Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Medical researchers uncover a novel approach to treat Huntington's disease

Medical researchers may have uncovered a novel approach to treat an incurable and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects hundreds of thousands of people.

3 Jun 2011

New approach for identifying 'self' proteins targeted in autoimmune diseases

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and MIT have developed a new approach for identifying the "self" proteins targeted in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

3 Jun 2011

LabCorp extends cash tender offer for all shares of Orchid common stock

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings today announced that LabCorp is extending until 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 15, 2011, LabCorp's previously announced cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of the common stock of Orchid Cellmark Inc.

3 Jun 2011

Johns Hopkins researchers solve mystery of Warburg effect

It’s long been known that cancer cells eat a lot of sugar to stay alive. In fact, where normal, noncancerous cells generate energy from using some sugar and a lot of oxygen, cancerous cells use virtually no oxygen and a lot of sugar. Many genes have been implicated in this process and now, reporting in the May 27 issue of Cell, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that this so-called Warburg effect is controlled.

2 Jun 2011

Sequenom secures $30.0M credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank’s San Diego-based team

Sequenom, Inc., a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today announced it and its subsidiary Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine have secured a $30.0 million financing commitment from Silicon Valley Bank’s San Diego-based team. Sequenom will use proceeds from the facility to support the development and commercialization of new products and other near term growth initiatives.

2 Jun 2011

Researchers discover overactive genes that drive triple-negative breast cancer cells

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified an overactive network of growth-spurring genes that drive stem-like breast cancer cells enriched in triple-negative breast tumors, a typically aggressive cancer that is highly resistant to current therapies.

2 Jun 2011

PCF funds 14 new Creativity Awards for advanced prostate cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation today announced that it has funded 14 new Creativity Awards for advanced prostate cancer research. These two-year awards are designed to support innovative research ideas that have the potential to achieve breakthroughs for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

2 Jun 2011

Men with migraine suffer from PTSD than women

A recently published paper highlights that while the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more common in those with migraine than those without migraine irrespective of sex, the risk is greater in male migraineurs than female migraineurs. Study details are now available in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Headache Society.

1 Jun 2011

SMPX gene mutation causes hereditary hearing impairment

Excessive noise is not the only thing that causes damage to hearing. In many cases, genetic factors are responsible for the loss of hearing at a young age. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin together with colleagues from Nijmegen have discovered a previously unknown genetic cause of progressive hearing impairment: the disease is caused by mutations of the SMPX gene, which is located on the X chromosome.

1 Jun 2011

Researchers receive CTSI Award for Translational Research in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health.

Patricia Dickson, MD, and Jennifer Yee, MD, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) researchers, will be honored on Thursday as recipients of the first UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute's (CTSI) Award for Translational Research in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health.

1 Jun 2011

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid holds promise against familial frontotemporal dementia

A drug already approved for people with cancer shows early potential as a therapy for a common form of dementia, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

1 Jun 2011

Research: Gene mutation causes eye disease glaucoma

It is a mutation in a gene that causes the eye disease glaucoma, according to collaborative research conducted by Swedish, Tunisian, and American researchers. The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Genetics.

31 May 2011

AAPA recognizes nation's top five Physician Assistants with PAragon Awards

The American Academy of Physician Assistants today recognizes five of the nation's top PAs with the Academy's highest honor, the PAragon Awards.

31 May 2011

Mouse Phylogeny Viewer

Laboratory research has always been limited in terms of what conclusions scientists can safely extrapolate from animal experiments to the human population as a whole. Many promising findings in mice have not held up under further experimentation, in part because laboratory animals, bred from a limited genetic foundation, don't provide a good representation of how genetic diversity manifests in the broader human population.

30 May 2011

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can avoid mother to child transmission of mtDNA disorders

Dutch researchers have developed a test which predicts which mothers at risk of passing on mitochondrial genetic disease to their children are likely to have a healthy baby.

30 May 2011

JRC report shows how molecular technologies can help combat illegal fishing, support traceability

Low-cost catfish fillets sold as expensive sole fillets or cod caught in the North Sea but declared as originating from the Baltic Sea are both examples of types of fraud in the fisheries sector. A European Commission report published today shows how molecular technologies - based on genetics, genomics, chemistry and forensics - can provide clear answers to questions such as "what species does this fish product come from….where was this fish caught….is it wild or farmed?".

30 May 2011

Lipidomic profiling can lead to better and earlier prediction of major diseases

Studying the genetic make-up of different varieties of lipids in the blood plasma of an individual can lead to a better and earlier prediction of diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and heart disease, two researchers will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today.

30 May 2011

Vitamin D levels low in African Americans with multiple sclerosis

In the first major study exploring the connection between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis in African Americans, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered that vitamin D levels in the blood are lower in African Americans who have the disease, compared to African Americans who do not.

30 May 2011

Rise of obesity - risks at work

A team of researchers have found that the American workplace is a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic. In the review of shifts in the labor force since 1960 it was suggested that a sizable portion of the national weight gain can be explained by declining physical activity during the workday.

29 May 2011

DNA-based traceability system tracks beef

Starting today, 11,000 U.S. restaurants that serve Braveheart Black Angus Beef will be able to assure diners a guarantee of quality about their premium Angus beef through DNA TraceBack®, the nation's first-of-its-kind assurance of quality and commitment.

27 May 2011