Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New understanding of how Huntington's disease gene works

Huntington's disease is caused by a mutation in the Huntington's disease gene, but it has long been a mystery why some people with the exact same mutation get the disease more severely and earlier than others. A closer look at the DNA around the Huntington's disease (HD) gene offers researchers a new understanding of how the gene is controlled and how this affects the disease.

5 May 2015

Findings provide glimmer of hope for treating diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas

Using brain tumor samples collected from children in the United States and Europe, an international team of scientists found that the drug panobinostat and similar gene regulating drugs may be effective at treating diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), an aggressive and lethal form of pediatric cancer.

5 May 2015

Mutations in PARN and RTEL1 associated with familial pulmonary fibrosis, telomere shortening

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified mutations in two genes that cause a fatal lung scarring disease known as familial pulmonary fibrosis.

5 May 2015

Frederick Alt honored with 2015 Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research

Frederick Alt, PhD, director of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, has been honored with the 2015 Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research.

4 May 2015

UTHealth scientists use new methods to explore naturally occurring 'knockout humans'

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are helping to make precision medicine a reality by sequencing entire exomes of people to assess chronic disease risk and drug efficacy. The results of a study on this topic were published in Nature Genetics on Monday.

30 Apr 2015

ITIM-containing receptor crucial for development of acute myeloid leukemia

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have discovered that a certain class of receptors that inhibit immune response are crucial for the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common acute leukemia affecting adults.

30 Apr 2015

Dr. Philipp Scherer to receive prestigious Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from ADA

Dr. Philipp Scherer, Director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, will receive the prestigious Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, the highest honor bestowed by the American Diabetes Association.

30 Apr 2015

Study finds that gene therapy can clip out genetic material associated with heart failure

Gene therapy can clip out genetic material linked to heart failure and replace it with the normal gene in human cardiac cells, according to a study led by researchers from the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

30 Apr 2015

Scientists identify new way to predict disease outcomes in people with rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis Research UK-funded scientists at The University of Manchester have identified a new way in which genotyping can be used to predict disease outcomes among sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis.

29 Apr 2015

New DNA study reveals settlement history of early Eskimos

Genetic testing of Iñupiat people currently living in Alaska's North Slope is helping Northwestern University scientists fill in the blanks on questions about the migration patterns and ancestral pool of the people who populated the North American Arctic over the last 5,000 years.

29 Apr 2015

Adjustable gastric band surgery, weight management program offer similar benefits in diabetes patients

Weight loss is never easy, but it's important for overweight people with type 2 diabetes seeking to control their blood sugar levels and optimize their health. A small clinical trial among such patients led by Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers now has shown that two approaches--adjustable gastric band surgery and an intensive group-based medical diabetes and weight management program--achieved similar improvements in controlling blood sugar levels after one year.

29 Apr 2015

NeoGenomics' revenue increases 27% to $23.0 million in first quarter 2015

NeoGenomics, Inc., a leading provider of cancer-focused genetic testing services today reported its results for the first quarter of 2015.

28 Apr 2015

New T1D Prevention Initiative launched to identify pathways to prevent type 1 diabetes

As the incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) rises worldwide, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust today announced the launch of an ambitious new T1D Prevention Initiative to investigate the early stages of development of the disease and identify new pathways to prevent it.

28 Apr 2015

WCH researchers identify new breast cancer gene

A new breast cancer gene has been identified in a study led by Women's College Hospital researcher Dr. Mohammad Akbari, who is also an assistant professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

28 Apr 2015

Researchers show potential of stem cell-based therapy in treating brain-metastatic breast cancer

Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have developed an imageable mouse model of brain-metastatic breast cancer and shown the potential of a stem-cell-based therapy to eliminate metastatic cells from the brain and prolong survival.

27 Apr 2015

Dr. Mike O. Karl awarded EYEnovative Research Award for retina research

Dr. Mike O. Karl, group leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden - Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden, was awarded the “EYEnovative Förderpreis” of the Novartis Pharma GmbH already for the second time.

25 Apr 2015

Study explores innovative approach to identifying successful treatment for HER2+ breast cancer

Ahmad M. Khalil, PhD, knew the odds were against him -- as in thousands upon thousands to one. Yet he and his team never wavered from their quest to identify the parts of the body responsible for revving up one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, HER2+. This month in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Khalil and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University proved the power of persistence; from a pool of more than 30,000 possibilities, they found 38 genes and molecules that most likely trigger HER2+ cancer cells to spread.

25 Apr 2015

New method could help scientists spot source of disease-causing mutations in enhancers

A new technique that identifies how genes are controlled could help scientists spot errors in the genetic code which trigger disease, a study suggests.

25 Apr 2015

Natera, LifeLabs sign new agreement for non-invasive prenatal testing in Canada

Natera, Inc., a global leader in non-invasive genetic testing, and LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services today announced a new agreement that gives LifeLabs the rights to perform non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in Canada using Natera technology.

From Natera 25 Apr 2015

Enrollment begins for first major cardiovascular prevention trial for people infected with HIV

The first clinical trial to investigate whether treatment with a statin drug can reduce the increased cardiovascular disease risk in people infected with HIV has begun enrolling patients. Based at Massachusetts General Hospital, the six-year, $40 million REPRIEVE (Randomized Study to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV) trial will be conducted at around 100 sites in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Thailand with funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and support from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

24 Apr 2015

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New understanding of how Huntington's disease gene works

Findings provide glimmer of hope for treating diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas

Mutations in PARN and RTEL1 associated with familial pulmonary fibrosis, telomere shortening

Frederick Alt honored with 2015 Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research

UTHealth scientists use new methods to explore naturally occurring 'knockout humans'

ITIM-containing receptor crucial for development of acute myeloid leukemia

Dr. Philipp Scherer to receive prestigious Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from ADA

Study finds that gene therapy can clip out genetic material associated with heart failure

Scientists identify new way to predict disease outcomes in people with rheumatoid arthritis

New DNA study reveals settlement history of early Eskimos

Adjustable gastric band surgery, weight management program offer similar benefits in diabetes patients

NeoGenomics' revenue increases 27% to $23.0 million in first quarter 2015

New T1D Prevention Initiative launched to identify pathways to prevent type 1 diabetes

WCH researchers identify new breast cancer gene

Researchers show potential of stem cell-based therapy in treating brain-metastatic breast cancer

Dr. Mike O. Karl awarded EYEnovative Research Award for retina research

Study explores innovative approach to identifying successful treatment for HER2+ breast cancer

New method could help scientists spot source of disease-causing mutations in enhancers

Natera, LifeLabs sign new agreement for non-invasive prenatal testing in Canada

Enrollment begins for first major cardiovascular prevention trial for people infected with HIV

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