Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Boozing leads to small brains or people with small brains drink more?

Research has shown that excessive alcohol use is associated with reduction in brain volume. Now a new study has shown that brain volume is associated genetically with a predisposition to excessive alcohol consumption.

29 Oct 2019

Researchers discover cause of new inherited form of pancreatitis

What began as a 51-year-old mystery comes down to a single gene, as researchers from the University of Chicago and University of California, San Francisco discovered the cause of a new inherited form of pancreatitis.

29 Oct 2019

Synthetic scaffolds could detect multiple types of cancers

Invasive procedures to biopsy tissue from cancer-tainted organs could be replaced by simply taking samples from a tiny "decoy" implanted just beneath the skin, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated in mice.

29 Oct 2019

Polygenic scoring system shows promise to predict depression risk and resilience under stress

Depression doesn't come from one gene, one life event, or one personality trait. That's what makes it so hard to predict, prevent or treat effectively.

29 Oct 2019

Researchers make progress toward gene-based strategies to treat inherited neurometabolic diseases

Researchers are making great strides toward developing gene-based strategies to treat a variety of inherited neurometabolic diseases characterized by severe neurological involvement.

29 Oct 2019

New study implicates role of HDAC9 gene in calcification of the human aorta

Arterial wall calcification is the buildup of calcium in the blood vessel walls, which can often be a predictor of serious cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. Scientists have long pointed to family history as one possible cause for this hardening of the arteries, but a new study published in Nature Genetics implicates a specific gene - HDAC9 - in the calcification of the human aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body.

29 Oct 2019

New method can indicate prognosis of aggressive breast cancer

Aggressive forms of breast cancer often manipulate the immune response in their favor. This manipulation is revealed in humans by the same immunological "signature" as in mice. This is shown by a study carried out by scientists from the University of Bonn together with Dutch colleagues.

29 Oct 2019

NUS researchers use glowing nanoparticles to control biological processes

The biological technique of 'optogenetics' uses light to control cells within living tissues that have been genetically modified to be light-sensitive.

29 Oct 2019

New research could help better understand progress of breast cancer

New research at Case Western Reserve University could help better determine which patients diagnosed with the pre-malignant breast cancer commonly as stage 0 are likely to progress to invasive breast cancer and therefore might benefit from additional therapy over and above surgery alone.

29 Oct 2019

Wisconsin study: 3 in 5 people with Down syndrome diagnosed with dementia by age 55

Not so many years ago, people with Down syndrome rarely survived to middle age. Many died young due to heart problems associated with the congenital condition.

29 Oct 2019

UVA scientists awarded $2.7 million NIH grant to study genetic variation linked with heart disease

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $2.7 million grant to scientists from the University of Virginia to study a genetic variation associated with coronary heart disease.

29 Oct 2019

Pro-inflammatory protein could play key role in protecting against herpes virus

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix have discovered a function in a pro-inflammatory protein that could play an important part in improving current and future therapeutics for the herpes virus.

29 Oct 2019

Discovery of causal link between hydrogen sulfide and schizophrenia

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have found certain chemical markers that are associated with schizophrenia. They worked with lab mice with models of schizophrenia as well as post mortem brain specimens of persons with schizophrenia. The study titled, “Excess hydrogen sulfide and polysulfides production underlies a schizophrenia pathophysiology,” was published in the latest issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

28 Oct 2019

MPST enzyme levels in hair could be a good biomarker for schizophrenia

Working with model mice, post-mortem human brains, and people with schizophrenia, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a subtype of schizophrenia is related to abnormally high levels hydrogen sulfide in the brain.

28 Oct 2019

New cystic fibrosis drug now available through NHS England

On October 24, 2019, cystic fibrosis (CF) patients rejoiced at the news that three years of talks between the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals had succeeded in a compromise which could see about 5,000 patients gaining access to a potentially life-saving drug called Orkambi within the next month. Orkambi is perceived to be a ‘wonder drug’ because it helps these patients to breathe easier and better, and can be started as young as two years.

28 Oct 2019

How the SETD1A gene produces schizophrenia in mice

A new study published in the journal Neuron on October 9, 2019 reports that scientists have unlocked part of the secrets of the SETD1A gene – how mutations in the gene put the individual at risk for the condition.

26 Oct 2019

Gut microbiome altered by burn injury and influenced by fluid resuscitation, study shows

Major burns lead to changes in the gastrointestinal tract bacteria, and these alterations of the gut microbiome are influenced by resuscitation with intravenous (IV) fluids, according to animal studies reported in SHOCK: Injury, Inflammation, and Sepsis: Laboratory and Clinical Approaches, Official Journal of theShockSociety. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

25 Oct 2019