Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Breast cancer in black women may be connected to neighborhood conditions

Researchers at the University of Chicago are studying possible connections between living in disadvantaged neighborhoods and the development of early onset breast cancer in a path-breaking project led by Sarah Gehlert, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research.

18 Mar 2008

Gene network disrupted by obesity

According to new research an entire network of genes in the body is disrupted by overeating and this not only causes obesity, but also diabetes and heart disease.

17 Mar 2008

Researchers discover signaling system that halts the growth of a childhood brain cancer

A discovery by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists suggests a safer way to treat medulloblastoma, a rare but often fatal childhood brain tumor.

17 Mar 2008

Discovery of new mechanism involved in inflammatory diseases

Investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a new mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

17 Mar 2008

Role for microRNAs in limb regeneration

In the March 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Kenneth Poss (Duke University Medical Center) and colleagues reveal that microRNA depletion is a necessary step in tissue regeneration - a discovery with interesting implications for their use in regenerative medicine.

17 Mar 2008

Penn researchers identify first sex chromosome gene involved in meiosis and male infertility

A team of scientists led by University of Pennsylvania veterinary researchers have identified a gene, TEX11, located on the X chromosome, which when disrupted in mice renders the males sterile and reduces female fecundity.

17 Mar 2008

Modified virus vaccine shows promise in mouse model of breast cancer

Researchers have shown that vaccinating mice with a modified form of a virus containing proteins from breast cancer cells can kill large breast cancer tumors and tumors that have spread to the lungs.

17 Mar 2008

Investigational drug Debio-025 tested for preventing muscle fiber death in muscular dystrophy

An investigational antiviral drug currently undergoing human trials in Europe for treating Hepatitis C infections may have potential to reduce muscle cell damage in Duchenne and other forms of muscular dystrophy (MD).

17 Mar 2008

Genes that protect against atherosclerosis identified

One way of combating atherosclerosis is to reduce levels of “bad cholesterol” in the blood. Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now identified the genes that bring about this beneficial effect.

17 Mar 2008

Gene variant increases breast cancer risk

In roughly five to ten percent of breast cancer cases there is a family history of breast cancer– i.e., hereditary and, thus, genetic factors play a role here.

17 Mar 2008

deCODE obesity study sheds light on how genetic factors contribute to major public health problems

In a paper published online in the journal Nature, a team of deCODE scientists detail a major mechanism through which genetic factors contribute to major public health problems.

17 Mar 2008

Long-term muscle improvements shown in gene therapy study in mice

Injecting a gene responsible for making a specific protein into a mouse that's used as a model for muscular dystrophy can lead to long-term improvements in the animal's muscle size and strength, a new study shows.

14 Mar 2008

Damaged veins heal faster with heparin treatment, laboratory study finds

A commonly used medication that prevents blood clots from forming may also prevent existing clots from damaging delicate vein walls and may accelerate healing in a clot-damaged area of vein wall, according to new research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

14 Mar 2008

The yin and yang of genes for mood disorders

Individual genes do not cause depression, but they are thought to increase the probability of an individual having a depression in the face of other accumulating risk factors, such as other genes and environmental stressors.

13 Mar 2008

Obesity bottlenecks cellular power plant

The machinery responsible for energy production in fat cells is working poorly as a result of obesity.

13 Mar 2008

Increased level of magnetic iron oxides found in Alzheimer's disease

A team of scientists, led by Professor Jon Dobson, of Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, have found, for the first time, raised levels of magnetic iron oxides in the part of the brain affected by Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

13 Mar 2008

Good news for people with glycogen storage disease type Ia

A gene therapy treatment that restores a missing liver enzyme in test animals could provide a cure for a rare metabolic disorder in humans, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

13 Mar 2008

Genomics researchers fine-tune marker for common obesity gene

Genomics researchers, seeking to replicate another group's discovery of an important gene associated with obesity, have further refined the signal to a particular variant in DNA that may be more helpful in identifying this gene's role in obesity in various human populations worldwide.

13 Mar 2008

DNA detectives find genetic markers for lung cancers most likely to recur

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have uncovered clearly recognizable genetic alterations in tumors and tissue removed from patients with early-stage lung cancers that look like good predictors of which of these cancers are more likely to recur.

13 Mar 2008