Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New centre of excellence to develop stem cell treatments for diabetes and diseases of the brain

New centre of excellence at the University of Cambridge to develop stem cell treatments for diabetes and diseases of the brain, including Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

21 Jun 2004

Australian frog could boost the prospects of maintaining human muscle strength into old age

Scientific studies of a unique Australian frog could lead to the development of new ways to improve livestock production levels and boost the prospects of maintaining human muscle strength into old age.

21 Jun 2004

Targeting a gene that protects cancer cells from the lethal effects of radiotherapy could help improve the impact of treatment

Targeting a gene that protects cancer cells from the lethal effects of radiotherapy could help improve the impact of treatment, a leading Cancer Research UK scientist will tell conference delegates in Glasgow this week.

21 Jun 2004

Cornelia de Lange syndrome gene discovered

An international team of researchers has discovered the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a disabling, multisystem genetic disease that affects an estimated one in 10,000 children.

20 Jun 2004

New gene found in genetic wasteland

In a region of DNA long considered a genetic wasteland, Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered a new class of gene.

20 Jun 2004

First license to begin research involving therapeutic cloning

A special licensing committee of the UK Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority (HFEA) met on June 16 in London to decide whether to grant a license to scientists at The Center for Life at Newcastle University.

20 Jun 2004

Drug for multiple sclerosis prevented disease development when tested on animal models

Scientists from the Neurological Sciences Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have shown that an investigative drug for multiple sclerosis and related diseases prevented disease development when tested on animal models.

20 Jun 2004

Stimulation or drugs that target the pro-opiomelanocortin system will be effective in treating diabetes or obesity

There’s more than one way to slim a cat - at least that’s the hope of University of Florida obesity researchers, who believe pets and even people may someday benefit from gene therapy research aimed at breaking through the biochemical bottleneck that makes many middle-aged mammals gain weight.

17 Jun 2004

Harmless virus known as GBV-C slows the progression of HIV

Iowa City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and University of Iowa (UI) researchers have unlocked part of the mystery of how a harmless virus known as GBV-C slows the progression of HIV and prolongs survival for many patients.

17 Jun 2004

More precise and less invasive procedure for prostate cancer detection

Work by a University of Queensland researcher will make the trip to the doctor for a prostate cancer check a lot more appealing for men.

17 Jun 2004

Xenobiotic gets patent approval for toxin detection

XDS consultant (and former XDS laboratory director) Michael Chu and President George Clark combined their research skills to develop a rapid and relatively inexpensive methodology to quantify TEQs (Toxic Equivalence -- measures of toxicity adopted by the World Health Organization) for individual toxic chemical groups.

17 Jun 2004

Computer cluster helps understand how human cells and organs work

This will ultimately lead to more effective ways of treating cardiovascular disease and cancer as well as other diseases. It will also eventually allow doctors to tailor treatment in a way specific to that patient rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

17 Jun 2004

Potential new strategy for blocking tumor growth

Targeting a master molecule that helps cancer cells survive when blood oxygen levels are low may offer a potentially powerful strategy for blocking tumor growth, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2004

Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

Statins don't always lower cholesterol

Persons with certain genetic variations who take statins to lower their cholesterol will not realize the same benefit as other individuals, according to a study in the June 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

15 Jun 2004

Nordic networks to explore Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, migraine, epilepsy, cancer and autoimmune and metabolic disorders

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, migraine, epilepsy, cancer and autoimmune and metabolic disorders – these are examples of diseases that will be explored by the three Nordic networks that have been granted financial support from the joint Nordic venture ”Nordic Centre of Excellence Programme in Molecular Medicine”.

15 Jun 2004

Geneticists determine the lack of chromosomes

A healthy person’s genome contains 46 chromosomes, but an individual cell can contain less. Contemporary methods allow to determine the value of losses rather accurately. The Tomsk researchers’ effort has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

15 Jun 2004

African-American women less likely to survive breast cancer than white women

A new study led by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to survive the disease than white women.

15 Jun 2004

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Columbia University Medical Center in New York have discovered a new vaccine approach that successfully prevents the death of brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

15 Jun 2004

Simple genetic code might work to wire up the body from head to foot

The study found that when a development gene named Hoxb1 worked in a mouse’s brain but not in the developing facial tissues, nerves extended outward from the brain but failed to reach the facial muscles, leaving the mouse unable to blink its eyes, flatten its ears or make other facial movements.

15 Jun 2004