Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Article addresses tremendous impact of genetic testing for Alzheimer’s

Genetic tests exist to identify risk for the rare inherited form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to predict susceptibility to the more common, late-onset form of AD, but do people want to know, and how do they react? The answers can be found in the article published in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

11 Jul 2012

Book explains complex world of personalized medicine

Personalized medicine has promised to radically change the way we look at health and disease. Talk of tailored drug therapies and early detection of cancer has captured the attention of scientists and lay people alike. So when will patients start to reap the benefits of this medical revolution?

11 Jul 2012

New algorithm for faster human genome sequencing

In 2001, the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics announced that after 10 years of work at a cost of some $400 million, they had completed a draft sequence of the human genome. Today, sequencing a human genome is something that a single researcher can do in a couple of weeks for less than $10,000.

11 Jul 2012

Hepatitis C levels higher among males and African Americans

Epidemiologists have determined that levels of hepatitis C virus (HCV) found among injection drug users (IDUs) were higher in individuals who are male or African American even after differences in other factors were considered.

10 Jul 2012

Osteoarthritis gene tic markers identified

Scientists have used data from the Arthritis Research UK Osteoarthritis Genetics study to identify five gene loci significantly associated with the development of the disease.

10 Jul 2012

Steroid receptor gene variant impacts metabolic health

A variant in the glucocorticoid receptor gene may be associated with increased body fat and insulin resistance, show study findings.

10 Jul 2012

Genetic test helps avoid needless thyroid surgery

US researchers report that a gene-based test may help to identify patients who have cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules that are benign.

10 Jul 2012

Steroid receptor gene variant impacts metabolic health

A variant in the glucocorticoid receptor gene may be associated with increased body fat and insulin resistance, show study findings.

10 Jul 2012

Scientists discover two key epigenetic regulating genes that govern stem cell differentiation

The ability to control whether certain stem cells ultimately become bone cells holds great promise for regenerative medicine and potential therapies aimed at treating metabolic bone diseases. Now, UCLA School of Dentistry professor and leading cancer scientist Dr. Cun-Yu Wang and his research team have made a significant breakthrough in that direction. The scientists have discovered two key epigenetic regulating genes that govern the cell-fate determination of human bone marrow stem cells.

10 Jul 2012

MiR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism

In research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association and published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, Saint Louis University investigator -ngel Bald-n, Ph.D., found that the microRNA miR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism. Further, the research suggests that, in an animal model, the manipulation of this microRNA can improve the liver toxicity that can be caused by statins.

10 Jul 2012

Inovio commences SynCon vaccine phase I study in H1N1 influenza

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the first patients have been treated in a clinical trial evaluating immune responses in elderly adults immunized with Inovio's H1N1 SynCon universal influenza vaccine.

10 Jul 2012

Glycemic index varies from one type of rice to another

Research analysing 235 types of rice from around the world has found its glycemic index (GI) varies from one type of rice to another with most varieties scoring a low to medium GI. This finding is good news because it not only means rice can be part of a healthy diet for the average consumer, it also means people with diabetes, or at risk of diabetes, can select the right rice to help maintain a healthy, low GI diet.

10 Jul 2012

Disabling Nf1 gene makes stem cells from the third ventricle proliferate rapidly

Scientists showed in mice that disabling a gene linked to a common pediatric tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), made stem cells from one part of the brain proliferate rapidly. But the same genetic deficit had no effect on stem cells from another brain region.

10 Jul 2012

Sox10 gene plays a central role in melanoma

Black skin cancer, also known as melanoma, is particularly aggressive and becoming increasingly common in Switzerland. Despite intensive research, however, there is still no treatment. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered a gene that plays a central role in black skin cancer. Suppressing this gene in mice inhibits the development of melanoma and its proliferation - a discovery that could pave the way for new forms of therapy.

10 Jul 2012

MammaPrint more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than Oncotype DX

New research from University of the Sciences' Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy suggests that MammaPrint - a gene expression profiling (GEP) test used to identify whether women with early-stage breast cancer would benefit from chemotherapy - is the more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than the most frequently used GEP in practice in the United States today.

10 Jul 2012

Adiponectin reduces depression-like symptoms in mice

A hormone with anti-diabetic properties also reduces depression-like symptoms in mice, researchers from the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

10 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Daschle says health law still has 4 hurdles; Commentators from states such as Calif., Texas and Florida wrestle with options

The GOP-controlled U.S. House plans to hold what can only be called symbolic votes on repealing the sweeping reforms they deride as "Obamacare." Meanwhile, at least 15 governors are said to be leaning toward refusing to expand state Medicaid programs -- a key part of the reform's strategy to provide some form of health insurance to the 32 million people now going without coverage.

10 Jul 2012

Read-through molecule improves muscle function in DMD

A compound that results in a read-through on nonsense mutations in messenger RNA restores dystrophin expression in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, research shows.

9 Jul 2012

Gene defect linked to cluster of systemic complications

Research teams from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Paris, France have discovered a gene defect linked to a cluster of systemic complications, including life-threatening thoracic aortic disease and intracranial aneurysms. The new syndrome is similar, but distinct from known syndromes such as Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndrome.

9 Jul 2012

Human immune response: TCD scientists make breakthrough which could lead to new drug therapies

A team of researchers at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine has gained new insights into a protein in the human immune system that plays a key role in the protective response to infection and inflammation. The research findings have just been published in the internationally renowned peer-reviewed Journal of Biological Chemistry.

9 Jul 2012