Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Environmental exposures and behaviors contribute to the majority of cancers, study shows

Researchers have found that extrinsic factors such as environmental exposures and behaviors contribute heavily to the development of the vast majority of cancers.

17 Dec 2015

UMMS researchers identify new life cycle stage in HIV infection

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have identified a new life cycle stage in HIV infection, thanks to a novel technique they developed to take images of intact infected cells.

17 Dec 2015

Converting white fat cells into beige fat cells could help fight obesity

The body's ability to harness heat production by converting white fat cells, which store calories, into beige fat cells, which burn energy, could help fight obesity, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

17 Dec 2015

Mitochondrial variation and viable pregnancy: an interview with Dr Elpida Fragouli

Embryos require adequate amounts of energy so that they can successfully progress through each of their cell divisions.

16 Dec 2015

Researchers find new way to prevent or reduce pathologies caused by malformed proteins

Improperly formed proteins can cause a host of serious illnesses, from muscular dystrophy to cystic fibrosis. A question of enormous import in research, beyond the challenge of determining how malformed proteins contribute to specific disease processes, is figuring out ways to prevent or reduce the pathologies they cause.

16 Dec 2015

Many gene variants affect person's response to medication

In recent decades much hope was based on the development of personalised drug treatments, in which genetic tests determine the choice and optimal dose of medication for each individual patient. However, the real breakthrough is still to be seen, and now researchers at Karolinska Institutet show in two separate scientific papers that many more gene variants affect how a person responds to medication than previously thought - and thus that today's analytical tools are too coarse.

16 Dec 2015

New study finds a reason for ethnic disparity in CF diagnoses

Cystic fibrosis (CF) occurs less frequently in nonwhites than in whites, and nonwhites tend to be diagnosed at a later age. This late diagnosis often comes only once they have become symptomatic, rather than through newborn screening programs or molecular diagnostic testing.

16 Dec 2015

Study points to future treatment for post-stroke damage

A study of rats released today shows that blocking a type of RNA produced by what used to be called "junk DNA" can prevent a significant portion of the neural destruction that follows a stroke. The research points toward a future treatment for post-stroke damage, which is often more extensive than the initial destruction that results when blood to the brain is temporarily shut off.

16 Dec 2015

Human-gut-on-a-chip model offers hope for patients suffering from IBD

It's estimated that as many as 1,000,000 Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which cause mild to severe symptoms that at best can be managed and at worst can lead to life-threatening complications.

16 Dec 2015

Molecular signatures can predict flu vaccine responses in young and old

What factors inhibit strong responses to seasonal flu vaccines in the elderly? Why do anti-flu antibodies last longer after vaccination in some people? Answers are emerging from an Emory University-based systems biology analysis of blood samples from more than 400 volunteers who received seasonal flu vaccines. Bali Pulendran, PhD, led a team of researchers who tracked patterns of gene expression, known as molecular signatures, of strong immune responses in volunteers' blood across five consecutive seasons from 2007 to 2011.

16 Dec 2015

Cancer drug may protect kidneys from damage caused by chemotherapy agent cisplatin

A class of drugs used increasingly to help fight cancer may have the additional benefit of protecting the kidneys when packaged with the powerful chemotherapy agent cisplatin.

16 Dec 2015

Discovery could pave way for targeted therapies to treat penile cancer

Researchers have identified potential genetic alterations in penile cancer that could pave the way for targeted treatments.

15 Dec 2015

VCU Massey Cancer Center scientists reveal signaling process that leads to excessive growth of cancer

The gene p53 has been described as the "guardian of the genome" due to its prominent role in preventing genetic mutations. More than half of all cancers are thought to originate from p53 mutations or loss of function, and now a recent study by VCU Massey Cancer Center scientist Richard Moran, Ph.D., explains why.

15 Dec 2015

Gene variant linked to psychotic symptoms, cognitive impairment in people with bipolar disorder identified

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, and the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University in Sweden have identified a gene variant linked to psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment in people with bipolar disorder. The study, which is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, describes a possible mechanism for how the gene variant produces clinical symptoms by affecting levels of specific proteins in the brain.

15 Dec 2015

Researchers discover novel way to enhance, restore cancer suppressor activity in B-ALL

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, working with Chinese and American colleagues, have discovered a novel way to enhance and restore cancer suppressor activity in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, resulting in better outcomes in a pre-clinical model of the disease. The finding could pave the way for a new class of drugs for this and other forms of leukemia.

15 Dec 2015

Liver protein aids in accelerating growth of insulin-producing pancreatic 'beta' cells

More than a quarter of the 30 million people with diabetes in the United States depend on daily injections of insulin to maintain their blood glucose levels in a healthy range. Scientists are investigating many techniques to help treat or potentially even cure many of these patients by increasing the body's own insulin-producing pancreatic "beta" cells.

15 Dec 2015

Experimental drugs that modify cell metabolism also halt tumor growth

Experimental drugs that alter cell metabolism also halted tumor growth and extended survival in mice with cancers linked to changes in the same gene, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center, its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.

15 Dec 2015

New study describes a way to identify complex type of mutation in cancer genomes

New research shows that current approaches to genome analysis systematically miss detecting a certain type of complex mutation in cancer patients' tumors. Further, a significant percentage of these complex mutations are found in well-known cancer genes that could be targeted by existing drugs, potentially expanding the number of cancer patients who may benefit.

15 Dec 2015

CAP2 gene responsible for cardiac conduction disease in mice

The presence or absence of the CAP2 gene causes sudden cardiac death in mice, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In particular, the absence of the gene interrupts the animal's ability to send electrical signals to the heart to tell it to contract, a condition called cardiac conduction disease.

15 Dec 2015

Study may help reduce sugar consumption, improve nutritional health of children

Everyone knows that children love sweets, but ever wonder why some kids seem to want more sugary food than others? It could be because they need more sugar to get that same sweet taste. According to new research from the Monell Center, sensitivity to sweet taste varies widely across school-aged children and is in part genetically-determined.

15 Dec 2015

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Environmental exposures and behaviors contribute to the majority of cancers, study shows

UMMS researchers identify new life cycle stage in HIV infection

Converting white fat cells into beige fat cells could help fight obesity

Mitochondrial variation and viable pregnancy: an interview with Dr Elpida Fragouli

Researchers find new way to prevent or reduce pathologies caused by malformed proteins

Many gene variants affect person's response to medication

New study finds a reason for ethnic disparity in CF diagnoses

Study points to future treatment for post-stroke damage

Human-gut-on-a-chip model offers hope for patients suffering from IBD

Molecular signatures can predict flu vaccine responses in young and old

Cancer drug may protect kidneys from damage caused by chemotherapy agent cisplatin

Discovery could pave way for targeted therapies to treat penile cancer

VCU Massey Cancer Center scientists reveal signaling process that leads to excessive growth of cancer

Gene variant linked to psychotic symptoms, cognitive impairment in people with bipolar disorder identified

Researchers discover novel way to enhance, restore cancer suppressor activity in B-ALL

Liver protein aids in accelerating growth of insulin-producing pancreatic 'beta' cells

Experimental drugs that modify cell metabolism also halt tumor growth

New study describes a way to identify complex type of mutation in cancer genomes

CAP2 gene responsible for cardiac conduction disease in mice

Study may help reduce sugar consumption, improve nutritional health of children

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