Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Discovery of 13 new tumor-suppressor genes in liver cancer

Over the years, hunting for cancer-related genes and understanding how they work has been an important, although time-consuming, exercise.

18 Nov 2008

New evidence on how proteins help cells fix broken DNA

Aucott et al. report the first in vivo experiments on the heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) family, which sidles up to silent DNA.

17 Nov 2008

Microarray analysis improves prenatal diagnosis

A "chip" or array that can quickly detect disorders such as Down syndrome or other diseases associated with chromosomal abnormalities proved an effective tool in prenatal diagnosis in a series of 300 cases at Baylor College of Medicine, said researchers in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Prenatal Diagnosis.

17 Nov 2008

Protein enzyme BubR1 provides new understanding of processes behind cancer-cell survival and drug-resistance

A study of how one protein enzyme, BubR1, helps make sure chromosomes are equally distributed during mitosis might explain how the process of cell division goes so awry in cancer, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center.

17 Nov 2008

Breakthrough in cellular analysis

Like skilled assassins, many diseases seem to know exactly what types of cells to attack.

16 Nov 2008

Breakthrough in cell-type analysis offers new ways to study development and disease

Like skilled assassins, many diseases seem to know exactly what types of cells to attack. While decimating one cadre of cells, diseases will inexplicably spare a seemingly identical group of neighbors. What makes cells vulnerable or not depends largely on the kinds and amounts of proteins they produce - their 'translational profile,' in the lingo of molecular biology. For this reason, scientists have struggled to parse the subtle molecular differences among the hundreds of specialized cell types that are tangled together in tissues like the brain.

13 Nov 2008

Astragalus root plant chemical used to fight HIV

Like other kinds of cells, immune cells lose the ability to divide as they age because a part of their chromosomes known as a telomere becomes progressively shorter with cell division.

11 Nov 2008

Newborn neurons in the adult brain can settle in the wrong neighborhood

In a study that could have significant consequences for neural tissue transplantation strategies, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that inactivating a specific gene in adult neural stem cells makes nerve cells emerging from those precursors form connections in the wrong part of the adult brain.

11 Nov 2008

Data expands the clinical utility of deCODE tests for heart attack, atrial fibrillation and stroke

Several presentations by deCODE genetics scientists and independent researchers at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2008 being held at the New Orleans Convention Center from November 8 to12 are expected to expand upon the clinical utility of evaluating individual risk of heart attack, or atrial fibrillation and stroke, respectively, by measuring the genetic markers that are the basis of the deCODE MI and deCODE AF tests.

11 Nov 2008

Researchers discover genetic basis for some common congenital birth defects

10 Nov 2008

Absence of ERK2 gene linked to birth defects

A multidisciplinary research team at Case Western Reserve University led by Gary Landreth, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Medicine's Department of Neurosciences, has uncovered a common genetic pathway for a number of birth defects that affect the development of the heart and head. Abnormal development of the jaw, palate, brain and heart are relatively common congenital defects and frequently arise due to genetic errors that affect a key developmental pathway.

10 Nov 2008

Researchers unravel mysteries of brain aneurysms

Yale researchers have taken the first critical steps in unraveling the mysteries of brain aneurysms, the often fatal rupturing of blood vessels that afflicts 500,000 people worldwide each year and nearly killed Vice President-elect Joseph Biden two decades ago.

10 Nov 2008

Variations of MYH9 gene help explain high rate of kidney disease in African Americans

Several recent studies have suggested that common gene variations may be responsible for much of the elevated risk of kidney disease in African Americans.

8 Nov 2008

Coping and copulation behavior may help calculate diabetes risk

Discussion of a man's background, attitude, and sexual history isn't just the fodder of Sex and The City episodes - in the future, it could also be a way of evaluating his risk of diabetes.

7 Nov 2008

Scientists sequence genome of a cancer patient

For the first time, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease - acute myelogenous leukemia - to its genetic roots.

6 Nov 2008

Targeting epigenetic changes helps tackle MLL-AF4 leukemias

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on.

4 Nov 2008

Sibling study could lead to better treatments for inherited form of colon cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) believe they may be one step closer to understanding how certain forms of colon cancer develop.

4 Nov 2008

First gene for child brain tumour identified

Scientists have found the first genetic link to a common childhood brain tumour - reveals research published in Cancer Research.

3 Nov 2008

New genetic test for baldness

Pharmacogenomics research and development innovator PharmaGenoma, Inc. and its subsidiary HairDX, LLC, today unveiled the next generation of its genetic screening test for male pattern baldness. The HairDX test is available immediately thru qualified physicians' offices.

28 Oct 2008

Novel cell division mechanism discovered

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth. The study is published today in the online version of the journal of the American National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

28 Oct 2008