Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Latest achievements in brain research and treatment for mental disorders

Mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, addiction and schizophrenia are the core challenge of most health care systems around the world. In the EU alone, each year 27% of the total adult population - this corresponds to 83 Million citizens - suffer from mental disorders. Depression alone affects almost 20 million ranking in the EU as the most disabling disorder of all diseases.

30 Aug 2010

23rd ECNP Press conference on impact of circadian rhythms on human brain

All humans are synchronised to the rhythmic light-dark changes that occur on a daily basis. Rhythms in physiological and biochemical processes and behavioural patterns persist in the absence of all external 24-hour signals from the physical environment, with a period that is close to 24 hours

30 Aug 2010

23rd ECNP Congress press conference

The incidence of psychotic disorders varies greatly across places and demographic groups, as do symptoms, course, and treatment response across individuals. High rates of schizophrenia in large cities, and among immigrants, cannabis users, and traumatised individuals reflect the causal influence of environmental exposures. This, in combination with progress in the area of molecular genetics, has generated interest in more complicated models of schizophrenia aetiology that explicitly posit gene-environment interactions.

30 Aug 2010

New research contradicts previous reports on blood-thinner clopidogrel

New findings by McMaster University researchers contradict earlier reports that people with a certain genetic make-up don't benefit from the blood-thinner clopidogrel, also known as Plavix.

30 Aug 2010

Scientists develop microarray technology to create blood transcriptional signatures for infectious diseases

It may soon be possible to identify patients who will develop tuberculosis, as scientists have identified changes in the blood specific to the disease. These findings are from an international study published in the August 19 issue of Nature and conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital using blood profiling techniques to understand infections.

30 Aug 2010

Jefferson scientists receive grant to study genetics of platelet gene expression

Scientists at Jefferson Medical College have received a four-year, $3 million National Institutes of Health grant funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study variations of platelet function, specifically, the genetics of platelet gene expression. The study aims to find data that can be translated into novel therapeutic strategies and develop better predictors of cardiovascular disease.

30 Aug 2010

Promising skin cancer drug in the near horizon

A new drug has been developed to combat a deadly form of skin cancer – melanoma. The drug, PLX4032, was tested on 32 melanoma patients who had a key mutation in their tumors. 26 of these patients responded favorably says the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Aug 2010

Scientists identify genetic basis to determine severity of allergic asthma in experimental models

Scientists have identified a genetic basis for determining the severity of allergic asthma in experimental models of the disease.The study may help in the search for future therapeutic strategies to fight a growing medical problem that currently lacks effective treatments, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report in the Aug. 29 Nature Immunology.

30 Aug 2010

New high throughput sequencing technology to identify genetic defects in rare diseases

The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, a prerequisite for their definitive diagnosis and the development of innovative approaches to their treatment. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the Institute of Medical Genetics at the Charit- Universit-tsmedizin - Berlin have succeeded in using a new process with which all of the genes in the human genome can be analysed simultaneously.

30 Aug 2010

Study reveals impact of genetic make-up on response to oral antiplatelet treatment ticagrelor

A new genetic substudy of PLATO showed that the effects on a combined primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke seen in Acute Coronary Syndromes patients who received the investigational oral antiplatelet treatment, ticagrelor (BRILINTA), were maintained, whether or not they had the genetic variability that has been previously shown to affect a patient's response to clopidogrel.

30 Aug 2010

GWAS finds new genetic link between Parkinson's disease and inflammation

A hunt throughout the human genome for variants associated with common, late-onset Parkinson's disease has revealed a new genetic link that implicates the immune system and offers new targets for drug development.

30 Aug 2010

Study finds common risk factors linked with painkiller addiction

A new Geisinger study begins to unlock the puzzle of painkiller (opioid) addiction - why some people are more likely to become addicted than others. Geisinger investigators have found that patients with four common risk factors have a significantly higher risk of addiction. In addition, a history of severe drug dependence and drug abuse compounds the risk.

30 Aug 2010

'Molecular Diagnostics Europe' conference debuts at BIOTECHNICA 2010

BIOTECHNICA, Europe's Leading Exhibition for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, is broadening its portfolio to include a new conference and special display on molecular diagnostics. Produced by the Cambridge Healthtech Institute, a leading organizer of biomedical conferences in the United States, the "Molecular Diagnostics Europe" (MDxEU) conference is making its debut this year. The main focus will be on new methods for molecular diagnostics, particularly with regard to cancer and infectious diseases.

27 Aug 2010

Light signaling pathways, circadian rhythms affect biological functions: Research

A new study of the genetic basis of circadian rhythms - the biological responses related to daily light exposure - has found that a few minutes of light exposure in a fungus directly affects a huge range of its biological functions, everything from reproduction to coloring and DNA repair.

27 Aug 2010

Luminex launches FDA-cleared xTAG Cystic Fibrosis 60 Kit v2 diagnostic test

Luminex Corporation, the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, today announced the full commercial launch of its xTAG Cystic Fibrosis 60 Kit v2, a new diagnostic test that can simultaneously screen a single blood sample for up to 60 cystic fibrosis-causing genetic mutations in a matter of hours.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 27 Aug 2010

Experimental drug PLX4032 holds promise against cancers with faulty BRAF gene

An experimental drug designed to treat cancers with a particular genetic fault has shown promising results in a small clinical trial.

27 Aug 2010

Nationwide Children's Hospital designated as Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center

A $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital translate new scientific findings and technological developments into novel treatments for the muscular dystrophies. The grant designates Nationwide Children's Hospital as a Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, one of three national award recipients in 2010.

27 Aug 2010

Study on impact of harmful de novo gene mutations on autism, schizophrenia

An international study led by University of Montreal scientists suggests family history may not be a good predictor of the presence of mutations predisposing to autism or schizophrenia. The findings show how new or de novo gene mutations alterations of the cell's DNA play a role in these devastating conditions.

27 Aug 2010

23rd European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress to be held 28 Aug - 1 Sep 2010 in Amsterdam

26 Aug 2010

PLX4032 therapy results in tumor shrinkage in metastatic melanoma patients

A multicenter study has concluded that treatment with a new targeted therapy called PLX4032 (also called RG7204) resulted in significant tumor shrinkage in 80 percent of patients with advanced melanoma.

26 Aug 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Latest achievements in brain research and treatment for mental disorders

23rd ECNP Press conference on impact of circadian rhythms on human brain

23rd ECNP Congress press conference

New research contradicts previous reports on blood-thinner clopidogrel

Scientists develop microarray technology to create blood transcriptional signatures for infectious diseases

Jefferson scientists receive grant to study genetics of platelet gene expression

Promising skin cancer drug in the near horizon

Scientists identify genetic basis to determine severity of allergic asthma in experimental models

New high throughput sequencing technology to identify genetic defects in rare diseases

Study reveals impact of genetic make-up on response to oral antiplatelet treatment ticagrelor

GWAS finds new genetic link between Parkinson's disease and inflammation

Study finds common risk factors linked with painkiller addiction

'Molecular Diagnostics Europe' conference debuts at BIOTECHNICA 2010

Light signaling pathways, circadian rhythms affect biological functions: Research

Luminex launches FDA-cleared xTAG Cystic Fibrosis 60 Kit v2 diagnostic test

Experimental drug PLX4032 holds promise against cancers with faulty BRAF gene

Nationwide Children's Hospital designated as Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center

Study on impact of harmful de novo gene mutations on autism, schizophrenia

23rd European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress to be held 28 Aug - 1 Sep 2010 in Amsterdam

PLX4032 therapy results in tumor shrinkage in metastatic melanoma patients

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer