Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Deleting a single gene results in autism-like behavior

Deleting a single gene in the cerebellum of mice can cause key autistic-like symptoms, researchers have found. They also discovered that rapamycin, a commonly used immunosuppressant drug, prevented these symptoms.

2 Jul 2012

Gene vital to flu severity discovered

Researchers have discovered that a protein known as PA-X, produced from a ribosomal frameshift mutation in a gene in the influenza A genome, has a substantial impact on host response to the virus.

2 Jul 2012

Potential link between mutant huntingtin, cell loss and cell death in Huntington's disease

Using an in vitro cell model of Huntington's disease (HD), researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have discovered a novel mechanism and potential link between mutant huntingtin, cell loss and cell death or apoptosis in the brain, which is responsible for the devastating effects of this disease. Apoptosis has been proposed as one of the mechanisms leading to neuronal death in HD.

2 Jul 2012

Safer alternative to experimental gene therapy against HIV infection

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprisingly simple and safe method to disrupt specific genes within cells. The scientists highlighted the medical potential of the new technique by demonstrating its use as a safer alternative to an experimental gene therapy against HIV infection.

2 Jul 2012

New treatment target against metastatic pancreatic cancer

Detailed analysis of genes expressed in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) -- cells that break off from solid tumors and travel through the bloodstream -- has identified a potential treatment target in metastatic pancreatic cancer.

2 Jul 2012

Researchers map significant portion of functional sequences of mouse genome

Popularly dubbed "the book of life," the human genome is extraordinarily difficult to read. But without full knowledge of its grammar and syntax, the genome's 2.9 billion base-pairs of adenine and thymine, cytosine and guanine provide limited insights into humanity's underlying genetics.

2 Jul 2012

Genetic mutation that creates Ewing's sarcoma leads to high levels of protein EYA3

Ewing's sarcoma is a bone cancer commonly diagnosed in about 250 U.S. teenagers per year. If early chemotherapy is effective, improvement can be durable. But for children and teens who respond poorly to a first attempt at chemotherapy or if the disease spreads, long-term survival can be less than 10 percent.

30 Jun 2012

Bees help understand connection between taste perception and metabolic syndromes

Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that honey bees may teach us about basic connections between taste perception and metabolic disorders in humans. By experimenting with honey bee genetics, researchers have identified connections between sugar sensitivity, diabetic physiology and carbohydrate metabolism. Bees and humans may partially share these connections.

30 Jun 2012

Researchers discover new gene mutations associated with megalencephaly

A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly.

30 Jun 2012

FOXO1 gene may play an important role in pathological mechanisms of Parkinson's

A recent study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) revealed that the FOXO1 gene may play an important role in the pathological mechanisms of Parkinson's disease.

29 Jun 2012

Lexicon announces results from two initial trials of LX4211 for type 2 diabetes

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the publication of results from two initial trials of LX4211 in patients with type 2 diabetes in the online edition of the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

29 Jun 2012

Study reveals technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish

In mammals, most lipids are absorbed into the body via the small intestine. The complexity of the cells and fluids that inhabit this organ make it very difficult to study in a laboratory setting. New research from Carnegie's Steven Farber, James Walters and Jennifer Anderson reveals a technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish. This method enabled them to describe new aspects of lipid absorption that could have broad applications for human health.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers identify genes that influence degeneration of the hippocampus

In a genome-wide association (GWA) study, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) have identified several genes which influence degeneration of the hippocampus, the part of the brain most associated with Alzheimer disease (AD).

29 Jun 2012

Scientists use patient cells to generate human model of Huntington's

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and an international team of researchers have generated a human model of Huntington's disease-directly from the skin cells of patients with the disease.

29 Jun 2012

New laboratory model for Huntington's disease

Cedars-Sinai scientists have joined with expert colleagues around the globe in using stem cells to develop a laboratory model for Huntington's disease, allowing researchers for the first time to test directly on human cells potential treatments for this fatal, inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new gene in the influenza virus

Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body's response to infection.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers create 'Huntington's disease in a dish' to enable search for treatment

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

UTMB researchers improve existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus

University of Texas Medical Branch researchers have significantly improved an existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus, making possible the development of a more effective defense against the dangerous mosquito-borne pathogen.

28 Jun 2012

Scientists identify abnormal gene that leads to Parkinson's

An international team including scientists from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon Health Region and University of British Columbia, with the help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families, has identified an abnormal gene which leads to Parkinson's disease.

28 Jun 2012

Prenatal exposure to PCBs impacts reproductive function in offspring

Prenatal exposure to the environmental contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, causes long-term changes to the developing brain that have adverse effects on reproductive function later in life, a new study finds. Results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

28 Jun 2012