Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

APS sponsors 7th International Symposium on Aldosterone and the ENaC/Degenerin Family of Ion Channels

The American Physiological Society is sponsoring the 7th International Symposium on Aldosterone and the ENaC/Degenerin Family of Ion Channels, being held September 18-22 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, Calif. This scientific conference explores the connection between fluid balance in the body and hypertension, a growing global health concern.

8 Sep 2011

Researchers identify new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease

A large team of international researchers have identified a new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease that they say may be related to the inability of brain cells to handle biological stress.

8 Sep 2011

London scientist hopes to improve diagnosis for Jeune syndrome

A London scientist is hoping a new study funded by children's charity Action Medical Research, will help to improve diagnosis and work towards new treatments for a rare, incurable genetic disorder called Jeune syndrome.

7 Sep 2011

Fujirebio Diagnostics receives FDA 510(k) clearance for Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm test

Fujirebio Diagnostics, the industry leader in oncology biomarker assays, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the company's HE4 Test in an algorithm called ROMA (HE4 EIA + ARCHITECT CA 125 II) to aid in assessing whether a premenopausal or postmenopausal woman who presents with an ovarian adnexal mass is at high or low likelihood of finding malignancy on surgery.

7 Sep 2011

Walnuts may prevent breast cancer

A new study has found that eating a handful of walnuts on a regular basis may reduce women’s risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers from the Marshall University observed in mice that consuming 2 ounces of walnuts each day reduced the growth of breast cancer tumors.

6 Sep 2011

Sperm donors may father over 150 children

Most sperm donors assume that they would father a few children. But with the news that some donors have fathered over 100 kids there have been calls for tighter regulation. It has been discovered that some sperm banks allow donors to father lots and lots of kids — one has over 150. And with these very large groups of half-siblings come risks: rare genetic conditions could be spread more widely through the gene pool, and children of the same donor could meet and, unbeknownst to them, commit incest.

6 Sep 2011

Biologists reveal why men's ring fingers are longer than their index fingers

Biologists at the University of Florida have found a reason why men's ring fingers are generally longer than their index fingers - and why the reverse usually holds true for women.

6 Sep 2011

Autism diagnosis by brain scan a possibility

A team of Stanford scientists have found that the brains of autistic children have a distinctive topography and could be captured using new imaging techniques. This could someday create a template for the autistic brain that could be used to diagnose kids at a very early age they claim.

5 Sep 2011

Researchers discover gene mutation linked with lymphoedema, leukaemia

Researchers have discovered a gene that when mutated can cause lymphoedema (swollen limbs due to a failure of the lymph system), immune abnormalities, deafness and leukaemia.

5 Sep 2011

Researchers discover group of mutations involved in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

An international team of researchers has found a group of mutations involved in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), and showed that a group of certain drugs, already in clinical use to treat other diseases, can eliminate the cells carrying these mutations.

5 Sep 2011

Researchers discover new genetic defect that predisposes people to leukemia, myelodysplasia

A new genetic defect that predisposes people to acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia has been discovered. The mutations were found in the GATA2 gene. Among its several regulatory roles, the gene acts as a master control during the transition of primitive blood-forming cells into white blood cells.

5 Sep 2011

Exposure to household smoke increases school absenteeism among children

Children who live in households where they are exposed to tobacco smoke miss more days of school than do children living in smoke-free homes, a new nationwide study confirms.

5 Sep 2011

Einstein researchers develop tuberculosis vaccine candidate

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report in the September 4 online edition of Nature Medicine that they have developed a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate that proved both potent and safe in animal studies.

5 Sep 2011

Scientists discover highly conserved mechanism governing brain development

If you think today's political rhetoric is overheated, imagine what goes on inside a vertebrate embryo. There, two armies whose agendas are poles apart, engage in a battle with consequences much more dire than whether the economy will recover---- they are battling for whether you (or frogs or chickens) will have a forebrain.

3 Sep 2011

Researchers discover why tumors evolve

Like snakes, tumour cells shed their skin. Cancer is not a static disease but during its development the disease accumulates changes to evade natural defences adapting to new environmental circumstances, protecting against chemotherapy and radiotherapy and invading neighbouring organs, eventually causing metastasis.

3 Sep 2011

Scientists identify several links between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes

Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich and LMU Munich, in cooperation with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London (KCL), have identified several associations between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes.

3 Sep 2011

Nature journal publishes Metabolon's genome wide association study

Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and biochemical analysis, announced the publication of "Human Metabolic Individuality in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research" in the journal Nature.

3 Sep 2011

Finland national health institute finds link between H1N1 flu vaccine and children's narcolepsy

"Finland's national health institute said on Thursday its latest research on previously found links between children's narcolepsy and GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix vaccine against H1N1 swine flu also involved a genetic risk factor," Reuters reports.

3 Sep 2011

Freiburg researchers receive European Research Council Starting Grants

Marta Artal Sanz, Thomas Brox, Winfried Römer, and Oliver Schilling from the University of Freiburg have been selected for one of the most prestigious European grants for young researchers: The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded them a total of 5.8 million euros in ERC Starting Grants for new projects.

2 Sep 2011

Chromatin might have another life as direct signaling molecule

Chromatin - the intertwined histone proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes - constantly receives messages that pour in from a cell's intricate signaling networks: Turn that gene on. Stifle that one. But chromatin also talks back, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in the journal Cell, issuing orders affecting a protein that has nothing to do with chromatin's central role in gene transcription - the first step in protein formation.

2 Sep 2011