Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Australian researcher heralds a golden age in biomedical science

A senior University of Sydney researcher has heralded a 'golden age' of modern biochemistry and molecular biology brought about by our complete sequencing of the human genome.

27 Nov 2007

Experimental gene therapy trial for arthritis allowed to resume

Trials in the U.S. of a controversial and experimental gene therapy have been given the green light to resume following the tragic death of a volunteer in July.

27 Nov 2007

New disease model for Huntington's

Huntington's disease is a genetic time bomb: Programmed in the genes, it appears at a predictable age in adulthood, causing a progressive decline in mental and neurological function and finally death.

27 Nov 2007

Study of Mexican Americans shows that polymorphisms of the CYP2E1 gene enhance susceptibility to alcoholism

Mexican Americans make up 66 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population and, when compared to other ethnic groups, show high rates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems.

27 Nov 2007

New genetic evidence supports theory migration from Siberia gave rise to native peoples of North and South America

Did a relatively small number of people from Siberia who trekked across a Bering Strait land bridge some 12,000 years ago give rise to the native peoples of North and South America?

27 Nov 2007

Flip-flopping gene expression can be advantageous

One gene for pea pod color generates green pods while a variant of that gene gives rise to the yellow-pod phenotype, a feature that helped Gregor Mendel, the 19th century Austrian priest and scientist, first describe genetic inheritance.

27 Nov 2007

The missing grey cells that turn people into obsessives

Scientists in the UK have discovered new evidence as to why obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) runs in families.

26 Nov 2007

Vitamin E can significantly reduce risk of heart attacks for diabetics with certain gene variant

Vitamin E supplements can significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and related deaths for diabetics who carry a particular version of a gene, according to researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Clalit Health Services in Israel.

21 Nov 2007

Scientists identify key nerve navigation pathway

Newly launched nerve cells in a growing embryo must chart their course to distant destinations, and many of the means they use to navigate have yet to surface.

21 Nov 2007

Pregnant women pass on the effects of smoking

Smoking during pregnancy has many adverse effects on fetal development.

21 Nov 2007

Human skin could be a new source of stem cells

A simple recipe—including just four ingredients—can transform adult human skin cells into cells that resemble embryonic stem cells, researchers report in an immediate early publication of the journal Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

21 Nov 2007

Whole-body positron emission tomography can reassure cervical cancer patients

Whole-body PET (positron emission tomography) scans done three months after completion of cervical cancer therapy can ensure that patients are disease-free or warn that further interventions are needed, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

21 Nov 2007

Monkeys fend off AIDS-like symptoms with enhanced HIV vaccine

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that using an immune system gene to enhance a vaccine used to study HIV in macaque monkeys provides the animals with greater protection against simian HIV (SHIV) than an unmodified vaccine.

21 Nov 2007

Discovery of 300 previously unidentified human genes

Using supercomputers to compare portions of the human genome with those of other mammals, researchers at Cornell have discovered some 300 previously unidentified human genes, and found extensions of several hundred genes already known.

21 Nov 2007

Bortezomib pushes cancer cells into overdrive, so that they self-destruct

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have discovered that bortezomib, a promising cancer drug, is able to strike a blow against melanoma tumor cells by revving up the action of a cancer-promoting gene.

21 Nov 2007

Gene-based therapy successful in Parkinson's disease

Brain scans have revealed that the first gene-based therapy for Parkinson's disease was effective.

20 Nov 2007

Cannabis compound may stop breast cancer spreading

American researchers have found that a compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body.

20 Nov 2007

Dyslexia expert Dr. Bruce McCandliss awarded Presidential honor

Dr. Bruce McCandliss, a psychologist at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has received a commendation by the President of the United States in the form of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

20 Nov 2007

Protein in mice known as RGS13 suppresses allergic reactions

A protein in mice known as RGS13 suppresses allergic reactions, including the severe, life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

20 Nov 2007