Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Salk researchers solve genetic 'whodunnit' for cancer gene

Long thought to suppress cancer by slowing cellular metabolism, the protein complex AMPK also seemed to help some tumors grow, confounding researchers. Now, Salk Institute researchers have solved the long-standing mystery around why AMPK can both hinder and help cancer.

8 Nov 2018

Computer games and a summer birthday linked to increased risk of myopia in childhood

According to a new study by researchers in King's School of Life Course Sciences, time spent playing computer games and being born in the summer are both linked to an increased risk of developing short or near sightedness (myopia) in childhood.

8 Nov 2018

Free resource provides correct information about corneal dystrophies

Jayne Weiss, MD, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, is the lead author of an editorial about inaccuracies in the medical literature that medical professionals rely upon to diagnose corneal dystrophies, as well as a free resource that provides correct information.

7 Nov 2018

Tracking down microRNA candidates linked to disease

What started as Ninad Oak's side project turned out into something much larger, his doctorate thesis. "The project started as my qualifying exam that I proposed at the end of my first year of graduate school," said Oak, a graduate student in molecular and human genetics in Dr. Sharon E. Plon's lab. "This was an off topic qualifying exam at the time, meaning the lab had not worked on this topic before."

7 Nov 2018

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine receives NIH grant for undergraduate cancer research

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is preparing and inspiring a new generation of cancer investigators through Cancer-focused Summer Undergraduate Research.

7 Nov 2018

U.S. Department of Defense grants 'Impact Award' to explore therapeutic options against advanced prostate cancer

The U.S. Department of Defense has granted the "Impact Award" to explore new therapeutic options against advanced prostate cancer - scientifically known as castration-resistant or hormone therapy resistant prostate cancer- to a multidisciplinary team of researchers made up of the Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Unit of the Spanish National Cancer Research Center, led by David Olmos, the Prostate Cancer Translational Research Group of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, led by Joaquín Mateo, and the Genetics and Solid Tumors Laboratory of the University of Washington, led by Colin Pritchard.

7 Nov 2018

Study identifies novel missense mutation affecting YARS causes multisystem disease

Researchers have identified a novel missense mutation in tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (YARS c.499C>A, p.Pro167Thr) that causes a severe recessive disorder in affected individuals.

7 Nov 2018

Geneticists decipher new gene responsible for rare form of hair loss

Hypotrichosis simplex leads to progressive hair loss already in childhood. A team of researchers led by human geneticists at the University Hospital of Bonn has now deciphered a new gene that is responsible for this rare form of hair loss.

6 Nov 2018

Dietary restriction could help prevent age-related decline in integrity of human gut

Flies eating a Spartan diet are protected from leaky gut and the systemic inflammation associated with it as they age. Conversely, flies on a rich Atkins-like diet are more prone to developing intestinal permeability, a condition linked to a variety of human conditions including inflammatory bowel disease.

5 Nov 2018

Genetics can be used to predict schizophrenic patient's response to antipsychotic drugs

Genetics can be used to predict a patient's response to antipsychotic drug treatment for schizophrenia, according to a recent study by investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. The findings were published online today in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

5 Nov 2018

Molecular virologist uses basic science to fight influenza

Molecular virologist Chad Petit, Ph.D., uses basic science to fight influenza -- through experiments at the atomic level.

3 Nov 2018

Research on student alcohol use can offer clues about interventions to reduce blackouts

College students who drink alcohol don't typically intend to drink to the point that they "black out," and they also don't fully grasp what specific drinking behaviors present the greatest risk of blackouts, a new series of studies finds.

2 Nov 2018

UCLA researchers investigate how a protein factor contributes to cancer cell migration

UCLA researchers have discovered a new protein factor that contributes to a fibroblast cell's ability to migrate to a wound and participate in its healing process. The study's results could help scientists prevent cancer cells from using the same mechanisms to move throughout the body and spread.

1 Nov 2018

Researchers develop new strategy in the search for psychoactive drugs

Researchers at the University of Zurich and Harvard University have developed a new strategy in the search for psychoactive drugs.

1 Nov 2018

Scientists find new protein that keeps stipules small

Francesco Vuolo and colleagues from the laboratory of Max Planck Director Miltos Tsiantis are investigating the mechanisms underlying the dazzling variation in leaf shapes one can see in nature. Recently, they have turned their efforts to investigating little understood leaf parts called stipules.

1 Nov 2018

FDA permits marketing of 23andme Personal Genome Service Pharmacogenetic Reports test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted marketing, with special controls, of the 23andme Personal Genome Service Pharmacogenetic Reports test as a direct-to-consumer test for providing information about genetic variants that may be associated with a patient's ability to metabolize some medications to help inform discussions with a health care provider.

1 Nov 2018

Cytokine levels could predict autoimmune reactions to cancer immunotherapy

The development of immunotherapy, which mobilizes the body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells, is one of the greatest advances in cancer treatment, but immunotherapy can cause harm to healthy tissue in some patients.

31 Oct 2018

FDA approves ultra-high-field 7T Terra MRI scanner for clinical use

The ultra-high-field 7T Terra magnetic resonance imaging scanner at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute of the Keck School of Medicine of USC has received FDA approval for clinical use, opening up new avenues of care for patients with Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and other diseases that affect the brain.

31 Oct 2018

Scientists pinpoint TIM-3 protein as next potential target for immunotherapy treatments

Following the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine, global attention is now more than ever turned toward the promise of immunotherapy in oncology. An international team’s work has shed new light on a molecule called TIM-3 that might play a key role in the regulation of the immune response.

31 Oct 2018

Top researchers call for unified standards in 3D genome and epigenetic data

Studying the three-dimensional structure of DNA and its dynamics is revealing a lot of information about gene expression, expanding our knowledge of how cells, tissues and organs actually work in health and disease.

30 Oct 2018

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Salk researchers solve genetic 'whodunnit' for cancer gene

Computer games and a summer birthday linked to increased risk of myopia in childhood

Free resource provides correct information about corneal dystrophies

Tracking down microRNA candidates linked to disease

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine receives NIH grant for undergraduate cancer research

U.S. Department of Defense grants 'Impact Award' to explore therapeutic options against advanced prostate cancer

Study identifies novel missense mutation affecting YARS causes multisystem disease

Geneticists decipher new gene responsible for rare form of hair loss

Dietary restriction could help prevent age-related decline in integrity of human gut

Genetics can be used to predict schizophrenic patient's response to antipsychotic drugs

Molecular virologist uses basic science to fight influenza

Research on student alcohol use can offer clues about interventions to reduce blackouts

UCLA researchers investigate how a protein factor contributes to cancer cell migration

Researchers develop new strategy in the search for psychoactive drugs

Scientists find new protein that keeps stipules small

FDA permits marketing of 23andme Personal Genome Service Pharmacogenetic Reports test

Cytokine levels could predict autoimmune reactions to cancer immunotherapy

FDA approves ultra-high-field 7T Terra MRI scanner for clinical use

Scientists pinpoint TIM-3 protein as next potential target for immunotherapy treatments

Top researchers call for unified standards in 3D genome and epigenetic data

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging