Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Nature journal publishes first volume of Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia

The goal of cancer treatment is to match the right drug to the right target in the right patient. But before such "personalized" drugs can be developed, more knowledge is needed about specific genomic alterations in cancers and their sensitivity to potential therapeutic agents.

29 Mar 2012

Interleukin, U-M School of Dentistry complete enrollment in PST Genetic Test study

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry and Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today the completion of patient enrollment for a landmark clinical study using Interleukin's PST Genetic Test to determine if dental patients can be risk-stratified to guide frequency of preventive dental visits and reduce the adverse outcomes of periodontal disease progression, such as tooth loss.

29 Mar 2012

Losing weight and increasing physical activity reduces decline in mobility in obese adults with type 2 diabetes

Weight loss and increased physical fitness nearly halved the decline in mobility in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.

29 Mar 2012

Cracking Your Genetic Code raises bioethics issues

Will genetic testing and personalized medicine change the way you think about your life? Should it? What can you really learn about your future from direct-to-consumer genetic tests-or even from whole genome scanning, which is becoming increasingly affordable? And what about your privacy: how well is your genetic information protected?

28 Mar 2012

Understanding quantum metabolism may help stop cancer growth

The theory of quantum metabolism is the idea that quantum processes, such as entanglement, influence the metabolism of cells. This idea offers scientists a new explanation for the metabolic changes that cause healthy cells to transform into cancerous ones. The metamorphosis gives cancerous cells the ability to outcompete healthy cells for space and nutrients, causing the disease to spread.

28 Mar 2012

AMP confident in lawsuit to invalidate patents on two breast cancer genes

Now that the Supreme Court has remanded Association for Molecular Pathology et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al. (AMP v. Myriad) to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for further consideration, AMP is optimistic that it will ultimately prevail in its lawsuit to invalidate patents on two genes that are known to cause breast cancer.

28 Mar 2012

Simple genetic test could help predict aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours

A study led by Dr Janet Shipley from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London in collaboration with Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Lausanne has shown that a simple genetic test could help predict the aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours in children

28 Mar 2012

Therapy Finder - Colorectal Cancer app now available for patients

No one wants to hear the words, "you have colon cancer." For patients diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease, these words can be particularly devastating. The five-year survival rate can be a little as 6 percent. The top-of-mind question becomes, "Which treatment or clinical trial will work for me?"

28 Mar 2012

UT Southwestern researcher wins prestigious award from International Atherosclerosis Society

Dr. Helen Hobbs, a preeminent researcher on the genetics of cholesterol metabolism at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has won a prestigious award from the International Atherosclerosis Society.

28 Mar 2012

IU biologist to genetically modify variants of chlamydia

An Indiana University biologist has been awarded over $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to genetically modify variants of the human pathogen chlamydia in hopes of finding a vaccine for the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States.

27 Mar 2012

Gene fault linked to flu risk for hospitalization: Study finds

Researchers have found a genetic flaw that may explain why some people get more ill with flu than others. The study was reported in the journal Nature this Sunday, where researchers said the variant of the IFITM3 gene was much more common in people hospitalized for flu than in the general population. It controls a malformed protein, which makes cells more susceptible to viral infection. Experts said those with the flaw could be given the flu jab, like other at-risk groups.

26 Mar 2012

Ariosa completes clinical validation study for Harmony Prenatal Test

Ariosa Diagnostics (formerly Aria Diagnostics), a molecular diagnostics company, today announced the completion of its clinical validation study for the Harmony Prenatal Test.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers identify gene that influences how we respond to flu infection

A genetic finding could help explain why influenza becomes a life-threating disease to some people while it has only mild effects in others. New research led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has identified for the first time a human gene that influences how we respond to influenza infection.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers pinpoint new mechanism that potently activates T-cells in leprosy

UCLA researchers pinpointed a new mechanism that potently activates T-cells, the group of white blood cells that play a major role in fighting infections.

26 Mar 2012

Paul Allen pledges $300 million to better understand the brain’s inner workings

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is donating $300 million to his Allen Institute for Brain Science to fund new projects to map and observe the human brain and, in Allen’s words, “to one day understand the essence of what makes us human.” That brings the total amount Allen has invested in the Institute to half a billion.

25 Mar 2012

Fruit flies too get kidney stones

Research on kidney stones in fruit flies may hold the key to developing a treatment that could someday stop the formation of kidney stones in humans, a team from Mayo Clinic and the University of Glasgow found.

23 Mar 2012

Obese children with PNPLA3 and GCKR genetic variants more susceptible to fatty liver disease

New research found the genetic variant Patatin-like phospholipase domain containing protein-3 (PNPLA3) acting in conjunction with the glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) is associated with increased susceptibility to fatty liver disease in obese children.

23 Mar 2012

IBM, MSKCC partner to develop decision support tool for oncologists

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and IBM have agreed to collaborate on the development of a powerful tool built upon IBM Watson in order to provide medical professionals with improved access to current and comprehensive cancer data and practices.

23 Mar 2012

Scientists artificially derive brain stem cells from connective tissue of mice

These stem cells can reproduce and be converted into various types of brain cells. To date, only reprogramming in brain cells that were already fully developed or which had only a limited ability to divide was possible. The new reprogramming method presented by the Bonn scientists and submitted for publication in July 2011 now enables derivation of brain stem cells that are still immature and able to undergo practically unlimited division to be extracted from conventional body cells.

23 Mar 2012

Study identifies abnormal brain gene expression patterns in autism

A study led by Eric Courchesne, PhD, director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has, for the first time, identified in young autism patients genetic mechanisms involved in abnormal early brain development and overgrowth that occurs in the disorder. The findings suggest novel genetic and molecular targets that could lead to discoveries of new prevention strategies and treatment for the disorder.

23 Mar 2012