Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers trace origins of early abnormal brain overgrowth in ASD

Further underscoring the prenatal origins of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine describe for the first time how abnormal gene activity in cell cycle networks that are known to control brain cell production may underlie abnormal early brain growth in the disorder.

14 Dec 2015

Report uncovers how Down syndrome hampers nervous system that plays key role in health, longevity

While most Down syndrome research has focused on the brain, a new report by Johns Hopkins University biologists uncovers how the disorder hampers a separate part of the nervous system that plays a key role in health and longevity.

14 Dec 2015

Commercialization of health and beauty can lead to Angelina Jolie syndrome

The politicization and commercialization of health issues in today's Western culture have led to growing healthism -- a peremptory idea of self-preserving behaviour. This approach criticizes everything that fails to fit into the glamorous standards of a beautiful, young and slim body.

13 Dec 2015

Perceived stress increases likelihood of amnestic mild cognitive impairment in older people

Feeling stressed out increases the likelihood that elderly people will develop mild cognitive impairment—often a prelude to full-blown Alzheimer's disease. In a new study, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System found that highly stressed participants were more than twice as likely to become impaired than those who were not.

13 Dec 2015

ICGC article lays foundation for the coming era of cancer genomic research

An eye-opening article from the International Cancer Genome Consortium was published today in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. It lays a foundation for the coming era of research in cancer genomics.

13 Dec 2015

Four journalists from China and India win 2016 EurekAlert! Fellowships for International Science Reporters

Four early-career journalists from China and India have emerged from the fiercest competition to date to win the 2016 EurekAlert! Fellowships for International Science Reporters.

13 Dec 2015

Whitehead researchers create 3D map to predict how genes are regulated in normal cells

Whitehead Institute researchers have created a map of the DNA loops that comprise the three dimensional (3D) structure of the human genome and regulate gene expression in human embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult cells. The location of genes and regulatory elements within this chromosomal framework could help scientists better navigate their genomic research, establishing relationships between mutations and disease development.

13 Dec 2015

Rutgers scientists uncover biological pathways that provide insight into tiny cell bubbles

Rutgers scientists have uncovered biological pathways in the roundworm that provide insight into how tiny bubbles released by cells can have beneficial health effects, like promoting tissue repair, or may play a diabolical role and carry disease signals for cancer or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

12 Dec 2015

Combination treatment provides effective one-two punch against prostate cancer

Results from a long-term clinical trial conducted by cancer researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital show that combining radiation treatment with "suicide gene therapy," a technique in which prostate cancer cells are genetically modified so they signal a patient's immune system to attack them, provides a safe and effective one-two punch against the disease.

12 Dec 2015

CRISPR/Cas9 turns hPSCs into cell-based lab model system for polycystic kidney disease

CRISPR/Cas9 is hot. News of the revolutionary gene editing technique that is already shaking up bioscience has finally reached the news media and the public. Now comes a first rate example of how CRISPR is changing the pace of biomedical research by linking up with another cutting edge technology -- human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs).

12 Dec 2015

New MSK-led studies on liquid biopsy presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

Information gleaned from a liquid biopsy may help predict how individual women with advanced breast cancer will respond to certain therapies as well as reveal genetic mutations that can impact prognosis, according to two new studies led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Physician-in-Chief José Baselga and physician-scientist Sarat Chandarlapaty.

12 Dec 2015

ASU-led researchers add new worldwide resource to explore genes' deep and hidden messages

After a decade-long $3 billion international effort, scientists heralded the 2001 completion of the human genome as a moon landing achievement for biology and the key to finally solving intractable diseases like cancer.

12 Dec 2015

CRISPR-Cas9 can help knock out genes in exotic animals

The simplicity of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing will soon make studying the genes of any organism, from the simplest slime mold to the octopus, as easy as it now is to study the genes controlling development in standard lab animals such as nematodes, fruit flies, frogs and mice.

12 Dec 2015

Alecensa (alectinib) approved for treatment of people with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Alecensa (alectinib) to treat people with advanced (metastatic) ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has worsened after, or who could not tolerate treatment with, another therapy called Xalkori (crizotinib).

11 Dec 2015

Biogen begins ISIS-SOD1 Rx Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its partner, Biogen, has initiated a Phase 1/2 clinical study of ISIS-SOD1 Rx (BIIB067) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

11 Dec 2015

Sangamo presents Phase 2 data from two ongoing clinical trials of SB-728-T for treatment of HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., the leader in therapeutic genome editing, announced the presentation of Phase 2 data from two of the Company's ongoing clinical trials (SB-728-1101 Cohort 3* and SB-728-mR-1401) of SB-728-T, which is being developed for the functional control of HIV/AIDS.

11 Dec 2015

Mount Sinai scientists develop new tool to determine global role of microRNAs

As microRNA biology has been implicated in everything from the development of cancer to virus infections, a new tool developed by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai holds tremendous potential to develop new therapies that involve these small regulatory fragments of RNA.

11 Dec 2015

UC San Diego biologists develop a method to screen natural products for new antibiotics

Biologists at UC San Diego have found that a method they developed to identify and characterize new antibiotics can be employed to screen natural products quickly for compounds capable of controlling antibiotic resistant bacteria.

11 Dec 2015

Discovery may provide reliable 'clock' for forensic scientists

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that unique and changing microbial communities present during decomposition of human cadavers may provide a reliable "clock" for forensic scientists. The method could be used to estimate time of death in different seasons, as well determine the original location of moved corpses and help locate buried corpses.

11 Dec 2015

Study reveals why anti-hormone therapy tamoxifen works better in some women than others

The anti-hormone therapy tamoxifen can reduce breast cancer recurrence by about half in women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. But it works better in some women than others. Researchers are not sure why.

11 Dec 2015

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers trace origins of early abnormal brain overgrowth in ASD

Report uncovers how Down syndrome hampers nervous system that plays key role in health, longevity

Commercialization of health and beauty can lead to Angelina Jolie syndrome

Perceived stress increases likelihood of amnestic mild cognitive impairment in older people

ICGC article lays foundation for the coming era of cancer genomic research

Four journalists from China and India win 2016 EurekAlert! Fellowships for International Science Reporters

Whitehead researchers create 3D map to predict how genes are regulated in normal cells

Rutgers scientists uncover biological pathways that provide insight into tiny cell bubbles

Combination treatment provides effective one-two punch against prostate cancer

CRISPR/Cas9 turns hPSCs into cell-based lab model system for polycystic kidney disease

New MSK-led studies on liquid biopsy presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

ASU-led researchers add new worldwide resource to explore genes' deep and hidden messages

CRISPR-Cas9 can help knock out genes in exotic animals

Alecensa (alectinib) approved for treatment of people with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC

Biogen begins ISIS-SOD1 Rx Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Sangamo presents Phase 2 data from two ongoing clinical trials of SB-728-T for treatment of HIV/AIDS

Mount Sinai scientists develop new tool to determine global role of microRNAs

UC San Diego biologists develop a method to screen natural products for new antibiotics

Discovery may provide reliable 'clock' for forensic scientists

Study reveals why anti-hormone therapy tamoxifen works better in some women than others

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

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich