Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Researchers discover that fruit fly mutation holds clues for treating motor neuron diseases

A team of researchers, led by Marc Freeman, PhD, an early career scientist with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and associate professor of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have discovered a gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that, when mutant, blocks the self-destruction of damaged axons, which could hold clues to treating motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

9 Apr 2013

Transposons increase in abundance and activity in brains as they age

As the body ages, the physical effects are notable; wrinkles in the skin appear, physical exertion becomes harder. But there are also less visible processes going on. Inside aging brains there is another phenomenon at work, which may contribute to age-related brain defects.

9 Apr 2013

Scientist receives NIH grant to study genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders in African Americans

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Dr. Daniel Geschwind, director of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, a five-year, $10 million grant to continue his research on the genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders and to expand his investigations to include the genetics of autism in African Americans.

9 Apr 2013

Research sheds new light on role of ATRX mutations in brain and pituitary

Research from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute sheds new light on a gene called ATRX and its function in the brain and pituitary.

9 Apr 2013

Researchers identify four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity

Researchers have identified four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity. They also found an increased burden of rare structural variations in severely obese children.

8 Apr 2013

Researchers identify seven new gene loci linked to obesity

An international research team has identified seven new gene loci linked to obesity. Researchers were also able to show that the genetic mechanisms that cause extreme obesity are similar to those that cause milder forms of overweight and obesity.

8 Apr 2013

Preclinical data for potent IDO pathway inhibitor presented at AACR 2013 annual meeting

NewLink Genetics Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on discovering, developing and commercializing immunotherapeutic products in oncology, announced today that the company presented preclinical data for NLG919, a potent IDO (indoleamine-(2,3)-dioxygenase) pathway inhibitor, at the American Association for Cancer Research 2013 annual meeting.

8 Apr 2013

Gene behind Vel blood group discovered

Researchers have uncovered the gene at the root of a human blood group that has remained a mystery for the past 60 years. They showed that a genetic deletion on this gene is responsible for the lack of this blood group in some people.

8 Apr 2013

GenSight Biologics announces closing of €32 million Series A financing

GenSight Biologics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of ophthalmic therapeutics using gene therapy, announced today the closing of a €32 million Series A financing.

8 Apr 2013

Research identifies important role of zinc in kidney stone formation

Kidney stones usually make their presence known suddenly, often sending a person to the hospital in excruciating pain. Each year in the U.S. more than a million people seek medical attention for kidney stones, technically called nephrolithiasis.

8 Apr 2013

Mannitol could lead to new approach for Parkinson's disease treatment, researchers suggest

Researchers from Tel Aviv University describe experiments that could lead to a new approach for treating Parkinson's disease using a common sweetener, mannitol.

8 Apr 2013

ACMG supports use of non-invasive prenatal screening in women with singleton pregnancies

The American College of Medical Genetics issued a position statement to support the use of non-invasive prenatal screening in women with singleton pregnancies.

8 Apr 2013

Spencer Trask applauds InVivo for getting FDA approval to test biopolymer scaffold in humans

Spencer Trask, a venture capital firm focused on developing big ideas into world-changing companies, congratulates InVivo Therapeutics, for its recent approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

6 Apr 2013

Nobel Prize recipient describes on innate immunity at Annual Drosophila Research Conference

A young scientist's astute observation - that grasshoppers don't get sick - eventually led to profound insights into our own immunity.

6 Apr 2013

Researchers use single-cell genome sequencing approach to analyze microbe from biofilm in hospital

A team of researchers led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has published a study outlining the recovery and genomic analysis, using single-cell genomic techniques, of a periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis, from a hospital sink.

6 Apr 2013

Fruit fly study offers clues to wound healing

A person's skin and a fruit fly's exoskeleton, called a "cuticle" may not look alike, but both coverings protect against injury, infection, and dehydration.

6 Apr 2013

Individualized genomic analysis allows for tailored cancer treatment, new drug research

Just like a massive iceberg jutting out of the ocean, many of cancer's genetic underpinnings remain hidden under the surface, impossible to predict or map from above.

6 Apr 2013

Johns Hopkins scientist awarded Ho-Am prize for discovery of myostatin

South Korea's Ho-Am Foundation announced that Johns Hopkins researcher Se-Jin Lee, M.D., Ph.D., has won this year's Ho-Am Prize in Medicine.

5 Apr 2013

Anirban Maitra to lead pancreatic cancer research at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., a pre-eminent expert in the genetics of pancreatic cancer and the development of targeted therapies for the disease, will lead research at a new center at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center devoted to this highly lethal cancer.

5 Apr 2013

Metallothioneins play major role in virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans

Metallothioneins, proteins able to capture metal ions, play a major role in the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen which causes severe infections in immunodeficient and immunocompetent individuals (AIDS patients, transplant receivers, etc.)

5 Apr 2013

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Researchers discover that fruit fly mutation holds clues for treating motor neuron diseases

Transposons increase in abundance and activity in brains as they age

Scientist receives NIH grant to study genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders in African Americans

Research sheds new light on role of ATRX mutations in brain and pituitary

Researchers identify four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity

Researchers identify seven new gene loci linked to obesity

Preclinical data for potent IDO pathway inhibitor presented at AACR 2013 annual meeting

Gene behind Vel blood group discovered

GenSight Biologics announces closing of €32 million Series A financing

Research identifies important role of zinc in kidney stone formation

Mannitol could lead to new approach for Parkinson's disease treatment, researchers suggest

ACMG supports use of non-invasive prenatal screening in women with singleton pregnancies

Spencer Trask applauds InVivo for getting FDA approval to test biopolymer scaffold in humans

Nobel Prize recipient describes on innate immunity at Annual Drosophila Research Conference

Researchers use single-cell genome sequencing approach to analyze microbe from biofilm in hospital

Fruit fly study offers clues to wound healing

Individualized genomic analysis allows for tailored cancer treatment, new drug research

Johns Hopkins scientist awarded Ho-Am prize for discovery of myostatin

Anirban Maitra to lead pancreatic cancer research at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Metallothioneins play major role in virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans

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