Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

NIH researchers survey landscape of melanoma genome

A team led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health is the first to systematically survey the landscape of the melanoma genome, the DNA code of the deadliest form of skin cancer. The researchers have made surprising new discoveries using whole-exome sequencing, an approach that decodes the 1-2 percent of the genome that contains protein-coding genes.

16 Apr 2011

Proteins could lead to new therapeutic target for NF2: Wistar Institute researchers

The proteins that provide cells with a sense of personal space could lead to a therapeutic target for Neurofibromatosis Type 2, an inherited cancer disorder, according to researchers at The Wistar Institute. Their findings, which appear in the April 12 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, could have profound implications for NF2 and related cancers, such as mesothelioma.

16 Apr 2011

New approach links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome

Identifying gene mutations in cancer patients to predict clinical outcome has been the cornerstone of cancer research for nearly three decades, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have invented a new approach that instead links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome. This approach can now be applied to virtually any type of human cancer cell.

15 Apr 2011

New treatment improves immune function in 13-year-old with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

In a novel approach that works around the gene defect in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, an inherited immune deficiency disorder, researchers used an alternative cell signaling pathway to significantly improve immune function in a 13-year-old boy with the disease.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers pinpoint new approach that can treat pediatric leukemia

A Loyola University Health System study points to a promising new approach to treating an aggressive and usually fatal leukemia in babies.

15 Apr 2011

Organic pollutants in flame retardents cause molecular changes in reproductive organs

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are chemicals that have been widely used as flame retardants and are now classified as persistent organic pollutants. Health concerns in humans have arisen based primarily on studies with laboratory animals exposed to high levels of PBDEs. Three commercial mixtures of PBDEs have been manufactured in or imported into the United States which include penta-, octa-, and deca-brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs).

15 Apr 2011

Nurses use ineffective strategy for adapting circadian clocks to night-time schedule

As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses go without sleep for at least 24 hours in order to adjust to working on the night shift, which is the least effective strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

Sea squirt study may help solve organ rejection problems in humans

Studies of the small sea squirt may ultimately help solve the problem of rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants in humans, according to scientists at UC Santa Barbara.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers show how TET1 enzyme controls fetal development and fights cancer

To ensure normal fetal development and prevent disease, it is crucial that certain genes are on or off in the right time intervals. Researchers in Professor Kristian Helin's group at BRIC, University of Copenhagen, have now shown how the TET1 enzyme controls the activity of our genes. The results are just published in the journal Nature.

15 Apr 2011

Major pharmaceutical company, Access sign deal for RNAi therapeutics

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced it has entered into an agreement with a major pharmaceutical company to exploit its CobaCyte and CobOral technology for the targeted delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

15 Apr 2011

NIAID finding to accelerate Chlamydia infection study

WHAT: In a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists describe successfully mutating specific genes of Chlamydia bacteria, which cause the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States as well as a type of blindness common in developing nations.

12 Apr 2011

Eagle and Cognizant partner with Pistoia Alliance for sequence services

Cognizant, a leading provider of consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services, and Eagle Genomics Ltd., a bioinformatics software company specializing in genomic data management and integration, today announced they are working with the Pistoia Alliance, Inc., a nonprofit, precompetitive alliance of life science companies and vendors, as one of the groups engaged to develop a conceptual cloud-based platform to facilitate access to public and proprietary sources of gene sequence data.

12 Apr 2011

Experts to discuss latest findings in IBD research at Rome meeting

Experts from 11 countries will gather this week in Rome to discuss innovative strategies for studying and treating Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

12 Apr 2011

Rockefeller University professor earns recognition in developmental psychobiology

Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons have announced that The Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology has been awarded to The Rockefeller University's Dr. Fernando Nottebohm for his seminal work in songbirds that has led to the discovery of neuronal replacement.

12 Apr 2011

IncP-1 plasmids can transport antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial species

The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

12 Apr 2011

Sea squirt study unravels complex mechanisms underlying heart defects

Each year in the U.S., approximately 40,000 babies are born with a heart defect. Without the proper diagnosis and treatment, many of these babies would die before their first birthday, according to Dr. Scott Klewer, a cardiologist at the UA's College of Medicine.

12 Apr 2011

Alternative mechanism through which tumor cells become invasive

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a previously unknown mechanism whereby tumor cells invade normal tissues, spreading cancer through various organs.

12 Apr 2011

Israeli scientists identify genetic cause of hereditary spastic paraparesis

In a research collaboration blind to affairs of politics, ethnicity, and religion, an international team led by Israeli scientists has identified the genetic cause of a neurological disorder afflicting members of a Palestinian family.

12 Apr 2011

Obesity impacts gene clock of cardiovascular system

Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model.

12 Apr 2011