Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers discover retina protein crucial for vision

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence, discovered a protein in the retina that is crucial for vision. The paper reports, for the first time, the key molecular mechanisms leading to visual degeneration and blindness.

5 Mar 2015

Finding may help advance experimental approach to improving public health

Scientists have discovered a new way to manipulate how cells function, a finding that might help advance an experimental approach to improving public health: DNA vaccines, which could be more efficient, less expensive and easier to store than traditional vaccines.

5 Mar 2015

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal.

5 Mar 2015

Lexicon updates drug development progress, reports 2014 financial results

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing breakthrough treatments for human disease, today updated its drug development progress and reported financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014.

4 Mar 2015

Kansas State researchers preparing for next potential influenza strain

As seasonal influenza cases decrease across the United States, Kansas State University researchers are preparing for the next potential virulent strain of flu.

4 Mar 2015

UCLA life scientists develop new method to find genetic markers for many diseases

UCLA life scientists have created an accurate new method to identify genetic markers for many diseases -- a significant step toward a new era of personalized medicine, tailored to each person's DNA and RNA.

4 Mar 2015

CHOPS syndrome sheds light on key biological processes during human development

Analyzing a puzzling multisystem disorder in three children, genetic experts have identified a new syndrome, shedding light on key biological processes during human development. The research also provides important information to help caregivers manage the disorder, and may offer clues to eventually treating it.

3 Mar 2015

TREM2 protein may help slow progression of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease

Highlighting a potential target in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests that triggering a protein found on the surface of brain cells may help slow the progression of these and other neurological diseases.

3 Mar 2015

MIT researchers develop new nanodevice that can help overcome drug resistance

Chemotherapy often shrinks tumors at first, but as cancer cells become resistant to drug treatment, tumors can grow back. A new nanodevice developed by MIT researchers can help overcome that by first blocking the gene that confers drug resistance, then launching a new chemotherapy attack against the disarmed tumors.

3 Mar 2015

BUSM researchers discover genes involved in formation of lung tumors

The lung transcription factor Nkx2-1 is an important gene regulating lung formation and normal respiratory functions after birth. Alterations in the expression of this transcription factor can lead to diseases such as lung interstitial disease, post-natal respiratory distress and lung cancer.

3 Mar 2015

Caltech researchers reveal new information that could help fight against hookworms

Tiny parasitic hookworms infect nearly half a billion people worldwide--almost exclusively in developing countries--causing health problems ranging from gastrointestinal issues to cognitive impairment and stunted growth in children. By sequencing and analyzing the genome of one particular hookworm species, Caltech researchers have uncovered new information that could aid the fight against these parasites.

3 Mar 2015

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

In an advance that may potentially lead to new treatments for parasitic hookworms, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Cornell University have sequenced the genome of the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

3 Mar 2015

Data provides better understanding of genetic activity during lung cancer development

Scientists at the University of Granada, incollaboration with the universities of Harvard and Yale (United States) have provided new data for a better understanding of the alterations produced during the development of lung cancer, the tumour with the highest yearly death rate in Spain.

3 Mar 2015

New genetic discovery may lead to effective treatments for Huntington's disease

A new genetic discovery in the field of Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way in determining severity of this neurological disease when using specific treatments. This study may provide insight for treatments that would be effective in slowing down or postponing the death of neurons for people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease.

2 Mar 2015

Study details a new pathway for tumor formation

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) have identified the biological mechanism that may give some cancer cells the ability to form tumors in dogs.

2 Mar 2015

Culture conditions in which stem cells are grown can affect genetic stability

The therapeutic promise of human stem cells is indisputably huge, but the process of translating their potential into effective, real-world treatments involves deciphering and resolving a host of daunting complexities.

28 Feb 2015

CLL patients discontinue ibrutinib drug due to disease progression during clinical trials

About 10 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) discontinued therapy with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor drug ibrutinib because of disease progression during clinical trials, according to a study published online in JAMA Oncology.

28 Feb 2015

Genetic decanalization can lead to complex genetic diseases in humans

The information encoded in the DNA of an organism is not sufficient to determine the expression pattern of genes. This fact has been known even before the discovery of epigenetics, which refers to external modifications to the DNA that turn genes "on" or "off".

28 Feb 2015

Novel financing technique may unlock funding for developing 'orphan' drugs to treat rare diseases

A paper published today, "Financing translation: Analysis of the NCATS rare-diseases portfolio" in Science Translational Medicine, demonstrates the potential of a new financing technique to reduce the risk associated with investing in the treatment of new diseases and potentially unlock new levels of funding for developing so-called "orphan" drugs.

28 Feb 2015

New strategy may ensure safety of adult epidermal stem cells before performing treatments

A team of European researchers has devised a strategy to ensure that adult epidermal stem cells are safe before they are used as treatments for patients. The approach involves a clonal strategy where stem cells are collected and cultivated, genetically modified and single cells isolated before being rigorously tested to make sure they meet the highest possible safety criteria.

28 Feb 2015

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers discover retina protein crucial for vision

Finding may help advance experimental approach to improving public health

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

Lexicon updates drug development progress, reports 2014 financial results

Kansas State researchers preparing for next potential influenza strain

UCLA life scientists develop new method to find genetic markers for many diseases

CHOPS syndrome sheds light on key biological processes during human development

TREM2 protein may help slow progression of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease

MIT researchers develop new nanodevice that can help overcome drug resistance

BUSM researchers discover genes involved in formation of lung tumors

Caltech researchers reveal new information that could help fight against hookworms

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

Data provides better understanding of genetic activity during lung cancer development

New genetic discovery may lead to effective treatments for Huntington's disease

Study details a new pathway for tumor formation

Culture conditions in which stem cells are grown can affect genetic stability

CLL patients discontinue ibrutinib drug due to disease progression during clinical trials

Genetic decanalization can lead to complex genetic diseases in humans

Novel financing technique may unlock funding for developing 'orphan' drugs to treat rare diseases

New strategy may ensure safety of adult epidermal stem cells before performing treatments

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

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