Ribonucleic Acid News and Research

RSS

UT Southwestern researcher measures estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells

A UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has identified the most comprehensive measurement to date of estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells, showing for the first time how immediate and extensive the effect is.

6 May 2011

Insight into neurodegenerative diseases

For years, researchers in genome stability have observed that several neurodegenerative diseases-including Huntington's disease-are associated with cell-killing proteins that are created during expansion of a CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeat.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new method to detect virus presence in cells

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Center for Bio-Molecular Science and Engineering have developed a method to detect the presence of viruses in cells and to study their growth.

12 Apr 2011

Micro-RNAs appear to play a key role in new mechanism underlying obesity

Max Planck researchers have discovered a new mechanism that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes in obesity. Body weight influences the risk of developing diabetes: between 80 and 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.

31 Mar 2011

WaferGen launches SmartChip Human microRNA Panel V2 for gene expression profiling

WaferGen Biosystems, Inc., a leading developer of state-of-the-art genomic analysis systems, today announced the launch of its industry-leading SmartChip Human microRNA Panel V2 for gene expression profiling on the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System.

28 Mar 2011

New study implicates microRNAs in panic disorder

A new study published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry now implicates one type of molecular switch, microRNAs, in panic disorder.

25 Mar 2011

Modified mRNA raises hope for safe and effective cancer drugs

Modern gene therapies raise hopes of combating many diseases until now considered terminal. Nowadays, however, the methods are expensive and carry a risk of severe complications.

18 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Genetic information from Guthrie cards may serve as valuable resource to diagnose infant diseases

Van Andel Research Institute researchers have developed a method that can yield more information from archived newborn blood that has implications for a vast array of research, including population health studies and answering questions about diseases in infants and children.

13 Jan 2011

Study highlights important clinical implications of miR-503 in diabetes-associated vascular complications

New research has found one of the smallest entities in the human genome, micro-RNA, could increase the risk of limb amputation in diabetic patients who have poor blood flow.

13 Jan 2011

Genetic breakthrough in lung cancer

For the study the team studied samples of lung tumors and nearby healthy lung tissue from 30 patients and examined the samples for the presence of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) associated with 48 known genes for molecules called nuclear hormone receptors. Then they compared the active genes with patient outcomes and found that the expression of genes for certain nuclear hormone receptors helped predict patient survival.

16 Dec 2010

Genes predict survival time, potential new treatments for patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered sets of genes active in cancer cells and normal tissue that predict survival time and potential new treatments for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

15 Dec 2010

MicroRNA linked to mosquito blood digestion and egg development identified

Each year, dengue fever infects as many as 100 million people while yellow fever is responsible for about 30,000 deaths worldwide. Both diseases are spread by infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which require vertebrate blood to produce eggs. The blood feeding and the egg development are tightly linked to how the mosquito transmits the disease-causing virus.

2 Dec 2010

MicroRNAs linked to failure of duct development in mammary glands

Max Planck researchers discover novel mechanism for vertebrate organ development. Hormones, growth factors and several proteins ensure that development occurs in the right way, at the right time. The components that cause breast development in mammals, for example, were thought to be largely known. However, as a team of scientists from Göttingen, Frankfurt and Hanover have now discovered, in the case of breast development, hormones and proteins do not account for the full story.

10 Nov 2010

Long non-protein coding RNAs respond to SARS virus infection, says study

For the first time, scientists have discovered that a poorly understood class of RNA produced in a mammal's cells during a respiratory virus attack may affect the outcome of the infection. Their findings are reported today in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

27 Oct 2010

Researchers find gene mutation mechanism that cause mitochondrial diseases

Scientists have discovered a new cause of spastic ataxia, and believe this cause is also a trigger for other mitochondrial diseases neurological disorders that can lead to serious coordination, growth, visual, speech, and muscle defects.

22 Oct 2010

Biologists recommend virtual institute for RNA research

A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'.

12 Oct 2010

Researchers to develop new treatment strategy for cancer

Cancer is a difficult disease to treat because it's a personal disease. Each case is unique and based on a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Conventional chemotherapy employs treatment with one or more drugs, assuming that these medicines are able to both "diagnose" and "treat" the affected cells. Many of the side effects experienced by chemotherapy patients are due to the fact that the drugs they are taking aren't selective enough.

7 Sep 2010

Labopharm second-quarter total revenue increases to $6.8 million

Labopharm Inc. today reported its financial results for the second quarter and first six months ended June 30, 2010. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

12 Aug 2010