Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

DinB DNA polymerase is a key player in DNA repair

A quarter century after they discovered it, researchers have identified the job of one of the most common DNA-damage response proteins. The enzyme has puzzled scientists because it is present in nearly every organism, which suggests that it is crucial to life, and yet, in laboratory experiments, its function has remained a mystery.

11 Jan 2006

St. Jude projects 90 percent cure rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The cure rate for the once almost universally fatal childhood cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) could reach 90 percent in the near future, thanks to improvements in diagnosis and treatment over the past four decades, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 Jan 2006

Gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease

An international team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are zeroing in on a gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease. They have identified a region of chromosome 10 that appears to be involved in risk for the disease that currently affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans.

10 Jan 2006

DNA polymerase zeta gives cells with damaged DNA a new lease on life

Fortunately, our cells contain many enzymes devoted strictly to detecting and repairing any damage caused by these insults. In fact, failure of these enzymes to make needed repairs to genes can lead to the accumulation of mutations and, eventually, cell death or possibly cancer.

6 Jan 2006

Scientists describe phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism

In the January issue of the journal Genome Research, two teams of scientists describe a widespread phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism (TIC), where two adjacent genes produce a single, fused RNA transcript.

6 Jan 2006

New human embryonic stem cells grown in animal cell-free cultures

Scientists working at the WiCell Research Institute, a private laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have developed a precisely defined stem cell culture system free of animal cells and used it to derived two new human embryonic stem cell.

2 Jan 2006

World's deadliest malaria parasite cloaking gene revealed

The world's deadliest malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, sneaks past the human immune system with the help of a wardrobe of invisibility cloaks. If a person's immune cells learn to recognize one of the parasite's many camouflage proteins, the surviving invaders can swap disguises and slip away again to cause more damage. Malaria kills an estimated 2.7 million people annually worldwide, 75 percent of them children in Africa.

29 Dec 2005

Chromosome link found between alcohol addiction and smoking

Scientists have found in a study of tobacco users that their drinking behavior is linked to some of the same chromosome regions associated with alcohol addiction.

22 Dec 2005

Scientists discover how HIV infects healthy cells

Using sophisticated detection methods, researchers at the Saint Louis University Institute for Molecular Virology (IMV) have demonstrated the molecular mechanism by which the HIV virus infects, or integrates, healthy cells. The discovery could lead to new drug treatments for HIV.

22 Dec 2005

Keep on trying - when you do get pregnant the chances are it will be a boy!

A team of Dutch researchers at Maastricht University say that women who take longer to get pregnant are more likely to give birth to a boy.

19 Dec 2005

Researchers discover potential mechanism for tumor growth

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of cancerous tumors.

15 Dec 2005

AMN107 drug shows promise in leukemia resistance to Gleevec

The targeted agent AMN107 can produce dramatic benefits in patients with some forms of leukemia that are resistant to Gleevec, the standard therapy for these cancers, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Dec 2005

Securin is not required for chromosomal stability in human cells

A critical aspect of cell division, or mitosis, is that the progeny cells must receive the full complement of chromosomes.

13 Dec 2005

Common garden plant may hold cure for leukemia

Scientists in the U.S. believe they have identified a new pathway in the progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

12 Dec 2005

Dog gene map may help explain human diseases

U.S. scientists say a detailed analysis of the dog genome answers such questions as how dogs of a different breed still belong to the same species, and may also explain some aspects of human health and biology.

11 Dec 2005

Importance of telomeres in preserving genome integrity and preventing cancer development

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that cells co-opted the machinery that usually repairs broken strands of DNA to protect the integrity of chromosomes.

7 Dec 2005

Hippocampal myo-inositol and cognitive ability in adults with Down Syndrome

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have identified a molecule that could be targeted to treat the cognitive impairment in people with Down syndrome.

7 Dec 2005

LEDGF protein controls the location of HIV integration in human cells

A human DNA-associated protein called LEDGF is the first such molecule found to control the location of HIV integration in human cells, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

5 Dec 2005

Disruption of normal gene interaction linked to schizophrenia

Disruption of the normal interaction between the genes PRODH and COMT contributes directly to major symptoms of schizophrenia by upsetting the balance of the brain chemicals glutamate and dopamine, according to a group of investigators that includes a scientist now at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Dec 2005

Bacterial DNA and IVF contamination risk on New Scientist

Some children conceived by a common method of IVF could be carrying chunks of bacterial DNA in their chromosomes, according to a study in mice. The researchers who conducted the work say that such accidental genetic modification would be very rare, but they argue that fertility doctors should take more precautions to exclude it.

30 Nov 2005