Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

ADH2 and ALDH2 are associated with esophageal cancer

As the seventh leading cause of cancer death worldwide, the occurrence of esophageal cancer varies by geographic area, ethnic group and gender.

1 Nov 2007

Scripps design new type of vaccine that could one day be used in humans to block the onset of infection

In hopes of combating the growing scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in particular drug-resistant staph bacteria, a team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute has designed a new type of vaccine that could one day be used in humans to block the onset of infection.

31 Oct 2007

How tumors respond to EGFR inhibitors

Three papers published this month in the open access general medical journal PLoS Medicine investigate how tumors respond to a an important class of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy, known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors.

31 Oct 2007

Sensitivity to smells explained

Some people are oblivious to the odor in the locker room after a game, while others wrinkle their noses at the slightest whiff of sweat.

31 Oct 2007

Lithium commonly used to treat bi-polar disorder increases lifespan in Nematode worms

Nematode worms treated with lithium show a 46 percent increase in lifespan, raising the tantalizing question of whether humans taking the mood affecting drug are also taking an anti-aging medication.

31 Oct 2007

Stanford scientists find gene that gives dogs black fur

A discovery about the genetics of coat color in dogs could help explain why humans come in different weights and vary in our abilities to cope with stress, a team led by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine reports.

30 Oct 2007

Research clarifies origin of mammalian network of lymphatic vessels

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital settled a century-old debate on the origin of the mammalian lymphatic vasculature - the network of vessels and capillaries critical to various essential housekeeping functions in the body.

29 Oct 2007

New egg-specific gene, JY-1 offers clues to infertility

A newly identified gene that controls embryo development in cows may someday offer clues into the cause of infertility in women.

29 Oct 2007

Gene screen patent brings 2007 Deal of Distinction Award to UChicagoTech

UChicagoTech, the University of Chicago's Office of Technology and Intellectual Property, has received a 2007 Deal of Distinction Award from the Licensing Executives Society of U.S.A. and Canada.

29 Oct 2007

Hunger influenced by leptin hormone

Researchers at UCLA have determined the brain circuits involved in hunger that are influenced by a hormone called leptin.

29 Oct 2007

Scientists use shared genome data to confirm SORL1 gene linked to Alzheimer's

Until recently, only one of the approximately 30,000 genes in the human genome has been linked to risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD).

29 Oct 2007

Red hair and freckles - Neanderthals in Europe

Fossil remains of Neanderthals paint an incomplete picture; they cannot tell us about their cognitive skills or give us details of what they looked like.

28 Oct 2007

Therapeutic gene expression can be sustainable for 1 year

Researchers at the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have shown for the first time that it is possible to sustain therapeutic gene expression in the central nervous system for up to a year, even in the presence of an anti-viral immune response mechanism that is normally present in humans.

28 Oct 2007

Intravenous gene therapy protects normal tissue of mice during whole-body radiation

Gene therapy administered intravenously could be an effective agent to protect vital organs and tissues from the effects of ionizing radiation in the event of large-scale exposure from a radiological or nuclear bomb, according to an animal study presented today by University of Pittsburgh researchers at the 49th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Los Angeles.

28 Oct 2007

Scientists discover new causes for neurodegeneration

Diseases that cause neurons to break-down, such as Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Mad Cow Disease), continue to be elusive to scientists and resistant to treatments.

25 Oct 2007

Emerging cancer therapies and novel targets

What are the cancer drugs of tomorrow and how will they be developed? At the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, researchers will present some answers to these and other pressing questions regarding emerging cancer therapeutics.

25 Oct 2007