Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Discovery of key molecular mechanism associated with cystic fibrosis

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a key molecular mechanism that may account for the development of cystic fibrosis.

4 Mar 2008

Hypertension linked to heavy drinking

According to British researchers the relationship between heavy drinking and high blood pressure is more significant than previously thought.

4 Mar 2008

Gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for the direct detection of cancerous cells

Early detection of tumors is one of the Holy Grails of cancer research, an achievement that would greatly improve cancer therapy and prognosis. Two new reports describe different but promising approaches to solving this problem.

3 Mar 2008

New genetic risk factor for coeliac disease

Scientists who last year identified a new genetic risk factor for coeliac disease, have, following continued research, discovered an additional seven gene regions implicated in causing the condition.

3 Mar 2008

Novel mechanism found that may boost impaired function of leukemia protein

A new study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reports on a novel mechanism that can enhance the function of a protein that is frequently impaired in patients with acute forms of leukemia.

3 Mar 2008

Mouse model tightly matches pediatric tumor syndrome, will speed drug hunt

Frustrated by the slow pace of new drug development for a condition that causes pediatric brain tumors, a neurologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to try to fine-tune the animal models used to test new drugs.

3 Mar 2008

Adult stem cell changes underlie Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome associated with accelerated aging

Adult stem cells may provide an explanation for the cause of a Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare disease that causes premature aging in children, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

3 Mar 2008

New discovery on programmed cell death

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.

1 Mar 2008

HIV blocking gene found

A team of researchers at the University of Alberta, including a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, have discovered a gene that is able to block HIV, and thought to in turn prevent the onset of AIDS.

1 Mar 2008

New guidelines for von Willebrand disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, has issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

1 Mar 2008

Discovery of gene in Asian monkeys that blocks AIDS

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a gene in Asian monkeys that may have evolved as a defense against lentiviruses, the group of viruses that includes HIV.

1 Mar 2008

Discovery of key molecular mechanism that may account for the development of cystic fibrosis

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a key molecular mechanism that may account for the development of cystic fibrosis, which about 1 in 3000 children are born with in the US every year.

1 Mar 2008

Zebrafish help understand hearing loss

A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it's not the fish's ears that are of interest.

1 Mar 2008

Potential target to treat deadly bloodstream infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a possible target to treat bloodstream bacterial infections.

28 Feb 2008

New genetic link to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia emerges from an altered pattern of brain development, and researchers continue to search for the genes that cause the brain to develop along a path that ultimately leads to schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2008

Gene expression differences between Europeans and Africans affect response to drugs, infections

Differences in gene expression levels between people of European versus African ancestry can affect how each group responds to certain drugs or fights off specific infections, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Expression Research Laboratory at Affymetrix Inc. of Santa Clara, CA.

28 Feb 2008

Blocking a signaling protein kills prostate cancer cells

Researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have shown that they can effectively kill prostate cancer cells in both the laboratory and in experimental animal models by blocking a signaling protein that is key to the cancer's growth.

28 Feb 2008