Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

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

Genetic variation in CD33 influences how AML patients' leukemic cell responds to GO

Researchers from the College of Pharmacy and Medical School working within the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, have partnered to identify genetic variations that may help signal which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients will benefit or not benefit from one of the newest antileukemic agents.

26 Feb 2013

Wnt-induced Lgr5 expression marks stem cell production in the liver

For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique - until now.

26 Feb 2013

Study finds major risk factor behind increased risk of adverse outcomes in IVF pregnancies

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified what may be a major factor behind the increased risk of two adverse outcomes in pregnancies conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

26 Feb 2013

Research roundup: Patients hesitant to focus on costs; Increase in primary care demand is uneven

One way to contain health care spending is to get patients involved in weighing costs of treatment options with their doctors. Researchers recruited 211 medically insured participants to assess their willingness to consider costs when choosing treatments. The authors found that participants generally "preferred better care, even when the relative benefit it offered was marginal, and even when told that the second-best choice still met the threshold of 'good enough' care from a clinician's perspective.

26 Feb 2013

Experts analyse biological function of Shewanella-like protein phosphatase

Experts have disabled a unique member of the signalling proteins which are essential for the development of the malaria parasite. They have produced a mutant lackingthe ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced shelph). This mutant is unable to complete its complex life cycle and is arrested in its development in the mosquito.

26 Feb 2013

LabCorp introduces GeneSeq: Carido for familial cardiac disease

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings today announced it has launched its clinical next generation sequencing assay, GeneSeq: Cardio for genetic causes of familial cardiac disease.

26 Feb 2013

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

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

Genetic variation in CD33 influences how AML patients' leukemic cell responds to GO

Wnt-induced Lgr5 expression marks stem cell production in the liver

Study finds major risk factor behind increased risk of adverse outcomes in IVF pregnancies

Research roundup: Patients hesitant to focus on costs; Increase in primary care demand is uneven

Experts analyse biological function of Shewanella-like protein phosphatase

LabCorp introduces GeneSeq: Carido for familial cardiac disease

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)