Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Genetic flaw that may put some people at far greater risk of heart attacks

One of the significant players in this event is the molecule cytokine lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA), which helps to regulate inflammation, a result of the emergency call upon the body's immune system.

6 May 2004

Protein in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that a protein they discovered three years ago in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent.

6 May 2004

Organic superglues, disease treatments and better food flavourings

Organic superglues, disease treatments and better food flavourings: these are some of the projects where synthetic organic chemist Carol Taylor employs her skills.

5 May 2004

New screening helps to determine risk for having a baby with Down syndrome

Obstetricians at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, are offering a new, quicker, option for pregnant women who choose to undergo first trimester screening. The screening helps to determine whether the woman is at increased risk for having a baby with Down syndrome.

5 May 2004

World's first gene therapy trial aimed at preventing cancer

The concept seems straightforward. If, at its heart, cancer is a disease of genes, then giving patients new genes should disarm cancer. Such treatment would replace missing or faulty genes that keep cell growth in check, or would flush the body with "super genes" that could attack and destroy cancer.

5 May 2004

Gene therapy helps alcoholic rats

As a follow up to previous work showing that gene therapy can reduce drinking in rats trained to prefer alcohol, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have used the same technique to cut drinking in rats with a genetic predisposition for heavy alcohol consumption.

5 May 2004

New Canadian Fat Lab

As obesity is fast overtaking tobacco as the leading risk factor for heart disease, a new laboratory for studying the biology of fat cells (adipocytes) is opening its doors at the Henderson Research Centre.

5 May 2004

Embryo testing could produce babies who might aid sick siblings

Parents with a child requiring stem cell transplantation can have genetic testing done on embryos prior to implantation to determine if the tissue type matches and the ensuing offspring could potentially serve as a donor to the affected child, according to a study in the May 5 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

5 May 2004

Radiologists use CT-Scans to inject gene therapy into tumors

Using CT-scan images to steer gene-therapy injections directly into the tumor offers a safe delivery method for treating patients with metastatic kidney cancer, report UCLA radiologists in the May issue of Radiology. Their findings could enhance the treatment of the disease, which resists traditional intravenous chemotherapy in 85 percent of cases.

4 May 2004

Researchers develop low-carb corn with enhanced protein and oil

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside reported the development of technology that doubles the protein and oil content of corn while reducing its carbohydrate content, a boost for growers to feed both people and livestock.

4 May 2004

New hope for advances in treatment methods for AIDS, Alzheimer's and age-related blindness

Pharmaceutical science leaders from the FDA, research institutions and top pharmaceutical companies will gather at the 2004 AAPS National Biotechnology Conference, AAPS' spring annual meeting.

4 May 2004

Computers to combat disease

A new initiative harnesses the USA's computing skill to enhance our ability to respond to disease epidemics and bioterrorism.

4 May 2004

Genetics centre to train NHS staff

A new centre will help to make sure that patients benefit from the latest developments in genetics by keeping NHS staff up-to-date.

4 May 2004

Protein in human milk reduces risk of obesity

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have conducted the first study to detect the presence of a protein in human milk that may explain the association between breastfeeding and reduced risk of obesity later in life.

3 May 2004

QIAGEN launches human siRNA library sets

Prime Standard QIA a leading supplier of products and technologies for nucleic acid separation, purification and handling today announced that it has launched a series of off-the-shelf human library siRNA sets, covering a broad gene family selection including kinases, GPCRs, apoptosis related genes, and oncogenes, to name a few.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 3 May 2004

Wyeth gets FDA approval for a novel protein device that enhances bone healing

Wyeth have announced that the FDA has approved rhBMP-2/ACS (recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2/Absorbable Collagen Sponge), a novel protein device that enhances bone healing, for use in the treatment of acute, open tibia shaft fractures in adults.

3 May 2004

New technique to deliver gene therapy to soft-tissue tumors

Using new research and technology that shows bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) will engraft at the site of a tumor and contribute to the growth of stromal fibroblasts (the healthy tissue surrounding a tumor)

2 May 2004

Once expected to die in early childhood, children born with HIV are now surviving into their teens

Once expected to die in early childhood, children born with HIV are now surviving into their teens and early adulthood thanks to research advances over the past decade. However, it's also likely these children will develop drug resistance due to sequential exposure to HIV treatments, including antiretroviral (ARV) therapies.

2 May 2004

Scientists find genetic link between prostate cancer and hereditary form of breast and ovarian cancer

A new study shows that the risk for prostate cancer is significantly elevated in men who are part of families with a hereditary form of breast and ovarian cancer. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have determined that men in families carrying BRCA genetic mutations have a three- to five-fold increased risk of prostate cancer.

1 May 2004

New research could reduce risk of strokes in younger people

The study published in this month's edition of the international journal Stroke is the first to provide evidence that blood vessels elsewhere in the body, apart from the brain, in CADASIL sufferers are abnormal in over-constricting in response to the hormone Angiotensin II.

1 May 2004