 2009

Rak gene helps protect tumor suppressor in breast cancer

Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a gene that protects PTEN, a major tumor-suppressor that is reduced but rarely mutated in about half of all breast cancers.

6 Apr 2009

Dietary flaxseed may help prevent colorectal tumors

New research from South Dakota State University offers evidence that including flax in the diet may help prevent colorectal tumors or keep tumors from growing as quickly when they do form.

6 Apr 2009

AVEO Pharmaceuticals announces findings from novel human-in-mouse cancer model system

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced findings from its novel human-in-mouse (HIM) cancer model system, in which AVEO successfully created invasive human tumors from primary human breast tissue that develop over time in mice and mimic human tumor behaviors and response.

6 Apr 2009

BRAF gene mutation is a crucial skin cancer switch

Up to 70 per cent of melanoma skin cancers could be triggered by a particular genetic mutation, according to a Cancer Research UK funded study published in Cancer Cell.

6 Apr 2009

Does exercise help prevent breast cancer?

A new federally funded University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study aims to learn whether women at high risk of breast cancer can use exercise to meaningfully reduce their risk of getting the disease.

6 Apr 2009

Scientists show how a neuron gets its shape

Ask a simple question, get a simple answer: When Abraham Lincoln was asked how long a man's legs should be, he absurdly replied, "Long enough to reach the ground."

6 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's disease linked to mitochondrial damage

Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have demonstrated that attacks on the mitochondrial protein Drp1 by the free radical nitric oxide-which causes a chemical reaction called S-nitrosylation-mediates neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease.

5 Apr 2009

Why does aspirin increase the susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to antimicrobials?

Resent studies reported that aspirin inhibited the growth of H. pylori in a dose-dependent manner and significantly affected the activity of virulence factors of H. pylori.

2 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene that modifies severity of cystic fibrosis lung disease

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues, have identified a gene that modifies the severity of lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis, a lethal genetic condition.

2 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

Possible genetic cause for advanced colorectal cancer in blacks

Researchers have identified a possible genetic cause for increased risk for a more advanced form of colorectal cancer in blacks that leads to shorter survival, according to data published in Clinical Cancer Research , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers develop mouse models of leukemia that predict response to chemotherapy

Being able to accurately predict how a given cancer will respond to chemotherapy would spare patients with non-responsive tumors the burden of undergoing toxic and ultimately unhelpful treatment.

1 Apr 2009

Genetic engineering breakthrough

In a genetic engineering breakthrough that could help everyone from bed-ridden patients to elite athletes, a team of American researchers - including 2007 Nobel Prize winner Mario R. Capecchi - have created a "switch" that allows mutations or light signals to be turned on in muscle stem cells to monitor muscle regeneration in a living mammal

30 Mar 2009