Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

T2R38 taste receptor regulates immune defense of the human upper airway

The immune system protects the upper respiratory tract from bacterial infections, but the cues that alert the immune system to the presence of bacteria are not known. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Noam Cohen at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated that the bitter taste receptor T2R38 regulates the immune defense of the human upper airway.

9 Oct 2012

Study sheds light on fundamental cellular process

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have mapped the precise frequency by which genes get turned on across the human genome, providing new insight into the most fundamental of cellular processes-and revealing new clues as to what happens when this process goes awry.

9 Oct 2012

New blood test can read genetic changes in prostate cancer

Scientists have designed a blood test that reads genetic changes like a barcode - and can pick out aggressive prostate cancers by their particular pattern of gene activity.

9 Oct 2012

Genetic basis of uterine fibroids uncovered

A mutation located near the fatty acid synthase gene is associated with an increased predisposition for uterine leiomyomata or fibroids, suggest US study findings.

8 Oct 2012

Morphine inhibits BDNF protein, whereas cocaine enhances BDNF

Chronic morphine exposure has the opposite effect on the brain compared to cocaine in mice, providing new insight into the basis of opiate addiction, according to Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers. They found that a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is increased in cocaine addiction, is inhibited in opioid addiction. The research is published in the October 5 issue of Science.

8 Oct 2012

Functional profiling using EVA/PCD doubles response rate and improves survival in NSCLC patients

Functional profiling using ex-vivo analysis of programmed cell death (EVA/PCD) doubles the response rate and improves time-to-progression and survival in patients with advanced lung cancer, according to a Phase II clinical trial conducted by investigators at Rational Therapeutics and the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute and published in the October issue of Anticancer Research.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers discover smallest and fastest-known RNA switches

A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA, the chemical cousin of DNA. The researchers say these rare, fleeting structures are prime targets for the development of new antiviral and antibiotic drugs.

8 Oct 2012

NFKB1 gene variant may reduce risk of lung cancer

A variant in a gene involved with inflammation and the immune response is linked with a decreased risk of lung cancer. That is the finding of an analysis published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The results add to the growing body of literature implicating these processes in the development of lung cancer.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers discover 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) and their colleagues have identified 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis in the Japanese population.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers decipher how AP-1 gene regulator controls survival of liver tumor-initiating cells

Researchers headed by Erwin Wagner, the Director of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), have deciphered how a stress-inducible gene regulator, AP-1, controls the survival of liver tumor-initiating cells. These results, published in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology, could provide new preventive strategies and identify potentially targetable molecules to prevent liver cancer.

8 Oct 2012

New insight into basis of opiate addiction

8 Oct 2012

New ways of how biological clock's neurons use electrical activity to keep behavioral rhythms in order

Biologists from New York University have uncovered new ways our biological clock's neurons use electrical activity to help keep behavioral rhythms in order. The findings, which appear in the journal Current Biology, also point to fresh directions for exploring sleep disorders and related afflictions.

6 Oct 2012

Gene-silencing mechanism may occur later in life and lead to cancer

There are some genes that are only activated in the very first days of an embryo's existence. Once they have accomplished their task, they are shut down forever, unlike most of our genes, which remain active throughout our lives. EPFL scientists have unveiled part of this strange mechanism. The same process, accidentally initiated later in life, could be responsible for many kinds of cancer.

6 Oct 2012

Without B-Raf and C-Raf proteins mice's fur turns white

These proteins are required for melanocyte stem cell self-maintenance and, as such, correct pigmentation throughout the mice's life span. Without these two proteins, the mice's fur turns white. Their research is published in the review 'Cell Report' and paves the way for serious possibilities in terms of stopping the formation of melanomas, tumours that originate from melanocyte cells.

6 Oct 2012

Skin's outmost layer is the first line of defense against UV radiation

Reinhold Dauskardt, PhD, of Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been studying skin for years. But when he sent his students to look for data on the mechanical properties of skin, they came back empty-handed. A lot was known about skin structure and disease, but few papers actually talked about its mechanical function - its ability to stretch and resist tension without tearing.

6 Oct 2012

BUSM leads genome-wide evaluation of genetic variants associated with Parkinson's disease

Boston University School of Medicine investigators have led the first genome-wide evaluation of genetic variants associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The study, which is published online in PLOS ONE, points to the involvement of specific genes and alterations in their expression as influencing the risk for developing PD.

6 Oct 2012

Perplexing evolutionary history of malaria transmitting mosquito species

An African mosquito species with a deadly capacity to transmit malaria has a perplexing evolutionary history, according to discovery by researchers at the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech.

6 Oct 2012

Progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of C. diff infection

Surgeons are making progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile or C. diff), a vicious bacterial infection that is estimated to affect about 336,000 people each year, typically patients on antibiotics.

6 Oct 2012

GRID1 thalamo-cortical gene variations absent in schizophrenia

Genetic variation in the glutamate receptor delta 1 gene affects gray matter of the anterior thalamus and left lateral prefrontal cortex in healthy individuals but not among patients with schizophrenia, suggest findings published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

5 Oct 2012

RXi receives SBIR grant to enable discovery and preclinical development of sd-rxRNAs

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced that it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

5 Oct 2012

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

T2R38 taste receptor regulates immune defense of the human upper airway

Study sheds light on fundamental cellular process

New blood test can read genetic changes in prostate cancer

Genetic basis of uterine fibroids uncovered

Morphine inhibits BDNF protein, whereas cocaine enhances BDNF

Functional profiling using EVA/PCD doubles response rate and improves survival in NSCLC patients

Researchers discover smallest and fastest-known RNA switches

NFKB1 gene variant may reduce risk of lung cancer

Researchers discover 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis

Researchers decipher how AP-1 gene regulator controls survival of liver tumor-initiating cells

New insight into basis of opiate addiction

New ways of how biological clock's neurons use electrical activity to keep behavioral rhythms in order

Gene-silencing mechanism may occur later in life and lead to cancer

Without B-Raf and C-Raf proteins mice's fur turns white

Skin's outmost layer is the first line of defense against UV radiation

BUSM leads genome-wide evaluation of genetic variants associated with Parkinson's disease

Perplexing evolutionary history of malaria transmitting mosquito species

Progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of C. diff infection

GRID1 thalamo-cortical gene variations absent in schizophrenia

RXi receives SBIR grant to enable discovery and preclinical development of sd-rxRNAs

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

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting