Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Gene scan shows body's sleep cycle influences numerous physical functions

The pineal gland - integral to setting the body's sleep and wake cycles - may be involved in a broad range of bodily functions, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

30 Mar 2009

Gene linked to lupus might explain gender difference in disease risk

In an international human genetic study, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a gene linked to the autoimmune disease lupus, and its location on the X chromosome might help explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease than males.

30 Mar 2009

Targeted drug therapy prevents exercise-induced arrhythmias

A 12-year-old Dutch boy - bedridden for three years because of an inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndrome - can now join his friends on the soccer field thanks to a discovery made by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.

30 Mar 2009

Slow-growing tuberculosis bacteria point the way to new drug development

The discovery of a large number of slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause tuberculosis (TB), in the lungs of TB patients could be an important step forward in the design of new anti-TB drugs.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of new tumor suppressor gene

National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers have identified a gene that suppresses tumor growth in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

30 Mar 2009

Gene linked to lupus might explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of new cancer gene

Researchers have identified a new cancer gene - one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes.

29 Mar 2009

Amicus Therapeutics presents positive results from phase 2 extension study of Amigal for Fabry disease

Amicus Therapeutics has announced positive results from its ongoing Phase 2 extension study of its investigational drug, Amigal (migalastat HCL) for Fabry disease.

29 Mar 2009

'Gene hunters' find two new breast cancer genes

Cancer Research UK scientists have found two new regions of the genome that alter a woman's risk of breast cancer, according to a study in Nature Genetics.

29 Mar 2009

Discovery of protein that reactivates latent herpes simplex virus

Research in Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens appears to solve a long standing medical mystery by identifying a viral protein, VP16, as the molecular key that prompts herpes simplex virus (HSV) to exit latency and cause recurrent disease.

29 Mar 2009

Scientists create vector, exotic genes from induced stem cells

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers reports that it has created induced human pluripotent stem (iPS) cells completely free of viral vectors and exotic genes.

29 Mar 2009

Researchers reveal mechanism that regulates cancer-causing gene

Two University of Rhode Island scientists have revealed how a cancer causing protein is regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) -- a type of stress signal.

29 Mar 2009

Genetic variations may determine lung function and susceptibility to maternal smoking

A tiny variation within a single gene can determine not only how quickly and well lungs grow and function in children and adolescents, but how susceptible those children will be to exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, even in utero, according to researchers from the University of Southern California.

29 Mar 2009

Evolutionary origin of bacterial chromosomes revealed

Researchers have unveiled the evolutionary origin of the different chromosomal architectures found in three species of Agrobacterium.

29 Mar 2009

Mutations in a gene may stunt lung development in children

Mutations in a gene may cause poor lung development in children, making them more vulnerable to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the German Research Center for Environmental Health.

29 Mar 2009

Nanoparticles deliver gene therapy, killing tumors

Given that cancer is ultimately a genetic disease, it has long been the hope of researchers to use gene therapy to attack tumors where they might be most susceptible.

26 Mar 2009

Should all women be screened for domestic violence?

A screening programme which would require doctors and nurses to ask all women whether they have experienced domestic violence, whatever their reason for seeking medical attention, is not justified, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Bristol, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.

26 Mar 2009

Discovery of new biomarker for prostate cancer

Researchers at Wayne State University have identified a new marker for prostate cancer progression that may one day lead to new treatments.

26 Mar 2009

Facial flushing in East Asians who consume alcohol linked to esophageal cancer risks

About one-third of people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent have an enzyme deficiency that causes their face to flush when they drink alcohol, a trait that puts them at a higher risk for developing esophageal cancer, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters Health reports.

25 Mar 2009