Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Maternal immune dysfunction linked to risk of autism with intellectual disability in children

Pregnant women with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, proteins that control communication between cells of the immune system, may be at significantly greater risk of having a child with autism combined with intellectual disability, researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found.

8 Jun 2016

Scientists discover unexpected functions of snoRNAs that explains cause of some diseases

Scientists have discovered unexpected functions of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that explain the cause of some diseases.

7 Jun 2016

Personalized therapy shows improved response in cancer patients

In a meta-analysis of hundreds of clinical trials involving thousands of patients, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that therapeutic approaches using precision medicine, which emphasizes the use of individual genetics to refine cancer treatment, showed improved response and longer periods of disease remission, even in phase I trials.

7 Jun 2016

Study may help identify genetic basis of why some people's brains age better than others

More than one thousand people have had their entire genetic make-up decoded as part of a long-term study to gain insight into why some people's brains age better than others.

7 Jun 2016

Unlocking the first gene to cause otosclerosis: an interview with Dr Ralph Holme

Otosclerosis is a common cause of hearing loss, particularly amongst young adults. It normally starts in their 20s or 30s and it affects about 1 in 200 hundred people. In the UK, about 300,000 people are affected by the condition.

7 Jun 2016

Researchers find increased cancer incidence among patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders

Primary immunodeficiency disorders are a group of more than 300 single gene defects that affect the role of the immune system and prevent it from functioning properly. When Roswell Park Cancer Institute researchers evaluated the overall and site-specific incidence of cancer among patients registered in the United States Immune Deficiency Network, they found increased cancer incidence rates among patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases — and, in particular, a significant increase in lymphoma cases.

7 Jun 2016

Genes of healthy leanness could lead to new approach to treating obesity-related diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes could be helped by the discovery of a gene linked to leanness.

7 Jun 2016

Northwestern Medicine scientists link TMEM230 gene mutations to Parkinson's disease development

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new cause of Parkinson's disease -- mutations in a gene called TMEM230. This appears to be the third gene definitively linked to confirmed cases of the common movement disorder.

7 Jun 2016

Scientists use X-rays to study how eculizumab prevents immune system from damaging kidney tissue

In collaboration with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., scientists from Aarhus University have used X-rays to understand how the therapeutic antibody eculizumab prevents our immune system from destroying red blood cells and damaging kidney tissue.

6 Jun 2016

Scientists find tiny organisms in upper female reproductive tract once thought to be sterile

They're inside our gut, on the skin, and in the mouth. Thousands of different types of micro-organisms live in and on the body, playing helpful roles in digestion or in aiding the body's natural defense system.

6 Jun 2016

Delivering genetic test results over the phone may help ease cost, burden for at-risk cancer patients

Delivering genetic test results to patients at risk for cancer-causing genetic mutations over the phone helps to ease cost and transportation burdens and, compared to receiving results in person, does not cause patients additional stress, according to a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania which will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

6 Jun 2016

Rare DNA alteration may increase rsk of multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health have proven that multiple sclerosis (MS) can be caused by a single genetic mutation - a rare alteration in DNA that makes it very likely a person will develop the more devastating form of the neurological disease.

6 Jun 2016

Experts highlight need for change in neuroscience training

Call them the Brain Generation -- the tens of thousands of college and graduate students working toward degrees in neuroscience, and the high school students who want to join them someday.

6 Jun 2016

Gene alterations in WNT pathway may increase CRC risk in younger patients

While increased screening continues to drive down overall colorectal cancer rates, the rate of colorectal cancer in patients under age 50 is increasing, and the disease is commonly more aggressive in these young patients.

6 Jun 2016

New research reveals advances that could change gynecologic cancer standard-of-care treatments

Advances that could change gynecologic cancer standard-of-care treatments are the centerpiece of key studies being presented by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

6 Jun 2016

New treatment shows promise against hard-to-treat eye cancer

Eye cancer took the life of author and neurologist Oliver Sacks last year, bringing attention to the rare and deadly disease. Scientists have tried to develop precision treatments against cancers like this one, but the mutations that cause them have proven difficult to block with drugs.

3 Jun 2016

Clinical study finds two topical skin creams as effective noninvasive treatments for low-risk superficial BCC

Basal cell carcinoma is one of the most common cancers and its incidence is increasing worldwide, putting a significant burden on health services. Topical treatments are available for superficial basal cell carcinoma (BCC) but there has a lack of long-term follow-up data to guide treatment decisions.

3 Jun 2016

Overweight adolescents can increase physical activity by using their built environment

A program encouraging overweight or obese adolescents to increase their physical activity through use of their everyday environment, rather than organized classes or sports programs, produced significant increases in participants' daily physical activity that were sustained for at least three to four months.

3 Jun 2016

HLA genetic risk burden extends to MS outcomes

Human leukocyte antigen alleles not only increase susceptibility to multiple sclerosis, but also influence the course of the disease, suggests research.

3 Jun 2016

New mouse model allows researchers to evaluate CD40-antibody drugs effectively

Cancer immunotherapies--drugs that work by making a patient's immune system better at spotting and destroying tumor cells--are increasingly generating headlines. A number of these drugs are now being used for the treatment of melanoma, lung, and kidney cancers, and are showing promise in clinical trials with other diseases as well.

3 Jun 2016

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Maternal immune dysfunction linked to risk of autism with intellectual disability in children

Scientists discover unexpected functions of snoRNAs that explains cause of some diseases

Personalized therapy shows improved response in cancer patients

Study may help identify genetic basis of why some people's brains age better than others

Unlocking the first gene to cause otosclerosis: an interview with Dr Ralph Holme

Researchers find increased cancer incidence among patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders

Genes of healthy leanness could lead to new approach to treating obesity-related diabetes

Northwestern Medicine scientists link TMEM230 gene mutations to Parkinson's disease development

Scientists use X-rays to study how eculizumab prevents immune system from damaging kidney tissue

Scientists find tiny organisms in upper female reproductive tract once thought to be sterile

Delivering genetic test results over the phone may help ease cost, burden for at-risk cancer patients

Rare DNA alteration may increase rsk of multiple sclerosis

Experts highlight need for change in neuroscience training

Gene alterations in WNT pathway may increase CRC risk in younger patients

New research reveals advances that could change gynecologic cancer standard-of-care treatments

New treatment shows promise against hard-to-treat eye cancer

Clinical study finds two topical skin creams as effective noninvasive treatments for low-risk superficial BCC

Overweight adolescents can increase physical activity by using their built environment

HLA genetic risk burden extends to MS outcomes

New mouse model allows researchers to evaluate CD40-antibody drugs effectively

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