Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Location location location, even for genes

Moving an active gene from the interior of the nucleus to its periphery can inactivate that gene report scientists from the University of Chicago Medical Center in an article to be published early online Feb.13, 2008, in the journal Nature.

14 Feb 2008

Scientists reveal a new target to fight bad cholesterol

Scientists have uncovered a new region in the genome that is responsible for the body's ability to regulate bad cholesterol which is linked to heart attack and stroke.

8 Feb 2008

New approach to genetic diagnosis in autism

A practical, stepwise approach to diagnosing genetic causes of autism and related disorders is proposed in the January issue of Genetics in Medicine, official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

7 Feb 2008

Chemical chaperone could open door to treatment of neurological disorder

An unexpected finding turned out to be a clue leading researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to propose a new treatment approach for Niemann-Pick disease, a rare, deadly neurodegenerative disorder.

7 Feb 2008

Experimental biomarker test beats PSA in detecting prostate cancer

An experimental biomarker test developed by researchers at the University of Michigan more accurately detects prostate cancer than any other screening method currently in use, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

5 Feb 2008

Researchers identify cells that cause nervous system disease

Two teams of University of Michigan researchers have tracked down the cells responsible for neurofibromatosis type1, a disfiguring, incurable condition and one of the most common hereditary disorders.

4 Feb 2008

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor

A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

4 Feb 2008

Researchers unravel mystery of cell division

Experts in mitosis (cell division) at the University of Virginia Health System have made discoveries that explain how one protein the kinase Aurora B could have such a large role in guiding and policing the process of cell division.

25 Jan 2008

Discovery of multiple genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus

A landmark genetic study has identified multiple genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans.

21 Jan 2008

Genome scan shows Polynesians and Micronesians have almost no genetic relation to Melanesians

The origins and current genetic relationships of Pacific Islanders have generated interest and controversy for many decades.

21 Jan 2008

Common variations in human DNA signal lupus risk

Scientists have pinpointed a set of common variations in human DNA that signal a higher risk for lupus in women who carry them.

21 Jan 2008

Previously unknown chromosomal abnormalities play substantial role in autism

Genome-wide scans of families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have revealed new evidence that previously unknown chromosomal abnormalities have a substantial role in the prevalent developmental disorder, according to a report published online Jan. 17th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, a publication of Cell Press.

18 Jan 2008

Gene markers located for hereditary prostate cancer

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute, Wake Forest University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have identified an array of gene markers for hereditary prostate cancer that, along with family history for the disease, appear to raise risk to more than nine times that of men without such markers.

17 Jan 2008

Molecules might identify high-risk acute-leukemia patients

New research suggests that certain small molecules used by cells to control the proteins they make might also help doctors identify adult acute-leukemia patients who are likely to respond poorly to therapy.

16 Jan 2008

Researchers associate six new genetic variants with heart disease risk factor

Using new techniques for rapidly scanning the human genome, researchers have associated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two fats in the blood, to 18 genetic variants, six of which represent new DNA regions never before associated with the traits.

15 Jan 2008

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves new genetic breast cancer test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a test that helps in assessing the risk of tumor recurrence and long-term survival for patients with relatively high-risk breast cancer. The TOP2A FISH pharmDx is the first approved device to test for the TOP2A (topoisomerase 2 alpha) gene in cancer patients.

14 Jan 2008