Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput receives IJO New Faculty Award for research on obesity

At the International Congress on Obesity held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week, Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput from the Healthy Active Living and Obesity research group at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute was awarded the International Journal of Obesity (IJO) New Faculty Award for Population Science and Public Health Research.

26 Mar 2014

New technology gives tool to examine membrane proteins in natural environment of human cell

Scientists have a better way to study human proteins - large molecules that are part of every cell in the body - thanks to a new technology developed by University of Toronto researchers.

25 Mar 2014

New research reveals new complexity to nerve cells in brain that could affect future therapies

Research from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation reveals a new complexity to nerve cells in the brain that could affect future therapies aimed at altering mood and memory in humans.

25 Mar 2014

Scientist receives $275,000 grant to study human papillomavirus that causes head and neck cancer

Basic scientists focus on understanding how things work, so most don't get the chance to directly impact other people's lives. That's why Michelle Ozbun, PhD, is very excited about her recent grant to study human papillomavirus.

25 Mar 2014

Study suggest that women are resistant to mutations that contribute to autism

It takes more mutations to trigger autism in women than in men, which may explain why men are four times more likely to have the disorder, according to a study published 26 February in the American Journal of Human Genetics1.

25 Mar 2014

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

This alternative approach to creating artificial organic molecules, called bioretrosynthesis, was first proposed four years ago by Brian Bachmann, associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Now Bachmann and a team of collaborators report that they have succeeded in using the method to produce the HIV drug didanosine.

25 Mar 2014

Faster DNA sequencing techniques more likely to improve care for patients with breast cancer

Faster and cheaper DNA sequencing techniques will likely improve care for patients with breast cancer but also create challenges for clinicians as they counsel patients on their treatment options.

25 Mar 2014

Anxiety relief in children: an interview with Dr. Golda Ginsburg, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder among youth. Prevalence rates hover around 10%, although the actual percent varies depending on the specific anxiety disorder, sample, method of assessment, etc.

24 Mar 2014

Study examines events that lead to sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae

An international team of academics, including Professor Marco Oggioni from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics, has studied how localised infections can turn into the dangerous systematic disease sepsis - and has identified for the first time through genetic evidence that a single bacteria could be the cause.

24 Mar 2014

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

24 Mar 2014

New insight into germline EGFR T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer

Two studies are providing new insight into germline epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings suggest the need for tailored approaches for early detection and treatment, as well as for genetic testing to identify carriers.

24 Mar 2014

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found.

24 Mar 2014

Investigators find group of drugs to treat heart attacks and cancer metastasis

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators may have found a way to solve a problem that has plagued a group of drugs called ligand-mimicking integrin inhibitors, which have the potential to treat conditions ranging from heart attacks to cancer metastasis.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

The cause of a rare type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women has been uncovered by an international research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, according to a study published online today by the renowned scientific journal, Nature Genetics.

23 Mar 2014

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Although genome-wide association studies have linked DNA variants in the gene SCN10A with increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, efforts to determine the gene's direct influence on the heart's electrical activity have been unproductive. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that these SCN10A variants regulate the function of a different gene, SCN5A, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk.

21 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

The shortage of oxygen, or hypoxia, created when rapidly multiplying kidney cancer cells outgrow their local blood supply can accelerate tumor growth by causing a nuclear protein called SPOP-which normally suppresses tumor growth-to move out of the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it has the opposite effect, promoting rapid proliferation.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify steps by which cell removes RNA from cytoplasm

RNA encodes the proteins that play a key role in cellular reproduction, but the manner in which cells regulate its removal once these proteins are synthesized remains a mystery. One piece of this mystery has been solved as researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who have identified the steps by which a cell removes RNA from the cytoplasm.

21 Mar 2014

Drug and alcohol abuse could be linked with poor development of "love hormone"

Addictive behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse could be associated with poor development of the so-called "love hormone" system in our bodies during early childhood, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify genetic defect that causes a subset of irritable bowel syndrome

Is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) caused by genetics, diet, past trauma, anxiety? All are thought to play a role, but now, for the first time, researchers have reported a defined genetic defect that causes a subset of IBS. The research was published in the journal Gastroenterology.

21 Mar 2014

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput receives IJO New Faculty Award for research on obesity

New technology gives tool to examine membrane proteins in natural environment of human cell

New research reveals new complexity to nerve cells in brain that could affect future therapies

Scientist receives $275,000 grant to study human papillomavirus that causes head and neck cancer

Study suggest that women are resistant to mutations that contribute to autism

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

Faster DNA sequencing techniques more likely to improve care for patients with breast cancer

Anxiety relief in children: an interview with Dr. Golda Ginsburg, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

Study examines events that lead to sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

New insight into germline EGFR T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

Investigators find group of drugs to treat heart attacks and cancer metastasis

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

Researchers identify steps by which cell removes RNA from cytoplasm

Drug and alcohol abuse could be linked with poor development of "love hormone"

Researchers identify genetic defect that causes a subset of irritable bowel syndrome

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

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research