Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

NIH, NanoBio sign licensing agreement to develop vaccine against RSV infections

NanoBio Corporation today announced a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that represents a significant step forward in developing the first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

4 Aug 2011

Urine test for prostate cancer: Study

Lead researcher Dr. Scott Tomlins, a pathology resident at the University of Michigan Health System said, “This is a tool that men and their physician can use to help them decide whether it's appropriate to get a biopsy now or delay that decision.”

4 Aug 2011

Centenarians have good genes rather than good lifestyles: Study

The team of researchers interviewed 477 people who were living independently and were 95 and older who were participating in a longevity research project that is trying to understand why centenarians live as long as they do.

4 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Geithner, Bowles, Simpson, Ryan, Vladeck, Wilensky on health spending and the deficit

The agreement sets up a powerful mechanism for agreement on tax reforms to strengthen growth, and entitlement reforms to strengthen programs such as Medicare. A congressional committee with fast-track authority will have a Nov. 23 deadline to recommend a balanced package of long-term reforms to produce $1.5 trillion in additional deficit reduction.

4 Aug 2011

Illumina and University of Oxford collaborate to sequence whole genomes

Illumina, Inc. today announced it will collaborate with the University of Oxford to sequence the whole genomes of 500 individuals afflicted with a range of life-threatening diseases that pose major challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and care. Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 systems will be used to generate sequence data for the 500 genomes.

From Illumina, Inc. 3 Aug 2011

Marital instability impacts child's sleep patterns

When parents fight, infants are likely to lose sleep, researchers report. "We know that marital problems have an impact on child functioning, and we know that sleep is a big problem for parents," said Jenae M. Neiderhiser, professor of psychology, Penn State.

3 Aug 2011

New method of delivering growth factors could lead to revolutionary heart treatment

Ever since the Nobel Prize for nerve growth factor was awarded more than 30 years ago, researchers have been searching for ways to use growth factor clinically.

3 Aug 2011

Prolonged estrogen deprivation reduces ability to prevent strokes

Prolonged estrogen deprivation in aging rats dramatically reduces the number of brain receptors for the hormone as well as its ability to prevent strokes, researchers report.

3 Aug 2011

UTHealth student receives UNCF/Merck fellowship for multidrug-resistant CDI research

Charles Darkoh, a graduate student at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), has been awarded a fellowship from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Merck for his research into a major health problem - multidrug-resistant Clostridium difficile bacterial infection.

3 Aug 2011

Lifestyle factors of people with exceptional longevity

People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

3 Aug 2011

Federal appeals court partially reverses ruling in BRCA patents case

In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court today partially reversed a lower court's ruling in a case challenging patents on two human genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The court ruled that companies can obtain patents on the genes but cannot patent methods to compare those gene sequences.

3 Aug 2011

Conference to focus on connection between fluid balance and hypertension

Each day we consume liquids in order to keep hydrated and maintain our body's fluid balance. But just as a water balloon can get overtaxed by too much liquid, the human body is negatively affected when it retains fluids because it is unable to eliminate them properly. One of the key variables influencing how much fluid we hold in our bodies is ordinary table salt.

3 Aug 2011

British scientists find seven new gene variants linked to prostate cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have taken a further step to identifying men at a greater risk of prostate cancer with the discovery of seven new variants in the human genome that increase the chances of developing the disease. The research is published in Nature Genetics.

3 Aug 2011

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