Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Researchers determine 3D structure of two proteins for first time

A team led by David Reverter, a researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the UAB, has determined for the first time the three-dimensional structure of a protein pair: LC8 and Nek9.

12 Apr 2013

Modulation of cerebral endocannabinoid system may help treat Fragile X chromosome syndrome

Researchers at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Achucarro neurosciences centre have discovered a new therapy for the fragile X chromosome syndrome. This new therapy proposes the modulation of the cerebral endocannabinoid system in order to ameliorate the symptoms of the disease.

11 Apr 2013

New chemotherapy regimen appears to produce minimal side effects in lung cancer patients

A new chemotherapy regimen appears to produce minimal side effects in patients with lung cancer that has not responded to previous therapy, paving the way for additional research to determine if the new regimen also helps shrink tumors, according findings to be presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9.

10 Apr 2013

New ACMG statement on Noninvasive Prenatal Screening for Fetal Aneuploidy

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics has just released an important new Policy Statement on "Noninvasive Prenatal Screening for Fetal Aneuploidy."

9 Apr 2013

Research sheds new light on role of ATRX mutations in brain and pituitary

Research from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute sheds new light on a gene called ATRX and its function in the brain and pituitary.

9 Apr 2013

FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for ibrutinib as monotherapy for CLL patients

Pharmacyclics, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted an additional Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational oral agent ibrutinib as monotherapy for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma patients with deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17 (deletion 17p).

8 Apr 2013

Gene behind Vel blood group discovered

Researchers have uncovered the gene at the root of a human blood group that has remained a mystery for the past 60 years. They showed that a genetic deletion on this gene is responsible for the lack of this blood group in some people.

8 Apr 2013

Fruit fly study offers clues to wound healing

A person's skin and a fruit fly's exoskeleton, called a "cuticle" may not look alike, but both coverings protect against injury, infection, and dehydration.

6 Apr 2013

Researchers diagnose genetic disease in embryonic DNA without biopsy

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) technologies allow identification of genetic disorders in human preimplantation embryos after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and before the embryo is transferred back to the patient.

3 Apr 2013

Researchers focus on understanding mechanistic, physiological aspects of conflicts in living cells

Bacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, as University of Washington scientists explain in this week's edition of Nature.

30 Mar 2013

European Commission grants conditional marketing authorization for Pfizer's BOSULIF

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization for BOSULIF (bosutinib) in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with chronic phase, accelerated phase and blast phase Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myelogenous leukemia previously treated with one or more tyrosine kinase inhibitor(s) and for whom imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib are not considered appropriate treatment options.

28 Mar 2013

Study links genetic variation, wheezing illness to childhood asthma risk

About 90 percent of children with two copies of a common genetic variation and who wheezed when they caught a cold early in life went on to develop asthma by age 6, according to a study to be published March 28 by the New England Journal of Medicine.

28 Mar 2013

New research confirms correlation between reproduction and lifespan

New research into ageing processes, based on modern genetic techniques, confirms theoretical expectations about the correlation between reproduction and lifespan.

28 Mar 2013

Study examines specific form of autism caused by duplication on chromosome 15

Identifying and understanding the combination of factors that leads to autism is an ongoing scientific challenge. This developmental disorder appears in the first three years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills.

27 Mar 2013

MIT biology professor named Pew's Biomedical Researcher of the Month

Biologist Mary Gehring, Ph.D. is The Pew Charitable Trusts' featured biomedical researcher of the month for her creative research on epigenetics in plants.

25 Mar 2013

Protein with key job in muscle function moonlights in nucleus to help regulate genes

A key building block of life, actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells.

25 Mar 2013

Study uncovers new relationship between nuclear architecture, gene activity

Every time a cell divides it makes a carbon copy of crucial ingredients, including the histone proteins that are responsible for spooling yards of DNA into tight little coils.

25 Mar 2013

Study reveals role of SNX27 protein in brain function

What is it about the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome-chromosome 21-that alters brain and body development? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have new evidence that points to a protein called sorting nexin 27, or SNX27.

25 Mar 2013

Researchers complete phase II clinical trial of dasatinib for patients with higher-risk MDS

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have completed a phase II clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of dasatinib for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, or acute myeloid leukemia resulting from MDS and have failed treatment with azanucleosides.

21 Mar 2013

Novel modification of structural protein implicated

Studying a protein that gives structure to the nucleus of cells, Johns Hopkins researchers stumbled upon mutations associated with familial partial lipodystrophy, a rare disease that disrupts normal patterns of fat distribution throughout the body.

21 Mar 2013