Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

College students who misuse stimulant medications more likely to exhibit clinical psychiatric dysfunction

A new study by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators finds that college students who misuse stimulant drugs are more likely to have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder or substance-use disorder than are students not misusing stimulants.

8 Aug 2016

New compound could kill parasites of three neglected diseases

Scientists have identified a compound that can kill the parasites responsible for three neglected diseases: Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness.

8 Aug 2016

New findings on microcephaly may offer clues to explore how Zika virus disrupts brain development

Long before Zika virus made it a household word, the birth defect called microcephaly puzzled scientists and doctors -- even as it changed the lives of the babies born with it during the pre-Zika era.

8 Aug 2016

Scientists unlock genetic code controlling limb regeneration

Many lower organisms retain the miraculous ability to regenerate form and function of almost any tissue after injury. Humans share many of our genes with these organisms, but our capacity for regeneration is limited.

5 Aug 2016

Scientists make major advance in understanding how stem cells become specialized

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have made a major advance in understanding how the cells of an organism, which all contain the same genetic information, come to be so diverse.

5 Aug 2016

Alcohol-craving rats offer insights into genetic underpinnings of alcoholism

Alcohol-craving rats have provided researchers with a detailed look into the complicated genetic underpinnings of alcoholism.

5 Aug 2016

New study analyzes evolution of epigenetic mechanisms from bacteria to humans

After the emergence of single-celled organisms some billions of years ago, nature started experimenting with how to diversify gene function without changing the sequence of the DNA, such that the blue print remains conserved, but allows gene products to have different functions.

4 Aug 2016

Amish farm environment protects children from asthma by shaping immune system

By probing the differences between two farming communities—the Amish of Indiana and the Hutterites of South Dakota—an interdisciplinary team of researchers found that specific aspects of the Amish environment are associated with changes to immune cells that appear to protect children from developing asthma.

4 Aug 2016

New Valley Fever testing technology developed by TGen and NAU receives U.S. patent

Valley Fever, a potentially deadly dust-borne fungal disease, should be easier to diagnose and treat thanks to a testing technology developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Northern Arizona University, and now protected by a patent issued today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

3 Aug 2016

E. coli bacteria capable of beneficial mutations at more variable rates than previously thought

Scientists studying how microbes evolve have long assumed that nearly all new genetic mutations get passed down at a predictable pace and usually without either helping or hurting the microbe in adapting to its environment.

2 Aug 2016

Lower weight late in life linked to greater risk for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital have found an association between lower weight and more extensive deposits of the Alzheimer's-associated protein beta-amyloid in the brains of cognitively normal older individuals.

2 Aug 2016

Researchers identify crucial innate immunity role for gene linked to ARC syndrome in children

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found an important innate immunity role for a gene linked to a rare, fatal syndrome in children. Their study has implications for a much more common disease: tuberculosis.

2 Aug 2016

School-based program helps parents and children from low-income families eat healthier food

Brighter Bites, a school-based program that combines the distribution of donated produce with nutritional education and a fun food experience for low-income families in food desert areas, was successful in improving the intake of fruits and vegetables in first-grade children and their parents, according to a new study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

2 Aug 2016

Researchers use machine-learning approach to predict autism risk genes

Princeton University and Simons Foundation researchers have developed a machine-learning approach that for the first time analyzes the entire human genome to predict which genes may cause autism spectrum disorder, raising the number of genes that could be linked to the disorder from 65 to 2,500.

1 Aug 2016

Study finds mutations in three new genes can cause rare syndromic CHD disorders

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have been involved in one of the largest international studies of congenital heart disease, which has discovered gene mutations linked to three new rare congenital heart disorders (CHD).

1 Aug 2016

Malfunctioning of molecular signaling system suppresses mature blood cells battling against sepsis

When the body encounters an infection, a molecular signaling system ramps up the body's infection-fighting system to produce more white blood cells to attack invading bacteria.

30 Jul 2016

New ACMG guidelines recommend NIPT as optimal initial screening test for all pregnant women

Natera, Inc., a leader in non-invasive genetic testing and the analysis of circulating cell-free DNA, applauds the new guidelines just released by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, supporting the use of non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT/NIPS) as an optimal, initial option to screen for specific genetic conditions, such as Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) during pregnancy.

From Natera 30 Jul 2016

University of Utah investigators receive $25 million grant to improve clinical research

Investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine's Data Coordinating Center have been awarded a seven-year, $25 million grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, to form one of three Trial Innovation Centers to improve clinical research.

29 Jul 2016

Researchers using internet to find study participants may hamper recruitment of minority, poor people

Recruiting minorities and poor people to participate in medical research always has been challenging, and that may not change as researchers turn to the internet to find study participants and engage with them online, new research suggests.

29 Jul 2016

Study verifies human gene therapy in MPS I animal model

Researchers are closer to finding a better way to treat children with a rare metabolic disorder called MPS I. It is caused by a deficiency of the key enzyme IDUA needed to break down complex sugars in cells.

29 Jul 2016

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

College students who misuse stimulant medications more likely to exhibit clinical psychiatric dysfunction

New compound could kill parasites of three neglected diseases

New findings on microcephaly may offer clues to explore how Zika virus disrupts brain development

Scientists unlock genetic code controlling limb regeneration

Scientists make major advance in understanding how stem cells become specialized

Alcohol-craving rats offer insights into genetic underpinnings of alcoholism

New study analyzes evolution of epigenetic mechanisms from bacteria to humans

Amish farm environment protects children from asthma by shaping immune system

New Valley Fever testing technology developed by TGen and NAU receives U.S. patent

E. coli bacteria capable of beneficial mutations at more variable rates than previously thought

Lower weight late in life linked to greater risk for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers identify crucial innate immunity role for gene linked to ARC syndrome in children

School-based program helps parents and children from low-income families eat healthier food

Researchers use machine-learning approach to predict autism risk genes

Study finds mutations in three new genes can cause rare syndromic CHD disorders

Malfunctioning of molecular signaling system suppresses mature blood cells battling against sepsis

New ACMG guidelines recommend NIPT as optimal initial screening test for all pregnant women

University of Utah investigators receive $25 million grant to improve clinical research

Researchers using internet to find study participants may hamper recruitment of minority, poor people

Study verifies human gene therapy in MPS I animal model

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