Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Schizophrenia not always inherited – Genetic links found

Researchers have found that more than half the cases of non-hereditary or sporadic schizophrenia are caused by “new” protein-altering gene mutations. These mutations are new genetic errors that appear in patients but not in either of their parents, the researchers explained in the report published in the Aug. 7 online edition of the journal Nature Genetics.

8 Aug 2011

Ovarian cancer gene discovered

A new study finds that around one woman in 70 is at risk of developing ovarian cancer, which claims more than 4,200 lives a year and this could be attributed to a faulty RAD15D gene. The gene raised the risk to one in 11.

8 Aug 2011

NHS doctors’ use of genetic tests leading to infringement of patent rights

NHS doctors are in trouble for over use of diagnostic genetic tests as these infringe upon patents. The British law now recognizes patents on the application of DNA discoveries. But doctors developing genetic tests in NHS hospitals tend to pay no heed to intellectual property.

8 Aug 2011

Researchers use SNAP technology to assess fetal gene expression in amniotic fluid

Researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of focused fetal gene expression analysis of target genes found in amniotic fluid using Standardized NanoArray PCR (SNAP) technology.

8 Aug 2011

De novo mutations account for 50% of sporadic cases of schizophrenia

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have shown that new, or "de novo," protein-altering mutations—genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents—play a role in more than 50 percent of "sporadic" —i.e., not hereditary—cases of schizophrenia.

8 Aug 2011

New finding about cell metabolism may have implications for neurodegenerative disorders

Cells are the building blocks of the human body. They are a focus of scientific study, because when things go wrong at the cellular and molecular level the consequences for human health are often significant.

8 Aug 2011

Women with RAD51D gene fault more likely to develop ovarian cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have discovered that women who carry a faulty copy of a gene called RAD51D have almost a one in 11 chance of developing ovarian cancer, the most significant ovarian cancer gene discovery for more than a decade, reveals a study in Nature Genetics1 today.

8 Aug 2011

Scientist urges federal officials to decide on genetically engineered salmon for consumption

A Purdue University scientist is urging federal officials to decide whether genetically engineered salmon would be allowed for U.S. consumption and arguing that not doing so may set back scientific efforts to increase food production.

6 Aug 2011

Idera second quarter net loss increases to $6.3 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-Like receptors (TLRs).

5 Aug 2011

Novel studies explore new targets to prevent spread of breast cancer

Research into new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

5 Aug 2011

Human brain cells created from skin cells: Potential for Alzheimer’s

This feat comes a year after researchers at Stanford University performed the same feat in mice, turning cells from the rodents' skin into neurons. The lab-created brain cells act the same as normal human brain cells, the researchers found. These cells have the same ability to send electric signals; they seem to express the same genes in the same ways; and they are able to communicate with other brain cells, as demonstrated in a lab dish and when implanted into mice.

5 Aug 2011

U.S. physicians spend more time, money for interaction with health plans than Canadian doctors

Physicians in the United States spend nearly four times as much dealing with health insurers and payers compared with doctors in Canada. Most of the difference stems from the fact that Canadian physicians deal with a single payer, in contrast to the multiple payers in the United States.

5 Aug 2011

Scientists convert human skin cells into forebrain neurons

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have for the first time directly converted human skin cells into functional forebrain neurons, without the need for stem cells of any kind.

5 Aug 2011

BD Biosciences, Fluidigm to co-host public seminars on isolation and analysis of single cells

Fluidigm Corporation announced today a collaboration with BD Biosciences, a segment of BD, to co-host a public seminar series on the isolation and analysis of single cells. Entitled A Powerful Technique for Single-Cell Analysis, the public seminar series will showcase cell isolation using the BD FACSAria III Cell Sorter and analysis using the Fluidigm BioMark HD System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 5 Aug 2011

Higher levels of B cells make women more prone to autoimmune diseases

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a type of cell that may contribute to autoimmune disease and suggests why diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis strike women more frequently than men. The cells, a subset of immune-system B cells, make autoantibodies, which bind to and attack the body's own tissue.

5 Aug 2011

PCF funds 10 new Challenge Awards for prostate cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation today announced that it has funded 10 new Challenge Awards for accelerating scientific discovery and new treatments for prostate cancer patients.

5 Aug 2011

Researchers identify genes that play a key role in pain perception

By working with individuals suffering from a severe disorder that causes sensory neurons to degenerate, researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital and CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital have discovered how a specific genetic mutation causes their patients' condition, which in turn has revealed more information about the mechanisms in our bodies which enable us to sense pain.

5 Aug 2011

RNAi screen identifies Brd4 as a therapeutic target for acute myeloid leukemia

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and five other institutions have used an unconventional approach to cancer drug discovery to identify a new potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.

4 Aug 2011

NanoString to begin clinical development program for Breast Cancer Intrinsic Subtyping Assay

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, today announced that it is initiating the first in a series of studies to evaluate the clinical utility of the NanoString Breast Cancer Intrinsic Subtyping Assay.

From NanoString Technologies 4 Aug 2011

JAMIA highlights several perspectives, five research articles on translational bioinformatics

With the summer edition of JAMIA--currently online at www.JAMIA.org--AMIA's peer-reviewed journal on informatics in biomedicine and health opens the door to translational science, highlighting several perspectives and five research articles on translational bioinformatics (TBI), and suggesting that future publications in greater volume will help keep JAMIA readers abreast of new developments and applications of translational bioinformatics, just as more hospital and academic health centers are embracing molecular measurements for diagnosis and planning therapies.

4 Aug 2011

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Schizophrenia not always inherited – Genetic links found

Ovarian cancer gene discovered

NHS doctors’ use of genetic tests leading to infringement of patent rights

Researchers use SNAP technology to assess fetal gene expression in amniotic fluid

De novo mutations account for 50% of sporadic cases of schizophrenia

New finding about cell metabolism may have implications for neurodegenerative disorders

Women with RAD51D gene fault more likely to develop ovarian cancer

Scientist urges federal officials to decide on genetically engineered salmon for consumption

Idera second quarter net loss increases to $6.3 million

Novel studies explore new targets to prevent spread of breast cancer

Human brain cells created from skin cells: Potential for Alzheimer’s

U.S. physicians spend more time, money for interaction with health plans than Canadian doctors

Scientists convert human skin cells into forebrain neurons

BD Biosciences, Fluidigm to co-host public seminars on isolation and analysis of single cells

Higher levels of B cells make women more prone to autoimmune diseases

PCF funds 10 new Challenge Awards for prostate cancer research

Researchers identify genes that play a key role in pain perception

RNAi screen identifies Brd4 as a therapeutic target for acute myeloid leukemia

NanoString to begin clinical development program for Breast Cancer Intrinsic Subtyping Assay

JAMIA highlights several perspectives, five research articles on translational bioinformatics

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