Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Ketogenic diet may reverse impaired kidney function in diabetics

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time determined that the ketogenic diet, a specialized high-fat, low carbohydrate diet, may reverse impaired kidney function in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They also identified a previously unreported panel of genes associated with diabetes-related kidney failure, whose expression was reversed by the diet. The findings were published in the current issue of PLoS ONE.

21 Apr 2011

Exposure to air pollution may alter women's DNA and cause premenopausal breast cancer

Exposure to air pollution early in life and when a woman gives birth to her first child may alter her DNA and may be associated with premenopausal breast cancer later in life, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.

21 Apr 2011

Genetically modified mosquitoes tested to prevent spread of malaria: Study

According to the latest study in the journal Nature, researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Washington, Seattle found that after making specific genetic changes to a few mosquitoes and then allowing them to breed could eventually dramatically reduce the spread of the deadly disease malaria.

20 Apr 2011

ARIAD executes three exclusive out-license agreements for ARGENT cell-signaling regulation technology

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced execution of three exclusive out-license agreements for separate aspects of its ARGENT™ cell-signaling regulation technology.

20 Apr 2011

Clontech releases iDimerize inducible dimerization systems

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., today announced the release of the iDimerize inducible dimerization systems. Based on the widely used ARGENT™ technology developed by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the iDimerize systems enable precise, real-time control of protein-protein interactions using specific cell-permeable chemical ligands, called dimerizers.

20 Apr 2011

bluebird bio announces receipt of additional $30 million in financing

bluebird bio, an emerging leader in the development of innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders, today announced that the company has secured an additional $30 million in financing.

20 Apr 2011

Sequencing the genomes of cancer patients help doctors decide the best course of treatment

Two new studies highlight the power of sequencing cancer patients' genomes as a diagnostic tool, helping doctors decide the best course of treatment and researchers identify new cancer susceptibility mutations that can be passed from parent to child.

20 Apr 2011

Blocking abnormal movement of mutated human FUS gene also blocks ALS process

In the first animal model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), developed by Dr. Udai Pandey, Assistant Professor of Genetics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, Dr. Pandey's lab has found in fruit flies that blocking the abnormal movement of a protein made by a mutated gene called FUS also blocks the disease process.

20 Apr 2011

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, University of Iowa researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease.

20 Apr 2011

Whole-genome sequencing could soon improve cancer survival rates

Cancer survival rates could improve soon with whole-genome sequencing, according to two studies published in the April 20, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that describe the first clinical applications of the high-tech process in patients with cancer.

20 Apr 2011

New method allows single microchip to screen tens of thousands of genes simultaneously

RNA interference technology, which is used in cell biology, has revolutionised functional research of the gene products in the last ten years. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a method which allows a single microchip to be used to screen the functions of tens of thousands of genes simultaneously by means of RNA interference.

20 Apr 2011

Squamous cell cancers can originate from hair follicle stem cells, finds study

Squamous cell cancers, which can occur in multiple organs in the body, can originate from hair follicle stem cells, a finding that could result in new strategies to treat and potentially prevent the disease, according to a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

20 Apr 2011

Scientists detect several biomarkers to screen active drugs for Batten disease

Goethe University and Harvard Medical School start screening for active ingredients for the treatment of Batten disease

20 Apr 2011

Alnylam, Precision NanoSystems enter collaboration for discovery of novel small lipid nanoparticles

Precision NanoSystems, Inc. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the two companies have formed an exclusive collaboration focused on the discovery and development of novel lipid nanoparticles, known as small lipid nanoparticles ("sLNPs"), using microfluidics technology.

From Precision NanoSystems Inc. 20 Apr 2011

Chronic inflammation due to infection may lead to cancer

A new study shows how inflammation can help cause cancer. Chronic inflammation due to infection or to conditions such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease is associated with up to 25 percent of all cancers.

20 Apr 2011

Plant hormone auxin acts as a signalling molecule in embryo development

During the development of organisms, a particular event repeatedly occurs: a signal appears temporarily, but the processes it triggers must be maintained - for example, when the fate of cells in the embryo is established.

20 Apr 2011

Opinions: Cambodian aid; Tobin tax; Japan recovery; Inflation, infectious disease in Asia

In a Washington Post opinion piece, Joel Brinkley, a professor of journalism at Stanford University who authored a book about Cambodia, writes about a donor-pledge meeting in Cambodia scheduled for Wednesday and discusses a potential law that would require NGOs to register with the government.

20 Apr 2011

FDA approves Rituxan-corticosteroid combination for Wegener's Granulomatosis and Microscopic Polyangiitis

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group and Biogen Idec announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Rituxan® (rituximab), in combination with corticosteroids, as a new medicine for adults with Wegener's Granulomatosis (WG) and Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA).

20 Apr 2011

Parents open to genetic tests for children

Genetic testing techniques have not been perfected yet but parents are willing to take the risk to know if their children are at risk for diseases in adulthood. Some parents would like the ability to predict the future, in terms of their child's risk for certain chronic health conditions. This comes in a new study published online in the journal Pediatrics. Experts, however, say the tests are of little value at this time.

19 Apr 2011

Gene mutation in Tibetian Terrier dogs causes hereditary form of Parkinson's disease in humans

University of Missouri researchers believe both man and animal will benefit from their discovery that the same gene mutation found in Tibetan Terrier dogs can also be found in a fatal human neurological disorder related to Parkinson's disease.

19 Apr 2011

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Ketogenic diet may reverse impaired kidney function in diabetics

Exposure to air pollution may alter women's DNA and cause premenopausal breast cancer

Genetically modified mosquitoes tested to prevent spread of malaria: Study

ARIAD executes three exclusive out-license agreements for ARGENT cell-signaling regulation technology

Clontech releases iDimerize inducible dimerization systems

bluebird bio announces receipt of additional $30 million in financing

Sequencing the genomes of cancer patients help doctors decide the best course of treatment

Blocking abnormal movement of mutated human FUS gene also blocks ALS process

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

Whole-genome sequencing could soon improve cancer survival rates

New method allows single microchip to screen tens of thousands of genes simultaneously

Squamous cell cancers can originate from hair follicle stem cells, finds study

Scientists detect several biomarkers to screen active drugs for Batten disease

Alnylam, Precision NanoSystems enter collaboration for discovery of novel small lipid nanoparticles

Chronic inflammation due to infection may lead to cancer

Plant hormone auxin acts as a signalling molecule in embryo development

Opinions: Cambodian aid; Tobin tax; Japan recovery; Inflation, infectious disease in Asia

FDA approves Rituxan-corticosteroid combination for Wegener's Granulomatosis and Microscopic Polyangiitis

Parents open to genetic tests for children

Gene mutation in Tibetian Terrier dogs causes hereditary form of Parkinson's disease in humans

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

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering