Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

World's deadliest malaria parasite cloaking gene revealed

The world's deadliest malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, sneaks past the human immune system with the help of a wardrobe of invisibility cloaks. If a person's immune cells learn to recognize one of the parasite's many camouflage proteins, the surviving invaders can swap disguises and slip away again to cause more damage. Malaria kills an estimated 2.7 million people annually worldwide, 75 percent of them children in Africa.

29 Dec 2005

Gene discovery may reinvigorate the body's immune system after fighting viral infections

Like boxers wearied by a 15-round bout, the immune system's CD8 T cells eventually become "exhausted" in their battle against persistent viral infection, and less effective in fighting the disease.

29 Dec 2005

Gene discovery may prevent craniofacial birth defects

Craniofacial researchers have developed an animal model that explains how skull malformations occur and how they might be prevented.

22 Dec 2005

Plant stem cell breakthrough made

Totipotent stem cells allow plants to build new organs throughout their whole life. But it has been unclear how hormones and genetic factors work together to prevent plants from having growth that is either stunted, or uncontrolled and tumor-like. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology have now uncovered a feedback mechanism, involving a growth-enhancing hormone and a regulatory protein, which controls the number of stem cells the plant produces.

22 Dec 2005

Chromosome link found between alcohol addiction and smoking

Scientists have found in a study of tobacco users that their drinking behavior is linked to some of the same chromosome regions associated with alcohol addiction.

22 Dec 2005

Ultra-light weight wheelchair manufacturer advances its international presence

Colours N Motion, a leading US manufacturer of active, ultra-light wheelchairs and Med Services Europe announced its progress one year after creating a strategic initiative to develop Colours presence in Europe.

22 Dec 2005

Genome discovery may prevent leukaemia

An international consortium has cracked the gene code behind a key family of fungi, which includes both the leading cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients and an essential ingredient of soy sauce.

From The University of Manchester 22 Dec 2005

Aquaporin related to obesity

Dr. Gema Fruhbeck, director of the Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of the University of Navarra, has published a commentary in the latest issue of Nature. The article presents aquaporin as a new modulator of the biology of the adipocyte.

21 Dec 2005

Skin colour controlled by key gene

It seems that the genes of Zebrafish have much in common with humans' and scientists believe that studying the fish may help solve the mystery of human skin colour.

19 Dec 2005

Common gene variation lessens Tamoxifen’s benefit

Researchers have discovered that one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for breast cancer, tamoxifen, may not be as effective for women who inherit a common genetic variation.

19 Dec 2005

Groundbreaking research into some of the most deadly antibiotic-resistant diseases

Pioneering research by a North East of England scientist could lead to a cure for some of the most deadly antibiotic-resistant diseases.

15 Dec 2005

The role of genes in the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

An international consortium of epidemilogists - including Dr. Alexandra Nieters and Professor Nikolaus Becker of the Clinical Epidemiology Division of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) - has conducted the first ever investigation of genetic factors in the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in a study called InterLymph.

15 Dec 2005

65% of ovarian cancer cells sideline body's defences

Ovarian cancer tumour cells use two separate mechanisms to evade the body’s defensive reaction - and in so doing also elude a newly discovered counteraction from the surrounding tissue.

15 Dec 2005

Gene therapy tackles hereditary spastic paraplegia

Elena Rugarli and colleagues from the National Neurological Institute in Milan have used gene therapy to save sensory and skeletal muscle nerve fibers from degeneration in mice with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP).

15 Dec 2005

Kids with specific gene variant more at risk from passive smoking

When U.S. children who possess a variant gene are exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes, they are at a substantially greater risk for developing respiratory illnesses that lead to school absences.

15 Dec 2005

Stem cells provide new way to sneak drugs into brain

One of the great challenges for treating Parkinson's diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders is getting medicine to the right place in the brain.

15 Dec 2005

DNA strands for biologically based electronics and medical devices

Ohio State University researchers have invented a process for uncoiling long strands of DNA and forming them into precise patterns.

15 Dec 2005

Important skin color gene identified

With help from a common aquarium pet and a recently released online database of human genetic variation, a collaborative team of Penn State researchers has found what could be the most important skin color gene identified to date.

15 Dec 2005

New cell findings have implications for cancer, immune disorders

It all started 5 years ago when a University of Calgary neuroscientist sent blood from a patient with a neurological disorder to the laboratory of Dr. Marvin Fritzler, professor of medicine / biochemistry & molecular biology at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine.

15 Dec 2005

Protein induces dental pulp stem cells into dentin-forming odontoblasts

When dentists examine patients with a damaged tooth that has become infected and abscessed, or filled with tissue-eroding fluid, they typically have two options: Root canal or extraction.

15 Dec 2005