Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Researchers managed to replicate human pancreatic beta cells in mouse model

Klaus Kaestner, PhD, professor of Genetics and postdoctoral fellow Dana Avrahami, PhD, from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, published a study this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, with colleague Benjamin Glaser, MD, from the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, and colleagues. In this study, they were able to replicate human pancreatic beta cells - the cells in our body that produce the critical hormone insulin - in a mouse model in which donor cells were transplanted. The newly replicated cells retained features of mature beta cells and showed a physiological response to glucose.

17 Jan 2014

Gene therapies correct three forms of retinal degenerative diseases

Gene therapies developed by University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine researchers have worked to correct different forms of blindness. While effective, the downside to these approaches to vision rescue is that each disease requires its own form of gene therapy to correct the particular genetic mutation involved, a time consuming and complex process.

17 Jan 2014

IRCM researchers show importance of DNA architecture in controlling activity of genes

A study conducted by Marie Kmita's team at the IRCM, in collaboration with Jos-e Dostie at McGill University, shows the importance of the chromatin architecture in controlling the activity of genes, especially those required for proper embryonic development.

17 Jan 2014

CSHL professor identifies two proteins that control structure of chandelier cells

Chandelier cells are neurons that use their unique shape to act like master circuit breakers in the brain's cerebral cortex. These cells have dozens, often hundreds, of branching axonal projections - output channels from the cell body of the neuron - that lend the full structure of a chandelier-like appearance.

17 Jan 2014

Atlas develops ultra-rapid point-of-care tests for a range of infectious diseases

Atlas Genetics Ltd, the diagnostic company developing ultra-rapid point-of-care (POC) tests for a range of infectious diseases, today announces that it has completed development of the Atlas io™ Reader, a POC device that can deliver laboratory quality results for molecular assays in under thirty minutes.

16 Jan 2014

Research shows how coevolution between humans and bacteria can affect gastric cancer risk

Research carried out in two distinct communities in Colombia illustrates how coevolution between humans and bacteria can affect a person's risk of disease. Working with colleagues in Columbia and the U.S., Scott Williams, PhD, a professor of genetics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and his graduate student Nuri Kodaman discovered that the risk of developing gastric cancer depends heavily on both the ancestry of the person and the ancestry of Helicobacter pylori with which that person is infected.

15 Jan 2014

New study examines factors that may lead to end stage renal disease

About 33 percent of people with type 2 diabetes suffer kidney damage that progresses to end stage renal disease, at which point they require either dialysis or kidney transplantation. Scientists have thought that this kidney disease is driven by damage to the glomeruli, blood vessels in the kidney, which spill the protein albumin into the urine. Current treatments targeting the resulting "albuminuria" do not prevent kidney failure.

15 Jan 2014

International study develops refined method to identify individuals at risk for certain inherited cancer

An international study has developed a refined method to identify people at risk for certain inherited cancer as a result of Lynch syndrome.

15 Jan 2014

Finland researchers identify mechanism that enhances prostate cancer proliferation, metastasis

A research group at Biocenter Oulu in Finland has identified a mechanism related to a transcription factor that binds much more strongly onto a particular SNP variant, thereby initiating a genetic programme which enhances prostate cancer proliferation and metastasis.

13 Jan 2014

Smoking and cancer: an interview with Dr. Lewis Foxhall, VP of Health Policy, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

The report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General, identified tobacco as the predominant cause of lung cancer in men. This was the first widely disseminated report based on scientific studies showing the clear link between smoking tobacco and serious health conditions including cancer, chronic lung diseases and heart disease.

13 Jan 2014

Study: Variations in non-coding sections of genome might be main contributors to type 2 diabetes risk

Variations in non-coding sections of the genome might be important contributors to type 2 diabetes risk, according to a new study.

13 Jan 2014

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

A team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Broad Institute has found that a gene mutation associated with several types of cancer also may be responsible for a rare but debilitating brain tumor called papillary craniopharyngioma.

13 Jan 2014

Scientists discover genetic signature mechanism in immune system as driving force for childhood leukaemia

Scientists have discovered a genetic signature that implicates a key mechanism in the immune system as a driving force for a type of childhood leukaemia.

13 Jan 2014

Study shows wide-ranging variation in patterns of X chromosome inactivation in female mice

Producing brightly speckled red and green snapshots of many different tissues, Johns Hopkins researchers have color-coded cells in female mice to display which of their two X chromosomes has been made inactive, or “silenced.”

10 Jan 2014

Hormone associated with improved glucose metabolism activates calorie-burning brown fat

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that a hormone long associated with weight loss and improved glucose metabolism is linked to activation of calorie-burning brown fat.

10 Jan 2014

Researchers reveal newest weapon to visualize shape and motion of RNA

Qi Zhang sees himself as a warrior. In his lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he wages war on genetic diseases such as cancer and heart disease on a battlefield measured with single atoms.

10 Jan 2014

New study gives hope for novel glioblastoma multiforme treatment

A new study is giving researchers hope that novel targeted therapies can be developed for glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, after demonstrating for the first time that a gene known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9/syntenin (mda-9/syntenin) is a driving force behind the disease's aggressive and invasive nature.

9 Jan 2014

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Researchers managed to replicate human pancreatic beta cells in mouse model

Gene therapies correct three forms of retinal degenerative diseases

IRCM researchers show importance of DNA architecture in controlling activity of genes

CSHL professor identifies two proteins that control structure of chandelier cells

Atlas develops ultra-rapid point-of-care tests for a range of infectious diseases

Research shows how coevolution between humans and bacteria can affect gastric cancer risk

New study examines factors that may lead to end stage renal disease

International study develops refined method to identify individuals at risk for certain inherited cancer

Finland researchers identify mechanism that enhances prostate cancer proliferation, metastasis

Smoking and cancer: an interview with Dr. Lewis Foxhall, VP of Health Policy, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Study: Variations in non-coding sections of genome might be main contributors to type 2 diabetes risk

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

Scientists discover genetic signature mechanism in immune system as driving force for childhood leukaemia

Study shows wide-ranging variation in patterns of X chromosome inactivation in female mice

Hormone associated with improved glucose metabolism activates calorie-burning brown fat

Researchers reveal newest weapon to visualize shape and motion of RNA

New study gives hope for novel glioblastoma multiforme treatment

Immune tolerance to grafts of muscle, bone and skin could free recipients from lifelong immunosuppression

UMMS assistant professor recognized with Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Norwegian researchers map genetic variations associated with increased risk of MS and MG

Sequencing & Genomics: Elevating Science and Healthcare eBook

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)