Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New method can differentiate between breast cancer patients with good and poor prognosis

It is now possible to identify aggressive breast cancers by interpreting the mathematical patterns in the cancer genome. Researchers at the University of Oslo, Norway (UiO) have developed a completely new method for differentiating between breast cancer patients with high and low risks of dying from the illness.

24 Aug 2012

New UCLA study pinpoints unique human patterns of gene activity in the brain

Human and chimp brains look anatomically similar because both evolved from the same ancestor millions of years ago. But where does the chimp brain end and the human brain begin? A new UCLA study pinpoints uniquely human patterns of gene activity in the brain that could shed light on how we evolved differently than our closest relative.

23 Aug 2012

Laminin-111 protein therapy could treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A novel treatment in development at the University of Nevada School of Medicine for the most common form of muscular dystrophy is advancing towards human trials with a $308,000 boost from the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

23 Aug 2012

Study identifies how RNA viruses hijack a host cell to multiply

By discovering how certain viruses use their host cells to replicate, UC Irvine microbiologists have identified a new approach to the development of universal treatments for viral illnesses such as meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis and possibly the common cold.

23 Aug 2012

Blood cells returned to stem cell state by Johns Hopkins researchers

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body.

22 Aug 2012

UC San Diego, iSAEC partner to study genetics of drug induced renal injury

The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium (iSAEC) announced today it will collaborate with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science to research the genetics of drug induced renal injury (DIRI).

22 Aug 2012

SSEA4+ marker helps identify and isolate precursors of insulin-producing pancreatic cells

For the millions of people worldwide with type 1 diabetes who cannot produce sufficient insulin, the potential to transplant insulin-producing cells could offer hope for a long-term cure. The discovery of a marker to help identify and isolate stem cells that can develop into insulin-producing cells in the pancreas would be a critical step forward and is described in an article in BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

22 Aug 2012

Investigators discover biological explanation for why low levels of oxygen advance SMA symptoms

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital may have discovered a biological explanation for why low levels of oxygen advance spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) symptoms and why breathing treatments help SMA patients live longer. The findings appear in Human Molecular Genetics.

22 Aug 2012

Genetic key to severe malaria resistance uncovered

Researchers have identified two genetic variants linked with human resistance to severe malaria.

21 Aug 2012

New tool reveals surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy

A new tool to observe cell behavior has revealed surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy, and may offer a way to further refine personalized cancer treatments.

21 Aug 2012

Higher mammographic density not linked to reduced survival in breast cancer patients

The risk of dying from breast cancer was not related to high mammographic breast density in breast cancer patients, according to a study published August 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Aug 2012

National Jewish Health, BWH to receive NHLBI grant for second phase of COPDGene project

The COPD Foundation (COPDF) recently announced that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will fund the second phase (2012-2017) of the COPDGene project as R01 grants to National Jewish Health and the Brigham and Women's Hospital.

21 Aug 2012

Dogs offer excellent animal model for human obsessive compulsive disorder study

The genetics research group, based at the University of Helsinki and the Folkh-lsan Research Center and led by Professor Hannes Lohi, has in collaboration with an international group of researchers investigated the characteristics and environmental factors associated with compulsive tail chasing in dogs.

21 Aug 2012

Study utilizes integrative approach to probe biology of bipolar disorder

The more that we understand the brain, the more complex it becomes. The same can be said about the genetics and neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. For "Mendelian" disorders, like Huntington disease, mutation of a single gene predictably produces a single clinical disorder, following relatively simple genetic principals. Compared to Mendelian disorders, understanding bipolar disorder has been extremely challenging. Its biology is not well understood and its genetics are complex.

21 Aug 2012

Daily vitamin D intake protects against respiratory infections in children

A study conducted in Mongolian schoolchildren supports the possibility that daily vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of respiratory infections in winter. In a report that will appear in the journal Pediatrics and has received early online release, an international research team found that vitamin D supplementation decreased the risk of respiratory infections among children who had low blood levels of vitamin D at the start of the study.

21 Aug 2012

Lack of certain gene occurs in almost 28% of breast cancers

More than one out of every four cases of breast cancer is associated with a specific, missing gene - a finding that could have significant implications for chemotherapy treatments, according a recent study by Cornell University researchers.

20 Aug 2012

Agilent awarded patent for comparative genomic hybridization methods

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced that it was awarded a significant patent for comparative genomic hybridization methods. CGH methods help researchers study genetics and cancer in both basic and clinical research.

20 Aug 2012

PPR proteins recognise RNA targets via easy-to-understand code

The code determines the recognition of RNA molecules by a superfamily of RNA-binding proteins called pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins.

20 Aug 2012

Allergy transmission may be gender specific

Parents with allergies are more likely to pass them on to their same gender children than to children of the opposite gender, say researchers.

17 Aug 2012

Researchers develop multi-dimensional MRI method to assess age in children

A national team of researchers led by investigators at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a multidimensional set of brain measurements that, when taken together, can accurately assess a child's age with 92 percent accuracy.

17 Aug 2012