Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

First consensus guidelines on sharing genomic research findings on adults, children with family members

A blue-ribbon project group funded by the National Institutes of Health has published the first consensus guidelines on how researchers should share genomic findings in research on adults and children with other family members. The recommendations, published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, offer direction on sharing information before and after the death of an individual research participant.

29 Oct 2015

Latitude, summer daylight exposure make difference in results for children treated with growth hormone

The rate of growth in children varies with the season while higher latitude and greater summer daylight exposure makes a significant difference in results for children treated with growth hormone, according to new research from The University of Manchester.

29 Oct 2015

New paper device could rapidly and inexpensively assess hepatitis B, male infertility

Scientists have developed a new paper device that analyzes DNA and could rapidly and inexpensively assess disparate conditions including hepatitis B and male infertility, which together affect millions of people around the world. The test, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could be of particular help diagnosing people in low-income areas.

29 Oct 2015

UCLA launches second Grand Challenge to reduce health and economic impacts of depression

In an effort to place depression front and center on the national and international research agendas, UCLA has launched the Depression Grand Challenge, which aims to reduce the health and economic impacts of depression by half by the year 2050.

28 Oct 2015

Researchers identify role of cGAS enzyme in autoimmune diseases

Activating an enzyme that sounds an alarm for the body's innate immune system causes two lethal autoimmune diseases in mice, while inhibiting the same enzyme rescues them, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

28 Oct 2015

Watching too much TV increases risk of death

On average, 80% of American adults watch 3.5 hours of television per day and multiple observational studies have demonstrated a link between TV viewing and poorer health. In this new study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators reported an association between increasing hours of television viewing per day and increasing risk of death from most of the major causes of death in the United States.

28 Oct 2015

ISIBELa joint research project aims to improve cancer therapy

Some individuals experience cancer recurrence when they enter adolescence or adulthood after they have been successfully treated for cancer in childhood while others don't. But why is this? This is the core question being considered in a research project directed by the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

27 Oct 2015

Study uncovers new genetic variants linked to increased risk of testicular cancer

A new study of more than 25,000 men has uncovered four new genetic variants associated with increased risk of testicular cancer.

27 Oct 2015

Discovery may open new doors to understanding how melanoma grows and spreads

Of the hundreds of genes that can be mutated in a single case of melanoma, only a handful may be true "drivers" of cancer. In research that recently appeared in Nature Genetics, a Weizmann Institute of Science team has now revealed one of the drivers of a particularly deadly subset of melanomas that is seeing a rise in new cases.

27 Oct 2015

Four microRNAs appear to play critical roles in controlling cholesterol, triglyceride metabolism

Four tiny segments of RNA appear to play critical roles in controlling cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism. In their report receiving advance online publication in Nature Medicine, a Massachusetts General Hospital-based research team describes finding how these microRNAs could reduce the expression of proteins playing key roles in the generation of beneficial HDL cholesterol, the disposal of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, control of triglyceride levels and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

27 Oct 2015

Researchers pinpoint mechanisms that cause chemoresistance in ovarian cancer patients

Resistance to chemotherapy is a major problem for those suffering from ovarian cancer--a problem that prevents a cure from a disease dubbed the "silent killer." University of Georgia researchers are giving patients new hope with recent findings that help pinpoint the mechanisms causing chemoresistance.

27 Oct 2015

MGH researchers identify mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have discovered a mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles - one of the two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease - through the brains of affected individuals.

27 Oct 2015

New drug combination may be effective against malignant melanoma

A team of Massachusetts General Hospital investigators has discovered a new combination of drugs that may be effective against one of the deadliest cancers, malignant melanoma. The combination - pairing a drug targeted against mutations in the BRAF gene with a second drug that targets another important signaling pathway - was discovered through one of the largest screens of cancer drug combinations conducted to date.

27 Oct 2015

Scientists find way to produce industrial quantities of beneficial natural compounds in tomatoes

Scientists at the John Innes Centre have found a way to produce industrial quantities of useful natural compounds efficiently, by growing them in tomatoes.

26 Oct 2015

MU researchers successfully treat dogs with DMD, plan for human clinical trials

Muscular dystrophy, which affects approximately 250,000 people in the U.S., occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, fatty or bony tissue and loses function. For years, scientists have searched for a way to successfully treat the most common form of the disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which primarily affects boys. Now, a team of University of Missouri researchers have successfully treated dogs with DMD and say that human clinical trials are being planned in the next few years.

23 Oct 2015

Amgen's IMLYGIC receives positive opinion from CHMP for treatment of melanoma

Amgen today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency, has adopted a positive opinion recommending that IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec) be granted approval for the treatment of adults with unresectable melanoma that is regionally or distantly metastatic (Stage IIIB, IIIC and IVM1a) with no bone, brain, lung or other visceral disease.

23 Oct 2015

Successful treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease exemplifies potential of precision medicine

A 20-month-old girl suffering from a rare neurodegenerative disease was diagnosed by exome sequencing and successfully treated.

23 Oct 2015

Juneau Biosciences presents new genetic discoveries in endometriosis at annual ASRM meeting

This week, Juneau Biosciences, LLC presented new discoveries concerning the genetics of endometriosis at the annual American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting in Baltimore, MD.

23 Oct 2015

DNA study reveals basic principle of gene regulation

A study of where and how an enzyme cuts DNA may have inadvertently revealed a basic principle of gene regulation, say researchers in Boston Children's Hospital's Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCMM).

23 Oct 2015

$Cesarean delivery does not reduce fracture risk in newborns with rare bone disorder$

Cesarean delivery does not reduce fracture risk in newborns with rare bone disorder

Cesarean delivery was not associated with decrease in the at-birth fracture rates in infants with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare bone disorder, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine.

23 Oct 2015

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

First consensus guidelines on sharing genomic research findings on adults, children with family members

Latitude, summer daylight exposure make difference in results for children treated with growth hormone

New paper device could rapidly and inexpensively assess hepatitis B, male infertility

UCLA launches second Grand Challenge to reduce health and economic impacts of depression

Researchers identify role of cGAS enzyme in autoimmune diseases

Watching too much TV increases risk of death

ISIBELa joint research project aims to improve cancer therapy

Study uncovers new genetic variants linked to increased risk of testicular cancer

Discovery may open new doors to understanding how melanoma grows and spreads

Four microRNAs appear to play critical roles in controlling cholesterol, triglyceride metabolism

Researchers pinpoint mechanisms that cause chemoresistance in ovarian cancer patients

MGH researchers identify mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles

New drug combination may be effective against malignant melanoma

Scientists find way to produce industrial quantities of beneficial natural compounds in tomatoes

MU researchers successfully treat dogs with DMD, plan for human clinical trials

Amgen's IMLYGIC receives positive opinion from CHMP for treatment of melanoma

Successful treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease exemplifies potential of precision medicine

Juneau Biosciences presents new genetic discoveries in endometriosis at annual ASRM meeting

DNA study reveals basic principle of gene regulation

Cesarean delivery does not reduce fracture risk in newborns with rare bone disorder

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery 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