Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Direct link between short telomere length, heart attack and early death

Every cell in the body has chromosomes with so-called telomeres, which are shortened over time and also through lifestyle choices such as smoking and obesity. Researchers have long speculated that the shortening of telomeres increases the risk of heart attack and early death. Now a large-scale population study in Denmark involving nearly 20,000 people shows that there is in fact a direct link, and has also given physicians a future way to test the actual cellular health of a person.

16 Feb 2012

Chemists create new molecule that can tangle inside the DNA for up to 16 days

Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

15 Feb 2012

Agilent's microarrays used in landmark study on prenatal samples

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced its microarrays were used in a landmark research study on prenatal samples. The three-year study was designed to evaluate the accuracy, efficacy and potential advantages of using microarray analysis as compared with conventional karyotyping. Agilent SurePrint CGH microarrays and analysis software were used for the majority sample cohort of 4,400 samples.

14 Feb 2012

Discovery sheds light on what happens in cells when DNA is damaged

A research group in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is hoping its latest discovery could one day be used to develop new therapies that target certain types of cancers.

13 Feb 2012

Massively parallel sequencing effective in diagnosing fetal aneuploidies

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that massively parallel sequencing can be used to diagnose fetal aneuploidies, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome and Turner syndrome.

13 Feb 2012

Y chromosome may be the link that passes heart disease risk from father to son

The study, published in The Lancet, focused on genetic markers on the Y chromosome — which is present only in male DNA (women have two X chromosomes) — and found that men with a certain genetic variant were 50% more likely to have coronary artery disease than those without it. The increased risk was independent of other contributors to heart disease such as age, weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking.

12 Feb 2012

Chromosomal microarray provides more information about fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, which is to visually examine the chromosomes.

10 Feb 2012

Longer looks: Former Komen VP's new 'bona fides'; Alzheimer's definition changing?; Palin on her special needs child

Even if you put politics and ideology completely aside, Karen Handel had to resign from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. It's hard to think of the last time an employee did so much damage to such a respected brand in so little time. ... But while Komen will sustain long-term damage, Handel probably will be just fine. Yes, she's lost her position as Komen's vice president for public policy. But Handel has long had political aspirations, and she's now a right-wing cause célèbre.

10 Feb 2012

Cyclin D1 oncogene may promote chromosomal instability

A team of researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) led by Richard G. Pestell, M.D., PhD., FACP, Director of the KCC and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, have shown in a study published online Feb. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the oncogene cyclin D1 may promote a genetic breakdown known as chromosomal instability (CIN). CIN is a known, yet poorly understood culprit in tumor progression.

7 Feb 2012

First European CPGs for diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease

The first European Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease are published today by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on the EASL website.

7 Feb 2012

Scientists search gene alterations in three-parent kids

Researchers from Australia want to find out if using the DNA of three parents will prevent children inheriting life-threatening diseases. They add that if the technique proves successful in preventing the transfer of mitochondrial DNA mutations from mothers to babies, then laws on the use of embryos will need to be changed to allow the procedure.

6 Feb 2012

Scientists identify genetic variant that increases risk of ischemic stroke

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics today. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment.

6 Feb 2012

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.

3 Feb 2012

DNA-based prenatal blood test can also identify trisomy 13 and 18

A newly available DNA-based prenatal blood test that can identify a pregnancy with Down syndrome can also identify two additional chromosome abnormalities: trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome). The test for all three defects can be offered as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy to women who have been identified as being at high risk for these abnormalities.

3 Feb 2012

Cancer Genomics now available online

Genome Research publishes online and in print today a special issue entitled, "Cancer Genomics," highlighting insights gained form cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic analyses of cancer.

2 Feb 2012

Novartis' Gleevec receives FDA approval for use in patients with CD117-positive GIST

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted Gleevec (imatinib) regular approval for use in adult patients following surgical removal of CD117-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

1 Feb 2012

Newly discovered molecular pathway may explain how AML develops

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a molecular pathway that may explain how a particularly deadly form of cancer develops. The discovery may lead to new cancer therapies that reprogram cells instead of killing them. The findings are published in a recent paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

30 Jan 2012

Research Down Syndrome enters second year of national running program

Research Down Syndrome (RDS), a nonprofit foundation that is among the leading sources for funding of Down syndrome related cognitive research, is entering the second year of its national running program, Race for the Extraordinary, to help increase public awareness and funding for Down syndrome research. The mission of RDS is the development of safe and effective therapies to address the intellectual difficulties associated with Down syndrome.

30 Jan 2012

Researchers identify possible cause for loss of tumor suppressor genes

Researchers at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada have identified a possible cause for the loss of a tumour suppressor gene (known as PTEN) that can lead to the development of more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

27 Jan 2012

HHMI honors EMBL Monterotondo researcher with International Early Career Scientist award

Rocio Sotillo, a staff scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, is one of 28 outstanding young biomedical scientists who have been honoured with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Early Career Scientist award this year.

25 Jan 2012