Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Rare DNA variations may be responsible for differences in susceptibility to common disorders

One-letter switches in the DNA code occur much more frequently in human genomes than anticipated, but are often only found in one or a few individuals. The abundance of rare variations across the human genome is consistent with the population explosion of the past few thousand years, medical geneticists and evolutionary biologists report in the May 17 advanced online edition of Science.

19 May 2012

Personal genetic test results don't drive overuse of expensive medical care

People have more and more chances to participate in genetic testing that can indicate their range of risk for developing a disease. Receiving these results does not appreciably drive up- or diminish-test recipients' demand for potentially costly follow-up health services, according to a new study in the May 17, 2012 early online issue of Genetics in Medicine.

18 May 2012

Regular eating times, extended daily fasting may prevent diabetes, obesity

It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.

18 May 2012

Researchers identify novel base modification in RNA

Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases.

18 May 2012

Researchers sequence genomes of 21 breast cancers

In two back-to-back reports published online on 17 May in Cell, researchers have sequenced the genomes of 21 breast cancers and analysed the mutations that emerged during the tumours' development. The individual results are described below.

18 May 2012

Researchers identify 57 SNPs associated with autism

By focusing on the identification of common genetic variants, researchers have identified 57 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that predict-with a high degree of certainty--the risk that siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will also develop the condition. The findings were presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research.

18 May 2012

Breast cancer cell surface protein blows cover of potent tumor-generating cells

Breast cancer stem cells wear a cell surface protein that is part nametag and part bull's eye, identifying them as potent tumor-generating cells and flagging their vulnerability to a drug, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online in Journal of Clinical Investigation.

17 May 2012

Nottingham researchers lead largest ever research project into genetics of pre-eclampsia

Researchers from The University of Nottingham are leading the largest ever international research project into the genetics of the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia.

17 May 2012

Mary Ann Liebert releases BioResearch Open Access journal

The inaugural issue of BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal, was released today by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including but not limited to molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience.

17 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

High-throughput sequencing can detect early signs of leukemia relapse

A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a next-generation, high-speed DNA-decoding technology called high-throughput sequencing can detect the earliest signs of potential relapse in nearly twice the number of leukemia patients as compared to flow cytometry, the current gold standard for detecting minimal residual disease.

17 May 2012

New clues in the pathogenesis of skull and skin birth defects associated with BSS

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found new clues in the pathogenesis of skull and skin birth defects associated with a rare genetic disorder, Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome.

16 May 2012

Specific populations of tumor cells have different roles

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers suggests that specific populations of tumor cells have different roles in the process by which tumors make new copies of themselves and grow.

16 May 2012

Significant breakthrough in understanding the cause of bile duct cancer

A team of international scientists has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the cause of bile duct cancer, a deadly type of liver cancer. By identifying several new genes frequently mutated in bile duct cancers, researchers are paving the way for better understanding of how bile duct cancers develop. Their discovery is published online in Nature Genetics.

15 May 2012

Genetic cause of rare genetic disorder, Hamamy syndrome

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), in collaboration with doctors and scientists in Jordan, Turkey, Switzerland and USA, have identified the genetic cause of a birth defect known as Hamamy syndrome .

14 May 2012

Chromatin compaction required for proper embryonic stem cell differentiation

New research findings show that embryonic stem cells unable to fully compact the DNA inside them cannot complete their primary task: differentiation into specific cell types that give rise to the various types of tissues and structures in the body.

11 May 2012

New combination therapy offers potential lifetime cure for advanced type 1 diabetes

City of Hope researchers developed a combination therapy to treat late-stage type 1 diabetes that appears to offer a potential lifetime cure for the disease without toxic side effects. The laboratory study is published in the May 9 edition of Science Translational Medicine.

11 May 2012

Interim results from Seattle Genetics’ ADCETRIS phase II trial on CTCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that interim results from an investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in patients with relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology annual meeting being held May 9-12, 2012 in Raleigh, NC.

11 May 2012

Study: C5ORF42 gene contributes to Joubert Syndrome

History, science and discovery come together to help family members affected by this syndrome make informed family planning choices. C5ORF42 was identified as the gene that causes Joubert Syndrome in a number of families in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Quebec where the causal gene had remained unknown since the initial description of the syndrome in 1969. This is what a study in the April issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics reveals.

11 May 2012

Fast track approval process for “breakthrough” drugs proposed in the U.S.

Some experimental drugs that show a big effect early in development for treating serious or life-threatening diseases could soon get a faster and cheaper path to U.S. approval, under a proposal likely to become law this year.

10 May 2012