Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

24 Mar 2014

FDA approves Xolair for treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xolair (omalizumab) for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria, a form of chronic hives.

24 Mar 2014

CUMC researchers devise new system for classifying periodontal disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have devised a new system for classifying periodontal disease based on the genetic signature of affected tissue, rather than on clinical signs and symptoms. The new classification system, the first of its kind, may allow for earlier detection and more individualized treatment of severe periodontitis, before loss of teeth and supportive bone occurs.

24 Mar 2014

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found.

24 Mar 2014

Study: Mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer

A new study indicates that a commonly used mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer. The study is published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

24 Mar 2014

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

The cause of a rare type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women has been uncovered by an international research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, according to a study published online today by the renowned scientific journal, Nature Genetics.

23 Mar 2014

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Although genome-wide association studies have linked DNA variants in the gene SCN10A with increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, efforts to determine the gene's direct influence on the heart's electrical activity have been unproductive. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that these SCN10A variants regulate the function of a different gene, SCN5A, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk.

21 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

The shortage of oxygen, or hypoxia, created when rapidly multiplying kidney cancer cells outgrow their local blood supply can accelerate tumor growth by causing a nuclear protein called SPOP-which normally suppresses tumor growth-to move out of the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it has the opposite effect, promoting rapid proliferation.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify steps by which cell removes RNA from cytoplasm

RNA encodes the proteins that play a key role in cellular reproduction, but the manner in which cells regulate its removal once these proteins are synthesized remains a mystery. One piece of this mystery has been solved as researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who have identified the steps by which a cell removes RNA from the cytoplasm.

21 Mar 2014

NIH awarded five-year grant of up to $28 million to fight deadly Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year grant of up to $28 million to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight the deadly Ebola virus.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify genetic defect that causes a subset of irritable bowel syndrome

Is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) caused by genetics, diet, past trauma, anxiety? All are thought to play a role, but now, for the first time, researchers have reported a defined genetic defect that causes a subset of IBS. The research was published in the journal Gastroenterology.

21 Mar 2014

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight two types of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever, including the deadly Ebola virus. The project involves researchers from 15 institutions, including Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein will receive approximately $4 million of the total grant.

21 Mar 2014

NSCLC gene fusion testing, targeted crizotinib – not yet cost effective

Genomic fusion testing for echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 and anaplastic lymphoma kinase genes plus targeted first-line crizotinib is not a cost effective treatment strategy for patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, shows a Canadian analysis.

20 Mar 2014

New tool pinpoints genetic sources of disease

Many diseases are the result of either variations in the genome or reversible chemical changes to DNA, known as the epigenome. New data obtained by Johns Hopkins scientists show a connection between genetic variants and epigenetic information.

20 Mar 2014

Scientists discover cellular pathway that may prevent onset of Type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute have discovered a cellular pathway that is responsible for keeping blood sugar levels low in obese or pre-diabetic people, and may prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

20 Mar 2014

Novel feedback provides mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis

Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have discovered a novel feedback mechanism that provides a mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis.

20 Mar 2014

New technology uses nano-flares to catch metastatic breast cancer cells early on

When cancer spreads from one part of the body to another, it becomes even more deadly. It moves with stealth and can go undetected for months or years. But a new technology that uses "nano-flares" has the potential to catch these lurking, mobilized tumor cells early on.

20 Mar 2014

Trimethoprim is more effective against streptococci than expected, says research

The focus of his team was also on samples, in which the bacteria failed to respond to the agent. They discovered two types of resistance. "Spontaneous mutations can occur in the gene for dihydrofolate reductase rendering trimethoprim no longer able to attack the changed enzyme, which means it becomes ineffective," Nitsche-Schmitz explained.

20 Mar 2014

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

FDA approves Xolair for treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria

CUMC researchers devise new system for classifying periodontal disease

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

Study: Mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

Researchers identify steps by which cell removes RNA from cytoplasm

NIH awarded five-year grant of up to $28 million to fight deadly Ebola virus

Researchers identify genetic defect that causes a subset of irritable bowel syndrome

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

NSCLC gene fusion testing, targeted crizotinib – not yet cost effective

New tool pinpoints genetic sources of disease

Scientists discover cellular pathway that may prevent onset of Type 2 diabetes

Novel feedback provides mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis

New technology uses nano-flares to catch metastatic breast cancer cells early on

Trimethoprim is more effective against streptococci than expected, says research

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