Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study unveils genetic architecture that enables parasite to develop antimalarial drug resistance

The largest genome-wide association study to date of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum unveils a complex genetic architecture that enables the parasite to develop resistance to our most effective antimalarial drug, artemisinin. The results could help to improve early detection of emerging artemisinin resistance.

20 Jan 2015

Researchers find genetic mutation that causes glycogen storage disease type IIIa in Inuit

A team of Canadian and Japanese researchers has identified the genetic mutation responsible for glycogen storage disease type IIIa in Inuit in northern Quebec, Canada, in a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

20 Jan 2015

Study leads to discovery of rare genetic disorder

Recently, a grassroots effort initiated by families and clinicians led to the discovery of a human genetic disorder with severe consequences that is linked to a mutation in the human NGLY1 gene. In a big step towards understanding the effects of this mutation, research by scientists at the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center in Japan implicates the enzyme ENGase as the factor responsible for deficient protein degradation that occurs in the absence of mouse Ngly1 gene expression.

19 Jan 2015

Researchers gain new insight into fragile X syndrome

Scientists have gained new insight into fragile X syndrome -- the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability -- by studying the case of a person without the disorder, but with two of its classic symptoms.

17 Jan 2015

Researchers uncover new gene tied to incurable eye disorder

An exhaustive hereditary analysis of a large Louisiana family with vision issues has uncovered a new gene tied to an incurable eye disorder called retinitis pigmentosa, according to an examination led by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

16 Jan 2015

New research helps explain why pancreatic cancer is so lethal

New research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center helps explain why pancreatic cancer is so lethal, with fewer than a third of patients surviving even early stage disease.

16 Jan 2015

New study characterizes genetic underpinnings of phyllodes tumors

A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center characterizes the genetic underpinnings of a rare type of breast tumor called phyllodes tumors, offering the first comprehensive analysis of the molecular alterations at work in these tumors.

16 Jan 2015

John H. Postlethwait selected to receive GSA's George W. Beadle Award

The Genetics Society of America is pleased to announce that John H. Postlethwait, PhD (University of Oregon) has been selected to receive the Society's George W. Beadle Award for outstanding contributions to the community of genetics researchers.

16 Jan 2015

New research sheds light on the role of Sox10 protein in Hirschsprung's disease patients

Defects in the protein Sox10, a transcription factor that regulates gene expression, may play a role in the development of post-operative GI dysfunction in Hirschsprung's disease patients, according to new research published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the new basic science journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

16 Jan 2015

PTEN protein helps prevent autoimmune diseases

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered that a protein widely known for suppressing tumor formation also helps prevent autoimmune diseases and other problems by putting the brakes on the immune response.

15 Jan 2015

Scientists identify first genetic marker linked to severe neurological toxicity

Paclitaxel is a chemotherapeutic drug that has been shown to be highly effective when treating solid tumours, such as breast, ovarian and lung tumours. However, its use frequently causes peripheral neuropathies, neurological problems that affect the vast majority of patients.

15 Jan 2015

Neurobiologists find paradoxical effect of abuse-related cues in infants, adults

Neurobiologists at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere have found a surprising and paradoxical effect of abuse-related cues in rat pups: those cues also can lower depressive-like behavior when the rat pups are fully grown.

14 Jan 2015

TERT mutations may make smokers more susceptible to emphysema

Mutations in a gene that helps repair damaged chromosome ends may make smokers — especially female smokers — more susceptible to emphysema, according to results of a new study led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers.

14 Jan 2015

Major investment boosts Scotland's gene research

A major investment in gene sequencing technology will secure Scotland's place as a world leader in a genomics revolution that is set to transform healthcare.

14 Jan 2015

Researchers identify new target that could lead to potential therapies for GBM

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute for Molecular Medicine have identified a new protein-protein interaction that could serve as a target for future therapies for the most common form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

14 Jan 2015

Intrexon and ZIOPHARM Oncology sign exclusive licensing agreement with MD Anderson

Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology and its oncology partner, ZIOPHARM Oncology, today announced a broad exclusive licensing agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, including an exclusive sublicensing agreement through MD Anderson for intellectual property developed at the University of Minnesota for the development of non-viral adoptive cellular cancer immunotherapies.

14 Jan 2015

Knocking down a single gene can help stop stress from causing infertility, miscarriage

Scientists from the University of California Berkeley have discovered that by knocking down a single gene, they can stop stress from causing female infertility and miscarriage - in rats.

14 Jan 2015

$Aptose begins APTO-253 clinical study in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies$

Aptose begins APTO-253 clinical study in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies

Aptose Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage company developing new therapeutics and molecular diagnostics that target the underlying mechanisms of cancer, today announced dosing of the first patient in its Phase 1b clinical study of APTO-253 in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies.

13 Jan 2015

Genetic finding could lead to new treatments for people living with blindness, vision loss

Finding genes for retinal degenerations has immediate benefits for people living with blindness and vision loss, their families, and their physicians. Establishing a genetic cause confirms the clinical diagnosis at the molecular level, helps predict the future visual prognosis, suggests therapies, and allows some patients to join clinical trials. While more than 200 genes for retinal degenerations have been identified, approximately 40-50% of cases remain a mystery.

13 Jan 2015

U-M researchers identify how amlexanox drug improves metabolism of sugar

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified how a promising drug in clinical trials for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders improves the metabolism of sugar by generating a new signal between fat cells and the liver.

13 Jan 2015