Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Infection with a mutated HIV strain results in better survival

Persons infected with a mutated HIV strain, transmitted from those who have the genetic advantages to control the virus, results in improved survival according to a recent study by South African researchers.

24 Mar 2008

Deadly genetic disease prevented before birth in zebrafish with genetic patch

By injecting a customized "genetic patch" into early stage fish embryos, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were able to correct a genetic mutation so the embryos developed normally.

24 Mar 2008

Breast cancer gene carriers' risk 'amplified' by additional genes

Many women with a faulty breast cancer gene could be at greater risk of the disease due to extra 'risk amplifying' genes, according to research published in the American Journal of Human Genetics today.

24 Mar 2008

Cholesterol-associated gene variants can predict cardiovascular events

A study appearing in this week's New England Journal of Medicine confirms that a combination of gene variants previously associated with cholesterol levels does reflect patients' cholesterol levels and can signify increased risk of heart attack, stroke or sudden cardiac death.

20 Mar 2008

New study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3 can improve accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis

New clinical data from a study of 570 men published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Urology support the use of PROGENSA PCA3 as a tool for diagnosing prostate cancer. The study confirms that PROGENSA PCA3, the world's first gene-based urine test to help detect prostate cancer, can provide clinicians with valuable information that helps guide diagnosis.

20 Mar 2008

Neuronal regulators offer potential targets for cancer

Being too brainy can be a bad thing in a junior high cafeteria, where the social hierarchy favors other traits. "Braininess" also causes problems for cells.

20 Mar 2008

More efficient gene targeting improves prospects for gene therapy

The Nobel prize-winning MRC scientist Sir Aaron Klug and a team from an American company, Sangamo BioSciences, have announced a new way to target genes that may revolutionise medical research and pave the way for new treatments.

20 Mar 2008

Disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder

Eli Hatchwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues have found that a disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

20 Mar 2008

Cell therapies for diabetes, cancer

Therapies using stem cell transplants are advancing promising treatments for such conditions as Alzheimer's Disease, neurological diseases and spinal cord injury, and heart disease.

20 Mar 2008

What change does prokineticin 2/Bv8 have in human hepatocellular carcinoma?

Liver hepatocarcinoma is a highly vascularized cancer, and more and more research is focused on the molecules controlling angiogenesis.

19 Mar 2008

Scans spot hidden tumors in Li-Fraumeni syndrome

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that full-body PET/CT scanning detected unsuspected, treatable tumors in 3 of 15 patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a rare genetic cancer syndrome for which no screening tests have been recommended.

19 Mar 2008

Past child abuse plus variations in gene result in potent PTSD risk for adults

A traumatic event is much more likely to result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults who experienced trauma in childhood - but certain gene variations raise the risk considerably if the childhood trauma involved physical or sexual abuse, scientists have found.

19 Mar 2008

HDL-associated protein gene linked to heart disease risk

The gene for the HDL-associated protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) appears to be associated with coronary artery disease and with the risk of developing adverse cardiac events, and variations in both the PON1 gene and its related enzyme activity may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease events, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA , a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

19 Mar 2008

New method to determine the “selective signature” of a gene

Scientists at MIT have come up with a mathematical approach for analyzing a protein simultaneously in a set of ecologically distinct species to identify occurrences of natural selection in an organism's evolution.

19 Mar 2008

$Variants of the gene LRP5 associated with increased risk of bone fractures, low bone mineral density$

Variants of the gene LRP5 associated with increased risk of bone fractures, low bone mineral density

Results from a large study indicate that variants of the gene LRP5 are associated with a significant increase in the risk of fractures, by up to 20 percent, and lower levels of bone mineral density in the spine and hip, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

19 Mar 2008

Silencing gene in tobacco plants reduces harmful carcinogens

In large-scale field trials, scientists from North Carolina State University have shown that silencing a specific gene in burley tobacco plants significantly reduces harmful carcinogens in cured tobacco leaves.

19 Mar 2008

Zebrafish enables cell regeneration studies to help understand, treat human disease

One aquarium fish's uncanny ability to regenerate essentially any cell type has given scientists a way to mimic cell loss that occurs in diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes then watch how the fish make more of them.

18 Mar 2008

Inbred Romanian community provides insight into genetic factors associated with vitiligo

An isolated, inbred Romanian community has a higher than average frequency of the skin disease vitiligo and other autoimmune diseases, suggesting a genetic variation that may indicate susceptibility to the condition in a broader population, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Mar 2008

Researchers discover how stealthy HIV protein gets into cells

Scientists have known for more than a decade that a protein associated with the HIV virus is good at crossing cell membranes, but they didn't know how it worked.

18 Mar 2008