Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Study: Women receiving social support during pregnancy less likely to develop postpartum depression

Women who receive strong social support from their families during pregnancy appear to be protected from sharp increases in a particular stress hormone, making them less likely to develop postpartum depression, according to a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

5 Mar 2013

Schizophrenic people with MIR137 tend to develop illness at younger age

Some of the dramatic differences seen among patients with schizophrenia may be explained by a single gene that regulates a group of other schizophrenia risk genes. These findings appear in a new imaging-genetics study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

5 Mar 2013

KMO gene variant associated with increased production of kynurenic acid

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found an explanation for why the level of kynurenic acid (KYNA) is higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical Molecular Psychiatry, identifies a gene variant associated with an increased production of KYNA.

5 Mar 2013

Five scientists aim to make strides in predicting and preventing preterm birth

Five researchers from four states are investigating how genetics and infections interact to cause preterm birth as well as how proteins and hormones regulate a healthy pregnancy, all with the goal of giving more babies a healthy start in life, the March of Dimes announced today.

5 Mar 2013

AAP, ACMG release guidelines on best practices for genetic testing and screening of children

For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) spoke with one voice and released a set of recommendations and guidelines on best practices for genetic testing and screening of children.

5 Mar 2013

Researchers identify smoking gun for environmental exposures to affect future generations

Grandmother's cigarette smoking could be responsible for her grandchild's asthma, and the recent discovery of this multi-generational transmission of disease suggests the environmental factors experienced today could determine the health of family members for generations to come, two Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) lead researchers write in the March edition of Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

5 Mar 2013

People with variations in FTO gene could be at increased risk of melanoma

The research shows that people with particular variations in a stretch of DNA within the FTO gene, called intron 8, could be at greater risk of developing melanoma.

5 Mar 2013

Horizon forms 3 new Centers of Excellence for gene editing in Asia

Horizon Discovery (Horizon), a leading provider of research tools to support the development of personalized medicines, today announced it has established three new Centers of Excellence (CoE's) for gene editing in Asia.

4 Mar 2013

Investigators identify seven new genetic regions associated with AMD

An international group of investigators has identified seven new genetic regions associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of blindness in older individuals. The findings, reported online March 3 in Nature Genetics, could point to new biological pathways and therapeutic targets for AMD.

4 Mar 2013

Combination of two environmental factors contributes to schizophrenia

The interplay between an infection during pregnancy and stress in puberty plays a key role in the development of schizophrenia, as behaviourists from ETH Zurich demonstrate in a mouse model. However, there is no need to panic.

2 Mar 2013

RNA interference identifies function of genes linked with cardiovascular disease

Studies screening the genome of hundreds of thousands of individuals (known as Genome-wide association studies or GWAS) have linked more than 100 regions in the genome to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

1 Mar 2013

Structural connectome maps reveal new details about agenesis of the corpus callosum

Combining hospital MRIs with the mathematical tool known as network analysis, a group of researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley have mapped the three-dimensional global connections within the brains of seven adults who have genetic malformations that leave them without the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain.

1 Mar 2013

Not all acne bacteria trigger pimples: Study

The bacteria that cause acne live on everyone's skin, yet one in five people is lucky enough to develop only an occasional pimple over a lifetime.

1 Mar 2013

Autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia share common genetic risk factors

For the first time, scientists have discovered that five major psychiatric disorders—autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia—share several common genetic risk factors.

28 Feb 2013

Hypermobile children at greater risk for joint pain as they get older

A prospective study by U.K. researchers found that adolescents who are double-jointed—medically termed joint hypermobility—are at greater risk for developing musculoskeletal pain as they get older, particularly in the shoulders, knees, ankles and feet. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that children with joint hypermobility are approximately twice as likely to develop pain at these joints.

28 Feb 2013

Novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers

Preclinical, laboratory studies suggest a novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers, according to scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center.

28 Feb 2013

Smoking prevention and cessation campaigns: an interview with Dr DePinho, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Dr Mohar, National Cancer Institute of Mexico

There are more than 94 million former and current smokers in the United States, and more than 21 million in Mexico, according to the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) Fact Sheet.

27 Feb 2013

Surgical site infections appear to have significant genetic connections

An estimated 300,000 U.S. patients get surgical site infections every year, and while the causes are varied, a new University of Utah study suggests that some who get an infection can blame it partly on their genes.

27 Feb 2013

Asia Pacific Autism Conference to be held in Adelaide

One of the world's biggest and most important international conferences on autism will be held in Adelaide in August this year.

27 Feb 2013

MID1 complex binds with messenger RNA and controls synthesis of defective Huntingtin

Huntington's disease, also known as Huntington's chorea, is a hereditary brain disease causing movement disorders and dementia. In Germany, there are about 8,000 patients affected by Huntington's disease, with several hundred new cases arising every year. The disease usually manifests between the ages of 35 and 50.

27 Feb 2013

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Study: Women receiving social support during pregnancy less likely to develop postpartum depression

Schizophrenic people with MIR137 tend to develop illness at younger age

KMO gene variant associated with increased production of kynurenic acid

Five scientists aim to make strides in predicting and preventing preterm birth

AAP, ACMG release guidelines on best practices for genetic testing and screening of children

Researchers identify smoking gun for environmental exposures to affect future generations

People with variations in FTO gene could be at increased risk of melanoma

Horizon forms 3 new Centers of Excellence for gene editing in Asia

Investigators identify seven new genetic regions associated with AMD

Combination of two environmental factors contributes to schizophrenia

RNA interference identifies function of genes linked with cardiovascular disease

Structural connectome maps reveal new details about agenesis of the corpus callosum

Not all acne bacteria trigger pimples: Study

Autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia share common genetic risk factors

Hypermobile children at greater risk for joint pain as they get older

Novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers

Smoking prevention and cessation campaigns: an interview with Dr DePinho, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Dr Mohar, National Cancer Institute of Mexico

Surgical site infections appear to have significant genetic connections

Asia Pacific Autism Conference to be held in Adelaide

MID1 complex binds with messenger RNA and controls synthesis of defective Huntingtin

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