Mutation News and Research

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From the works of Shakespeare to the genomes of viruses

What does uncovering the true authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare have to do with identifying our genetic ancestors or classifying new life forms?

11 Feb 2009

Researchers give mutants another chance

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that it might be possible to treat genetic diseases, including some forms of cancer, by "rescuing" the misshapen, useless proteins produced by some mutant genes.

11 Feb 2009

Researchers identify mutation that causes inflammatory bowel disease

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has linked a mouse mutation to an increased susceptibility for developing inflammatory bowel disease -- represented in humans as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which together are estimated to affect more than a million people in the United States.

10 Feb 2009

Lack of specific gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

9 Feb 2009

Vitamin B and folic acid - a new and safe treatment for migraine

A new Australian study has revealed that the occurrence and intensity of migraine may be lessened by taking vitamin B and folic acid.

9 Feb 2009

Missing gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

8 Feb 2009

Emphysema linked to accelerated aging protein

A University of Iowa study is apparently the first to make a connection between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking.

8 Feb 2009

Source of cancer stem cells' resistance to radiation discovered

Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells - tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers - are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions.

5 Feb 2009

Sangamo BioSciences starts trial of CCR5-ZFP therapeutic to treat HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. has announced that its collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania have opened a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate SB-728-T for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

5 Feb 2009

New research may lead to new pharmacologic approaches to treating obesity

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene that when mutated causes obesity by dampening the body's ability to burn energy while leaving appetite unaffected.

5 Feb 2009

Researchers identify gene mutations that affect learning, memory in children

Mental deficiency is the most frequently occurring, yet least understood handicap in children.

5 Feb 2009

What your mother did when she was a child may have an effect on your memory

A new study by researchers from Rush University Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine using mice indicate that a child's memory and the severity of learning disorders may be affected by what his or her mother did when she was a child.

3 Feb 2009

Disruption of circadian clock can suppress cancer growth

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that disruption of the circadian clock - the internal time-keeping mechanism that keeps the body running on a 24-hour cycle - can slow the progression of cancer.

3 Feb 2009

Link found between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson's disease

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have found that a single gene, known as PARK9, protects cells from manganese toxicity and rescues neurons from over-expression of the protein alpha-synuclein.

3 Feb 2009

Preventing prostate cancer the complex way

Blocking a specific protein complex prevents the formation of tumors in mice genetically predisposed to develop prostate cancer.

3 Feb 2009

New findings raise questions about process used to identify experimental drug

A study by National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers has revealed surprising new insights into the process used to initially identify an experimental drug now being tested in people with cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.

3 Feb 2009

Novel gene may cause restless legs syndrome in a large family

In 2005, a woman who had trouble sleeping asked Siong-Chi Lin, M.D., for help. Dr. Lin, a sleep disorders specialist at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida, diagnosed restless legs syndrome.

3 Feb 2009

Fat-free diet reduces liver fat in fat-free mice

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered crucial clues about a paradoxical disease in which patients with no body fat develop many of the health complications usually found in obese people.

3 Feb 2009

Drugs may be 'magic bullet' for infants born with rare form of diabetes

Infants born with a rare form of inherited diabetes might avoid irreversible damage to their pancreases if they are treated immediately with sulfonylurea drugs rather than insulin, according to a new report in the February 4th issue of Cell Metabolism , a Cell Press publication.

3 Feb 2009