Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

So often the rare informs the common. Penn researchers investigating a regulatory protein involved in a rare genetic disease have shown that it may be related to epileptic and autistic symptoms in other more common neurological disorders.

12 May 2010

Genetic tests represent future of cancer care for women

Important progress is being made in women's health through the use of genetic tests, particularly those that help women detect and treat cancer.

12 May 2010

Response Genetics, GSK sign non-exclusive license agreement for BRAF mutational analysis technology

Response Genetics, Inc., a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, today announced it has signed a non-exclusive license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK"). Under the terms of the agreement, GSK gains certain rights to Response Genetics' proprietary PCR analysis technology and diagnostic expertise to assess BRAF gene mutations in human tumor samples. Payments will be made to Response Genetics upon achivement of agreed-to milestones.

12 May 2010

OriGene Technologies, ISB to create proteotypic PeptideAtlas and SRM/MRM mass spectrometry standard database

OriGene Technologies, Inc., a leading gene-centric life sciences company, and the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), announce plans to create a proteotypic PeptideAtlas and develop an SRM/MRM (single reaction monitoring, multiple reaction monitoring) mass spectrometry standard database for 5,000 human proteins. The new collaboration will apply ISB's novel systems biology mass spectrometry expertise to OriGene's large collection of full length human proteins.

12 May 2010

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Sickle cell disease may affect brain function in adults who have few or mild complications of the inherited blood disease, according to results of the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.

12 May 2010

Unotron keyboards prevent sample contamination, germ spread at UNC Gene Therapy Center

The Gene Therapy Center at the University of North Carolina (UNC) asserts that Unotron's ruggedly designed, airtight SpillSeal® technology offers an optimal solution for use where a sterile environment is critical. Unotron, creator of hermetically-sealed, dishwasher safe, medical grade washable computer keyboards, scroll wheel mice, and smartcard readers, announced today that its keyboards provided to the UNC Gene Therapy Center offer an optimal solution for preventing contamination to samples and the spread of the germs.

11 May 2010

Potential new drug therapies for treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has been present in humans since ancient times. The origins of the disease date back to the first domestication of cattle, and skeletal remains show prehistoric humans (4,000 B.C.) had TB. Although relatively rare in the United States, it is the single leading bacterial cause of death worldwide. Approximately 8 million people are infected each year and 2 million people die from TB.

11 May 2010

Gene variations may increase risk of developing schizophrenia: Study

By analyzing the genomes of patients with schizophrenia, genetics researchers have discovered numerous copy number variations—deletions or duplications of DNA sequences—that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Significantly, many of these variations occur in genes that affect signaling among brain cells.

11 May 2010

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

More individualized therapy and better supportive care helped push the survival for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to 71 percent three years after diagnosis, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and reported in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. The survival rate of 71 percent is 20 percent better than previously reported U.S. rates and is similar to the success achieved in a 2009 Japanese study, said Jeffrey Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Oncology department.

11 May 2010

SNP biomarker could reduce guesswork associated with prescribing drugs

A tiny gene mutation in human liver cells could one day influence how high or low a dose patients need of about half of the clinically used drugs on the market, new research suggests.

11 May 2010

Research may aid in developing new cancer therapies

Immortality and uncontrolled cell division are the fundamental differences between cancer cells and normal cells.

11 May 2010

Iris Biotechnologies receives two new Canadian patents

Iris BioTechnologies Inc., a life sciences company focused on providing patients, doctors, and clinicians with improved methods of identifying effective treatment solutions, and recipient of the Frost and Sullivan 2008 Technology Innovation Award in Pharmacogenomics, today announced two new Canadian patents.

11 May 2010

FDA grants EUA for IQuum's Liat Influenza A/2009 H1N1 Assay

IQuum, Inc. today announced it has been granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Liat™ Influenza A/2009 H1N1 Assay. The assay detects and differentiates 2009 H1N1 influenza viral RNA starting from collected nasopharyngeal swab samples in less than 30 minutes.

10 May 2010

More genetic sites associated with increase in breast cancer risk discovered

Scientists have found five new regions of the genome that increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by between six and 16 per cent, according to a study in Nature Genetics today (Sunday)1.

10 May 2010

UT Southwestern researchers uncover core function of gene involved in Fragile X syndrome

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how the genetic mutation that causes Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental retardation, interferes with the "pruning" of nerve connections in the brain. Their findings appear in the April 29 issue of Neuron.

10 May 2010

Double mastectomy best for long-term prognosis of breast cancer

When Cedric Skillom's mother, Lynda, 55, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, he was devastated by the news, but he never imagined that the largest cancer killer of women would strike his own health.

10 May 2010

Novel imaging techniques improve post heart attack survival rates in mouse model

Human adult stem cells injected around the damage caused by a heart attack survived in the heart and improved its pumping efficiency for a year in a mouse model, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online ahead of publication in Circulation Research.

10 May 2010

A cutting-edge symposium sheds light on the possibilities of molecular neuroimaging

SNM's Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence wrapped up its Molecular Neuroimaging Symposium today in Bethesda, Md., at the Natcher Auditorium of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

10 May 2010

Discovery of new genetic clues to breast cancer

Researchers at Cambridge University have identified five genetic clues for women who have a family history of breast cancer. The study brings up the number of common genetic variations linked to increased risk of breast cancer in women to 18. The study was published in Nature Genetics.

9 May 2010

Report: 34 C>G of PPAR-γ gene might be a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer death in the developed countries. Accumulated evidences indicate that lipid metabolism, especially the one in the arachidonic acid -pathway, appears to play a critical role in the development of CRC.

7 May 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Mutations in STRAD-alpha gene can cause PMSE syndrome in Amish children: Penn researchers

Genetic tests represent future of cancer care for women

Response Genetics, GSK sign non-exclusive license agreement for BRAF mutational analysis technology

OriGene Technologies, ISB to create proteotypic PeptideAtlas and SRM/MRM mass spectrometry standard database

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Unotron keyboards prevent sample contamination, germ spread at UNC Gene Therapy Center

Potential new drug therapies for treatment of tuberculosis

Gene variations may increase risk of developing schizophrenia: Study

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

SNP biomarker could reduce guesswork associated with prescribing drugs

Research may aid in developing new cancer therapies

Iris Biotechnologies receives two new Canadian patents

FDA grants EUA for IQuum's Liat Influenza A/2009 H1N1 Assay

More genetic sites associated with increase in breast cancer risk discovered

UT Southwestern researchers uncover core function of gene involved in Fragile X syndrome

Double mastectomy best for long-term prognosis of breast cancer

Novel imaging techniques improve post heart attack survival rates in mouse model

A cutting-edge symposium sheds light on the possibilities of molecular neuroimaging

Discovery of new genetic clues to breast cancer

Report: 34 C>G of PPAR-γ gene might be a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut