Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Scientists use new technique to repair fibrotic liver cells within the organ

Advances in stem cell research have made it possible to convert patients' skin cells into heart cells, kidney cells, liver cells and more in the lab dish, giving researchers hope that one day such cells could replace organ transplantation for patients with organ failure.

3 Jun 2016

Scientists discover master dimmer switches that control activity of immune cells

A person's genetic makeup plays a role in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis that develop when the body is attacked by its own immune system. But little is known about how immune cells are pushed into overdrive.

3 Jun 2016

Immunotherapy with experimental monoclonal antibody could reduce neuroblastoma tumors

Neuroblastoma tumors shrank, some dramatically, in 80 percent of newly diagnosed, young, high-risk patients enrolled in a Phase II clinical trial that included an experimental monoclonal antibody. The immunotherapy agent was produced on the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital campus where the study is still underway.

3 Jun 2016

Fluctuations in tRNA may play vital role in cancer metastasis

At any given moment, the human genome spells out thousands of genetic words telling our cells which proteins to make. Each word is read by a molecule known as a tRNA.

3 Jun 2016

Common genetic variant in HO-1 gene linked to AKI risk following cardiac surgery

Testing for a common genetic variant may help reveal which patients face an increased risk of developing kidney damage following heart surgery. The findings, which come from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, may help investigators develop therapeutic strategies to mitigate this damage.

3 Jun 2016

CNIO researchers avoid genetic manipulation to create lab mice with extra-long telomeres

The Telomeres and Telomerase Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, in collaboration with the Centre's Transgenic Mice Core Unit, has succeeded in creating mice in the laboratory with hyper-long telomeres and with reduced molecular ageing, avoiding the use of what to date has been the standard method: genetic manipulation.

3 Jun 2016

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

The relentless desire by mice to run on cage "exercise" wheels has helped explain at a molecular level how exercise benefits a mammal's brain.

2 Jun 2016

New FDA draft guidelines place tighter restrictions on surgical practices using tissue-based regenerative therapies

The therapeutic use of human cell and tissue products is highly regulated by the U.S. government, but a specific exception allows surgeons to harvest, manipulate, and implant tissues in many commonly performed procedures.

2 Jun 2016

Retroviral replicating vector can extend lives of brain cancer patients

Doctors at UCLA, Cleveland Clinic, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and additional institutions have achieved a milestone in the development of a treatment for people with recurrent glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, by successfully demonstrating a modified virus that can extend the lives of patients with the disease.

2 Jun 2016

$Sostdc1 gene may play vital role in fracture healing process$

Sostdc1 gene may play vital role in fracture healing process

New identification of a gene involved in the fracture healing process could lead to the development of new therapeutic treatments for difficult-to-heal injuries.

2 Jun 2016

Black men with high degree of West African genetic ancestry have less central adiposity

Among black men, those with more genetic variants descended from West Africa may have a relatively lower risk of being overweight, obese and diabetic, according to a new study out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Arizona.

2 Jun 2016

New technique could help reduce chances of drug failure during later stages of clinical trials

An approach that could reduce the chances of drugs failing during the later stages of clinical trials has been demonstrated by a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

2 Jun 2016

BRCA gene mutations raise risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers

BRCA Share, a public-private BRCA gene datashare initiative, today announced the public release of a large collection of new data on genetic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

From Quest Diagnostics 2 Jun 2016

Scientists reveal how ER+ breast cancer uses cholesterol-based molecule to evade anti-hormone treatments

New research funded by Breast Cancer Now has identified how the most common breast cancers could be using a cholesterol-based molecule to evade standard anti-hormone treatments, causing patients’ disease to return.

2 Jun 2016

Study reveals gpihbp1 gene could be novel target for treatment of muscular dystrophy

The average healthy man is 54 percent muscle by mass, but people with muscular dystrophy, an incurable, genetic condition, have almost no muscle at terminal stages of the disease.

2 Jun 2016

FDA approves blood-based cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for NSCLC patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2, a blood-based companion diagnostic for the cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib). This is the first FDA-approved, blood-based genetic test that can detect epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

2 Jun 2016

Correcting defective p73 gene function may be promising therapeutic strategy for chronic lung diseases

Rising global air pollution and increasing smoking prevalence in many developing nations will likely lead to a growing incidence of lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which currently affects more than 330 million people worldwide, is the third-leading cause of death and carries an estimated healthcare cost of $2.1 trillion.

2 Jun 2016

Multiple cell and gene therapies can enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with MI

Researchers at the University of Utah compared the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord-derived sub-epithelial cells (UC-SECs), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) -- all derived from human tissue -- along with genes (S100a1 and SDF-1a) and growth factor (VEGF165) to evaluate how injected biologics might enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with myocardial infarction (MI; commonly referred to as heart attack).

2 Jun 2016

Recent research gives more insight into genetics of FASD

In 1973, a group of birth defects associated with prenatal ethanol exposure was clinically recognized as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Since then, scientists have come to realize that alcohol can cause a wide range of birth defects; these are collectively referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

1 Jun 2016

Denosumab drug that inhibits RANKL gene can prevent genetic breast cancer

An international team led by researchers at the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore discovered that genetically determined breast cancer can be largely prevented by blocking a bone gene. An already approved drug could be quickly available and would then be the first breast cancer prevention drug.

1 Jun 2016

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Scientists use new technique to repair fibrotic liver cells within the organ

Scientists discover master dimmer switches that control activity of immune cells

Immunotherapy with experimental monoclonal antibody could reduce neuroblastoma tumors

Fluctuations in tRNA may play vital role in cancer metastasis

Common genetic variant in HO-1 gene linked to AKI risk following cardiac surgery

CNIO researchers avoid genetic manipulation to create lab mice with extra-long telomeres

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

New FDA draft guidelines place tighter restrictions on surgical practices using tissue-based regenerative therapies

Retroviral replicating vector can extend lives of brain cancer patients

Sostdc1 gene may play vital role in fracture healing process

Black men with high degree of West African genetic ancestry have less central adiposity

New technique could help reduce chances of drug failure during later stages of clinical trials

BRCA gene mutations raise risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers

Scientists reveal how ER+ breast cancer uses cholesterol-based molecule to evade anti-hormone treatments

Study reveals gpihbp1 gene could be novel target for treatment of muscular dystrophy

FDA approves blood-based cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for NSCLC patients

Correcting defective p73 gene function may be promising therapeutic strategy for chronic lung diseases

Multiple cell and gene therapies can enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with MI

Recent research gives more insight into genetics of FASD

Denosumab drug that inhibits RANKL gene can prevent genetic breast cancer

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting