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Mechanism driving iron overload in thalassemia identified

Led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, an international group of scientists has pinpointed a specific genetic relationship as the cause of dangerous iron overload in persons with a form of the inherited blood disease, beta-thalassemia.

14 Feb 2007

Variation in gene caspase-8 may help protect against breast cancer

A large-scale analysis of data on breast cancer risk has concluded that a common variation in the gene caspase-8 (CASP8) is associated with a somewhat lower risk of the disease. Variants are small changes that occur in a gene sequence.

13 Feb 2007

New technologies boost production of malaria drug artemisinin

New technologies that make the large-scale extraction of a natural antimalarial ‘wonder drug' both cheaper and greener are to be developed and trialled in a new European effort.

12 Feb 2007

Death toll at 65 as two more Indonesians die from bird flu

Indonesian health officials say a 20-year-old woman who tested positive for bird flu has died, making her the country's 64th human victim of the deadly H5N1 virus.

11 Feb 2007

Type-2 diabetes genes identified

The most important genes associated with a risk of developing type-2 diabetes have been identified, scientists report today in a new study.

11 Feb 2007

PALB2 gene mutation elevates risk of breast cancer four-fold

Cancer is a complex and common disease caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. An inherited predisposition seems to be involved in at least 5-10 per cent of all cases of breast cancer.

11 Feb 2007

British Government caught on the back foot over bird flu outbreak

Authorities in Britain have been caught on the back foot after it was revealed by the media that turkey meat from Hungary had been allowed into the country.

11 Feb 2007

New method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities

A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with "targeted" drugs.

11 Feb 2007

Scientists discover enzym that activates epigenetically silenced genes

For several years now, cancer researchers have been studying a mechanism that contributes to the development of malignant tumors: The cell attaches small molecules containing a carbon atom, called methyl groups, to specific building blocks of DNA, thereby individually switching off the genes thus labeled.

11 Feb 2007

Link between British and Hungarian bird flu outbreaks now suspected

Scientists in Britain investigating the outbreak of bird flu in a flock of turkeys in Suffolk now say there may be a link with an outbreak in Hungary in January.

8 Feb 2007

Worker involved in British bird flu outbreak undergoing tests for the virus

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Britain one of the workers who had been dealing with the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk in England has been admitted to hospital.

7 Feb 2007

Single transcription factor GABP a major player in cell growth

When cells go about the business of dividing, they can get sidelined. Maybe there aren't enough nutrients. Maybe there aren't the right signals to resume multiplying. Either way, cells go quiet.

7 Feb 2007

Scientists step closer to understanding the relationship between aging and cancer

Wielding a palette of chromosome paints, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have taken a step closer to understanding the relationship between aging and cancer by visualizing chromosomes of cells from patients with a heritable premature aging disease known as Werner Syndrome.

6 Feb 2007