Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

First ever SNP array optimized for Japanese population

A research group, led by Professor Masao Nagasaki and Senior Assistant Professor Yosuke Kawai at Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, has successfully designed the first ever SNP array that has been optimized for the Japanese population.

3 Sep 2015

Scientists identify new mechanism for severe early infant epilepsy

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden have discovered a new explanation for severe early infant epilepsy. Mutations in the gene encoding the protein KCC2 can cause the disease, hereby confirming an earlier theory.

3 Sep 2015

Scientists map genes responsible for early embryonic development in humans

An international team of scientists led from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet has for the first time mapped all the genes that are activated in the first few days of a fertilized human egg. The study, which is being published in the journal Nature Communications, provides an in-depth understanding of early embryonic development in human - and scientists now hope that the results will help finding for example new therapies against infertility.

3 Sep 2015

Study reveals new epigenetic mechanism underlying progression of cancer tumors

Aggressive cancer growth and alterations in gene activity without changes in DNA sequence (epigenetics) are associated with mutant p53 proteins, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Sep 2015

Researchers create method to watch activity of motor neurons in real time

When you're taking a walk around the block, your body is mostly on autopilot--you don't have to consciously think about alternating which leg you step with or which muscles it takes to lift a foot and put it back down. That's thanks to a set of cells in your spinal cord that help translate messages between your brain and your motor neurons, which control muscles.

3 Sep 2015

University of Basel scientists identify genes that play central role in development of Alzheimer's disease

Genes are not only important for regular memory performance, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the University of Basel now identified a specific group of genes that plays a central role in both processes. This group of molecules controls the concentration of calcium ions inside the cell.

3 Sep 2015

Inhalation exposure to PM2.5 pollution triggers liver fibrosis

A research team led by Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., at the Wayne State University School of Medicine's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, has discovered that exposure to air pollution has a direct adverse health effect on the liver and causes liver fibrosis, an illness associated with metabolic disease and liver cancer.

3 Sep 2015

Study reveals presence of new genetic mutation in melanoma cancer cells

There is strong evidence that the protein complex APC/C may function as a tumor suppressor in multiple cancers including lymphoma, colorectal and breast cancer, and now melanoma. A new study has revealed that a genetic mutation leading to repression of a specific protein, Cdh1, which interacts with APC/C, is present in melanoma cancer cells.

3 Sep 2015

Amgen announces MAA submission to EMA for novel calcimimetic agent etelcalcetide

Amgen today announced the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency via the centralized procedure for etelcalcetide (formerly AMG 416) for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis therapy. If approved, etelcalcetide will be the first calcimimetic agent that can be administered intravenously.

3 Sep 2015

Studies using yeast genetics provide new insights into cell-division cycle

Studies using yeast genetics have provided new, fundamental insights into the cell-division cycle, researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute report.

2 Sep 2015

Huntington’s disease prevention breakthrough? An interview with Professor Lesley Jones

Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease which, whilst quite rare, is one of the more common inherited neurodegenerative diseases. About 1 in 6,000 people in the UK are at risk and what’s horrible about this disease is that if one of your parents has it, then you have a fifty-fifty chance of inheriting it.

2 Sep 2015

USF, FARA to jointly host scientific symposium on Friedreich's ataxia

The University of South Florida will again bring together leading researchers and patients searching for a treatment for Friedreich's ataxia and related disorders at the seventh annual scientific symposium "Understanding Energy for A Cure." The symposium will be held 5 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17, at the USF Marshall Student Center Ballroom, USF Cedar Circle, Tampa, FL 33620.

2 Sep 2015

Incorporating clinical genomic sequencing data into clinical management improves pediatric cancer treatment

In a study that included children and young adults with relapsed or refractory cancer, incorporation of integrative clinical genomic sequencing data into clinical management was feasible, revealed potentially actionable findings in nearly half of the patients, and was associated with change in treatment and family genetics counseling for a small proportion of patients, according to a study in the September 1 issue of JAMA.

2 Sep 2015

UC Santa Barbara neuroscientists uncover mechanism of Alzheimer's progression

Medical research has yet to discover an Alzheimer's treatment that effectively slows the disease's progression, but neuroscientists at UC Santa Barbara may have uncovered a mechanism by which onset can be delayed by as much as 10 years.

2 Sep 2015

New NIH grants support research that combines DNA sequence information and electronic medical records

A dozen awards from the National Institutes of Health will support research that incorporates DNA sequence information into electronic medical records. The goal of research conducted by the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) network is to better understand the genomic basis of disease and to tailor medical care to individual patients based on their genomic differences.

2 Sep 2015

Advanced genetic testing can help identify discrete forms of ASD

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are not completely understood neurodevelopmental disorders diagnosed solely on the basis of behavioral assessments of social, communicative and repetitive symptoms. T

2 Sep 2015

U-M study suggests potential treatment options for children with aggressive, advanced cancer

For children with rare, aggressive and advanced cancer, precision medicine may help doctors determine their best treatment options, a new study finds.

2 Sep 2015

SKA2 gene may play a role in development of PTSD

A gene linked in previous research, appears to predict more severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as a thinner cortex in regions of the brain critical for regulating strong emotions and coping with stressful experiences. This study is believed to be the first to show that the spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunit 2 (SKA2) gene may play a role in the development of PTSD.

2 Sep 2015

Amgen, Novartis collaborate for Alzheimer's disease and migraine programs

Amgen today announced a neuroscience collaboration with Novartis in the areas of Alzheimer's disease and migraine. The collaboration accelerates Amgen's potential entry into Alzheimer's disease by teaming up with Novartis on a differentiated and genetically validated Alzheimer's disease program directed at genetically predisposed individuals at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

2 Sep 2015

GSA, ASHG and Gruber Foundation announce recipients of 2016 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award

The Genetics Society of America (GSA), the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG) and The Gruber Foundation are pleased to announce Maria Barna, PhD, of Stanford University; and Carolyn McBride, PhD, of Princeton University, as the 2016 recipients of the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award.

2 Sep 2015

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

First ever SNP array optimized for Japanese population

Scientists identify new mechanism for severe early infant epilepsy

Scientists map genes responsible for early embryonic development in humans

Study reveals new epigenetic mechanism underlying progression of cancer tumors

Researchers create method to watch activity of motor neurons in real time

University of Basel scientists identify genes that play central role in development of Alzheimer's disease

Inhalation exposure to PM2.5 pollution triggers liver fibrosis

Study reveals presence of new genetic mutation in melanoma cancer cells

Amgen announces MAA submission to EMA for novel calcimimetic agent etelcalcetide

Studies using yeast genetics provide new insights into cell-division cycle

Huntington’s disease prevention breakthrough? An interview with Professor Lesley Jones

USF, FARA to jointly host scientific symposium on Friedreich's ataxia

Incorporating clinical genomic sequencing data into clinical management improves pediatric cancer treatment

UC Santa Barbara neuroscientists uncover mechanism of Alzheimer's progression

New NIH grants support research that combines DNA sequence information and electronic medical records

Advanced genetic testing can help identify discrete forms of ASD

U-M study suggests potential treatment options for children with aggressive, advanced cancer

SKA2 gene may play a role in development of PTSD

Amgen, Novartis collaborate for Alzheimer's disease and migraine programs

GSA, ASHG and Gruber Foundation announce recipients of 2016 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award

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