Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Cancer Research UK honors Nottingham scientist with prestigious award

A University of Nottingham scientist who uses fruit flies to study the genetics of cancer has won a prestigious award from Cancer Research UK.

3 Aug 2011

Novel therapy reduces elevated blood levels of toxic protein in women with preeclampsia

A novel therapy that reduces elevated blood levels of a potentially toxic protein in women with preeclampsia, a dangerous complication of pregnancy, may someday address the therapeutic dilemma posed by the condition - balancing life-threatening risks to the mother with the dangers that early delivery poses to an immature fetus.

3 Aug 2011

Scientists look to create blood platelets from stem cells to study genetics of blood clotting disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists have launched a pioneering research program to create, for the first time, human platelet cells from stem cells in order to study inherited blood clotting abnormalities ranging from clots that cause heart attacks and stroke to bleeding disorders. The study is funded by a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a nationwide initiative to examine how genetic variations cause heart, lung and blood diseases.

2 Aug 2011

Sea Squirts found to have pacemaker cells similar to human heart

An international team of molecular scientists have discovered that star ascidians, also known as sea squirts, have pacemaker cells similar to that of the human heart. The research, published in the JEZ A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, may offer a new insight into the early evolution of the heart as star ascidians are one of the closest related invertebrates to mammals.

2 Aug 2011

Lesser toe deformities should be treated early: Literature review

While deformities of the lesser toes can be very painful, there are numerous surgical and nonsurgical treatments for these conditions that are usually quite effective.

2 Aug 2011

Nature Biotechnology publishes BGI, GT Life Sciences' study on CHO K1 genome

BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, and GT Life Sciences, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that utilizes a proven metabolic modeling and experimental platform to drive the discovery and design of new products and processes for the life sciences field, announced today that their collaborative study on the genomic sequence of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) K1 cell line was published July 31, 2011 online in Nature Biotechnology.

1 Aug 2011

Scientists reveal genetic region that increases risk of meningioma

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have conducted the first whole-genome scan of the brain tumour meningioma and revealed a genetic region that increases the risk of developing the disease, according to research published in Nature Genetics today.

1 Aug 2011

Myb protein suppression can help eliminate acute myelogenous leukemia

A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has laid bare the mechanism behind a phenomenon called oncogene addiction in mice suffering from a form of leukemia that mimics acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in humans.

1 Aug 2011

Three new loci linked to asthma susceptibility in Japanese population

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM), together with colleagues at Kyoto University, Tsukuba University, Harvard University, and other medical institutions have identified three new loci associated with susceptibility to adult asthma in the Japanese population.

1 Aug 2011

Researchers reveal novel gene linked with asthma in African-Americans

A new national collaboration of asthma genetics researchers has revealed a novel gene associated with the disease in African-Americans, according to a new scientific report.

1 Aug 2011

Skin cancer vaccine on the way: Cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer

In a major medical breakthrough, cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer is on the verge of developing a vaccine against skin cancer within a year. The former ‘Australian of the Year’ and creator of the world's first cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has developed a world-first strategy to combat the insidious disease that affects two out of three Australians.

31 Jul 2011

Human genes can be patented in U.S. - Court overrules previous ruling

A lower court in the U.S. had earlier ruled that human genes cannot be patented by biotech companies who use them for diagnostic purposes. Now a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that genes can be patented. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, said that Myriad Genetics was entitled to patents on two human genes used to predict if women have an increased risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer.

31 Jul 2011

8 out of ten Australians would use genetic depression susceptibility test results to reduce risky behaviour, survey shows

Eight out of ten Australians would radically change their behaviour if tests showed they had a genetic susceptibility to depression, a national study has found.

31 Jul 2011

SACHDNC presents new recommendations for storing dried newborn blood specimens

The states should develop clear and open policies regarding retention and research uses of dried blood spot specimens left over from newborn screening, according to a new set of "recommendations for national guidance" published in Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

30 Jul 2011

WARFARIN Study initiated to assess utility of genetic testing to reduce warfarin-related adverse events

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced that the WARFARIN Study was initiated at Colorado Heart & Vascular, P.C. in Denver and other major hospital systems nationwide to assess the utility of genetic testing to determine a personalized warfarin dose for individual patients to reduce their risk of serious bleeding or clotting events.

30 Jul 2011

UH Rainbow physicians to participate in two new clinical trials with AsthmaNet

Physicians at University Hospitals (UH) Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital are participating in two new clinical trials with the national research consortium AsthmaNet.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers awarded $12M to study pathology of severe lung injury

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have been awarded more than $11.7 million to study the pathology of severe lung injury.

30 Jul 2011

Studies reveal new set of mutations linked with head and neck cancer

Powerful new technologies that zoom in on the connections between human genes and diseases have illuminated the landscape of cancer, singling out changes in tumor DNA that drive the development of certain types of malignancies such as melanoma or ovarian cancer.

29 Jul 2011

WSU professor receives NIH grant for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease research

Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and genetics and of immunology and microbiology in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University, was awarded $1.7 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to explore how molecular elements in the body regulate the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

29 Jul 2011

Oral chicken interferon-alpha may significantly reduce influenza infection

Avian influenza virus is a threat to the commercial chicken industry and, with its recent rapid spread across China, has also shown the ability for transmission from chickens to humans and other mammals.

29 Jul 2011