Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to specifically modify gene expression in diseased upper motor neurons, brain cells that break down in ALS.

1 Feb 2016

Rockland announces availability of new human melanoma cell lines

Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. announces the availability of a new collection of human melanoma cell lines that have been developed and characterized over several decades in the laboratory of Meenhard Herlyn, D.V.M., D.Sc., Caspar Wistar Professor in Melanoma Research, Director of the Melanoma Research Center, and professor in the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia.

1 Feb 2016

Rochester scientists identify stem cells capable of skull formation, craniofacial bone repair in mice

A team of Rochester scientists has, for the first time, identified and isolated a stem cell population capable of skull formation and craniofacial bone repair in mice--achieving an important step toward using stem cells for bone reconstruction of the face and head in the future, according to a new paper in Nature Communications.

1 Feb 2016

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

RNA is becoming an interesting drug target as it takes possible intervention back one step to the synthesis of a target protein, instead of trying to block or inhibit a process.

1 Feb 2016

New technology could help identify, characterize biologically active molecules produced by living cells

Gene sequencing company Illumina recently made big waves by announcing a new spinoff, Grail, dedicated to building a test for cancer by sequencing tumor DNA fragments found in blood. The company also reported plans for a separate project to identify single cells and tag them for later analysis.

1 Feb 2016

Researchers link symptoms of schizophrenia with the brain's anatomical characteristics

An international team, made up of researchers from the University of Granada, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of South Florida, has linked the symptoms of schizophrenia with the anatomical characteristics of the brain, by employing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

1 Feb 2016

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mysterious and devastating disorder that afflicts one percent of the adult population worldwide. Its symptoms — hallucinations, emotional withdrawal, and cognitive impairment — are chronic and typically emerge just as individuals are entering adulthood. Today's medications treat just one of these symptoms (psychosis); treatments for the underlying disease and its many other symptoms have been hard to develop, because no one really understands what causes the disorder.

31 Jan 2016

Study provides vital information about mechanisms governing DNA repair

DNA damage can lead to gene inactivation or deregulation and cause various diseases such as cancer; however, many DNA repair mechanisms allow cells to survive against such damage. A study lead by Antoine Simoneau of the laboratory of Dr. Hugo Wurtele, a researcher in immunology-oncology at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (CIUSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal) and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, and recently published in the prestigious journal Nucleic Acids Research, provides valuable information about certain mechanisms governing DNA repair.

31 Jan 2016

FDA-approved blood pressure drug reduces cell damage linked to Alzheimer's disease

In laboratory neuronal cultures, an FDA-approved drug used to treat high blood pressure reduced cell damage often linked to Alzheimer's disease, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health.

30 Jan 2016

Certain viral infections during pregnancy could cause behavioral changes in offspring

A study published in the journal Science found that activation in pregnant mice of a particular immune response, similar to what may occur with certain viral infections during pregnancy, alters the brain structure of the mouse offspring and causes behavioral changes, reminiscent of those observed in humans with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

30 Jan 2016

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

A pair of studies by a team of scientists has shed new light on the nature of a particular type of DNA sequences—tandem DNA repeat arrays—that play important roles in transcription control, genome organization, and development.

29 Jan 2016

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas—the most common malignant brain tumor—explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

29 Jan 2016

Eisai's Halaven receives FDA approval for treatment of patients with metastatic liposarcoma

Eisai Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) Injection (0.5 mg per mL) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic liposarcoma who have received a prior anthracycline-containing regimen.

29 Jan 2016

Access for new melanoma treatment remains uncertain for patients despite UK launch

Novartis announced today that Tafinlar (dabrafenib) + Mekinist (trametinib), the first oral combination therapy to be licensed for advanced melanoma, is now available in the UK for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma with a BRAF V600 mutation.

29 Jan 2016

New treatment could stop progression of ALS

Researchers at Oregon State University announced today that they have essentially stopped the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, for nearly two years in one type of mouse model used to study the disease - allowing the mice to approach their normal lifespan.

29 Jan 2016

New NYUCD study explores how gene expression initiated in notochord

A new study by basic science researchers in the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology at New York University College of Dentistry sought to understand how gene expression is initiated in the notochord, the evolutionary and developmental precursor of the backbone.

29 Jan 2016

CNIO team uses network theory to build and study first epigenetic communication network

One of the big questions for which there is still no clear answer in biology is how, based on the four universal letters that make up DNA, it is possible to generate such different organisms as a fly or a human, or the different organs and tissues they comprise. In recent years, researchers have discovered that the system is much more complicated than was originally thought.

29 Jan 2016

VARI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team supports new clinical trial that targets metastatic colorectal cancer

The first clinical trial to move forward as part of the Van Andel Research Institute-Stand Up To Cancer (VARI-SU2C) Epigenetics Dream Team will target metastatic colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women combined in the U.S.

29 Jan 2016

Mutation or amplification of HER2 gene may lead to lung cancer

A joint study by University of Colorado Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows two distinct causes of HER2 activation in lung cancer: mutation of the gene and amplification of the gene.

29 Jan 2016

Scientists discover epigenetic switch linked to obesity

It is well known that a predisposition to adiposity lies in our genes. A new study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg now shows that it is also crucial how these genes are regulated. The scientists led by Andrew Pospisilik discovered a novel regulatory, epigenetic switch, which causes individuals with identical genetic material, such as monozygotic twins, to either be lean or obese.

29 Jan 2016

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Rockland announces availability of new human melanoma cell lines

Rochester scientists identify stem cells capable of skull formation, craniofacial bone repair in mice

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

New technology could help identify, characterize biologically active molecules produced by living cells

Researchers link symptoms of schizophrenia with the brain's anatomical characteristics

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

Study provides vital information about mechanisms governing DNA repair

FDA-approved blood pressure drug reduces cell damage linked to Alzheimer's disease

Certain viral infections during pregnancy could cause behavioral changes in offspring

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

Eisai's Halaven receives FDA approval for treatment of patients with metastatic liposarcoma

Access for new melanoma treatment remains uncertain for patients despite UK launch

New treatment could stop progression of ALS

New NYUCD study explores how gene expression initiated in notochord

CNIO team uses network theory to build and study first epigenetic communication network

VARI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team supports new clinical trial that targets metastatic colorectal cancer

Mutation or amplification of HER2 gene may lead to lung cancer

Scientists discover epigenetic switch linked to obesity

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