Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Penn State establishes new $2.4-million Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge Training Program

A new $2.4-million program for graduate students seeking to contribute to breakthrough discoveries in medicine and biology has been established at Penn State University with nearly $1.4 million in funding from the National Library of Medicine of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and more than $1 million from Penn State.

28 Apr 2017

Slender faces linked to overbite and left-handedness

Individuals with a slender lower face are about 25 percent more likely to be left-handed. This unexpected finding (abstract) was identified in 13,536 individuals who participated in three national surveys conducted in the United States.

28 Apr 2017

Researchers discover new mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in fruit flies

Giacomo Cavalli's team at the Institute of Human Genetics (University of Montpellier / CNRS), in collaboration with the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, has demonstrated the existence of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance among Drosophila fruit flies.

27 Apr 2017

Study provides preliminary evidence that Parkinson's disease may start in the gut

Parkinson's disease may start in the gut and spread to the brain via the vagus nerve, according to a study published in the April 26, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The vagus nerve extends from the brainstem to the abdomen and controls unconscious body processes like heart rate and food digestion.

27 Apr 2017

Study underscores need for genetic screening to improve safety of experimental stem cell treatments

Regenerative medicine using human pluripotent stem cells to grow transplantable tissue outside the body carries the promise to treat a range of intractable disorders, such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

26 Apr 2017

New study points to cannabis as trigger for schizophrenia

Scientists believe that schizophrenia, a disorder caused by an imbalance in the brain's chemical reactions, is triggered by a genetic interaction with environmental factors. A new Tel Aviv University study published in Human Molecular Genetics now points to cannabis as a trigger for schizophrenia.

26 Apr 2017

Obesity amplifies effects of three risk alleles linked to NAFLD

An international study based at UT Southwestern Medical Center revealed a striking genetic-environmental interaction: Obesity significantly amplifies the effects of three gene variants that increase risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by different metabolic pathways.

26 Apr 2017

Cold weather increases risk of mortality in Texas, study finds

Cold weather increases the risk of mortality in Texas residents, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. The findings were recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

26 Apr 2017

Study provides new understanding of molecular mechanisms that impact intellectual disability

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that a protein helps balance nerve cell communication.

25 Apr 2017

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Like air-traffic controllers scrambling to reconnect flights when a major hub goes down, the brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself after suffering an injury.

25 Apr 2017

Scientists create new technique for studying how chlamydia interacts with immune system

Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators at the University of British Columbia have created an innovative technique for studying how chlamydia interacts with the human immune system.

25 Apr 2017

Combination of genetics and experience gives each individual a unique sense of smell, study finds

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators have shown that receptors in the noses of mice exposed to certain smells during life are different to genetically similar mice that lived without those smells.

25 Apr 2017

Genetic factors may increase person's risk for adverse effects of synthetic cannabinoids

Synthetic cannabinoid abuse is a growing problem in the United States, with new versions of the drugs coming on the market every year. New research is examining how the body processes these man-made drugs and the role that genetics might play in their metabolism.

25 Apr 2017

Eating soil could be detrimental to health of babies

Up to 80% of people in Africa, especially women, regularly eat clayey soil - this habit is known as geophagy. A previous study conducted at MedUni Vienna has already shown that it is a form of craving.

25 Apr 2017

Whole-exome sequencing may routinely miss detecting some disease-causing genes, say researchers

Whole-exome DNA sequencing -- a technology that saves time and money by sequencing only protein-coding regions and not the entire genome -- may routinely miss detecting some genetic variations associated with disease, according to Penn State researchers who have developed new ways to identify such omissions.

24 Apr 2017

$Women at highest genetic risk for fracture benefit most from hormone therapy, study finds$

Women at highest genetic risk for fracture benefit most from hormone therapy, study finds

Women at the highest genetic risk for fracture benefit the most from hormone therapy, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the University at Buffalo.

24 Apr 2017

Study shows how brain genes influence food intake and dietary preferences

Have you ever wondered why you keep eating certain foods, even if you know they are not good for you? Gene variants that affect the way our brain works may be the reason, according to a new study. The new research could lead to new strategies to empower people to enjoy and stick to their optimal diets.

24 Apr 2017

Positive CHMP opinion recognizes efficacy of Biogen’s SPINRAZA for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

Biogen today announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for SPINRAZA to treat patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

21 Apr 2017

Researchers use gene-editing tool to restore visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, with colleagues in China, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual function in two mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.

21 Apr 2017

Alcoholism may have different effects on the brain’s reward system of women than in men

A collaborative study between researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University School of Medicine has found evidence implying that alcoholism may have different effects on the reward system in the brains of women than it does in men.

21 Apr 2017

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Penn State establishes new $2.4-million Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge Training Program

Slender faces linked to overbite and left-handedness

Researchers discover new mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in fruit flies

Study provides preliminary evidence that Parkinson's disease may start in the gut

Study underscores need for genetic screening to improve safety of experimental stem cell treatments

New study points to cannabis as trigger for schizophrenia

Obesity amplifies effects of three risk alleles linked to NAFLD

Cold weather increases risk of mortality in Texas, study finds

Study provides new understanding of molecular mechanisms that impact intellectual disability

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Scientists create new technique for studying how chlamydia interacts with immune system

Combination of genetics and experience gives each individual a unique sense of smell, study finds

Genetic factors may increase person's risk for adverse effects of synthetic cannabinoids

Eating soil could be detrimental to health of babies

Whole-exome sequencing may routinely miss detecting some disease-causing genes, say researchers

Women at highest genetic risk for fracture benefit most from hormone therapy, study finds

Study shows how brain genes influence food intake and dietary preferences

Positive CHMP opinion recognizes efficacy of Biogen’s SPINRAZA for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

Researchers use gene-editing tool to restore visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Alcoholism may have different effects on the brain’s reward system of women than in men

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