Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

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

CHLA pediatric oncologist receives Hyundai Hope on Wheels grant

Weili Sun, MD, PhD, a pediatric oncologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, was awarded $75,000 by the Hyundai Hope on Wheels program. She will use this money to further her research into the role of epigenetics in cancer.

28 Jun 2012

New compound could treat certain types of genetic disorders in muscles

Scientists at UCLA have identified a new compound that could treat certain types of genetic disorders in muscles. It is a big first step in what they hope will lead to human clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

28 Jun 2012

Study suggests adverse role for BclI polymorphism in obesity and insulin resistance

A large study in people at risk of diabetes has found a direct association between the presence of a small genetic alteration in a hormone receptor and increased body fat and insulin resistance. The results, to be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston, suggest an adverse role for a previously described genetic variant, the BclI polymorphism.

28 Jun 2012

Gene transfer technique eliminates specific neural circuit linked to Parkinson's disease

In the brains of humans and non-human primates, over 100 billion nerve cells build up complicated neural circuits and produce higher brain functions. When an attempt is made to perform gene therapy for neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease, it is necessary to specify a responsible neural circuit out of many complicated circuits.

27 Jun 2012

Scientists now have clues to how GATA4 gene mutation leads to septal defects in babies with CHD

Scientists now have clues to how a gene mutation discovered in families affected with congenital heart disease leads to underdevelopment of the walls that separate the heart into four chambers.

27 Jun 2012

New type of micromachine can penetrate tissue and overcome cellular barriers

Microscopically small submarines that can swim through our blood to clear out clogged arteries or destroy malignant tumors. This concept may sound utopian, but it isn’t. Various micro- and nanomachines have in fact already been developed.

27 Jun 2012

Obese children show greater exposure to phthalates

Obese children show greater exposure than nonobese children to a phthalate, a chemical used to soften plastics in some children's toys and many household products, according to a new study, which found that the obesity risk increases according to the level of the chemical found in the bloodstream.

27 Jun 2012