Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers led by geneticists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have identified a new gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa, a form of blindness, ending one South Florida family's nearly 20-year search for what caused three of their four children to lose their sight.

4 Feb 2011

Miracle boy born after new infertility therapy

A Lancashire couple Andrew and Louise Riley have been blessed with a “miracle baby boy” thanks to a pioneering new genetic screening process. Elliott Riley was born just after Christmas after the Rileys opted for a relatively new technique called array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) after 10 years of infertility treatments. Mrs. Riley, 37, and her husband, 39, said they were delighted to welcome Elliott on December 30.

3 Feb 2011

Genetic component to Parkinson’s disease discovered

Parkinson’s disease, a severely degenerative disease of the brain leading to tremors, muscle rigidity and finally immobility was until the 1990’s believed to be due to environmental factors, lifestyle and a person’s age. However, now scientists have discovered five more genes that influence its development.

3 Feb 2011

Rare new disease identified – calcium accumulates in blood vessels

A new rare disease has been identified. Louise Benge’s started having difficulty in walking when she was 25. She developed hardening and pain over her calves and hands. She worsened over the next 20 years. Her family physician in Mount Vernon, Ky., was at a loss, as were a vascular specialist, a hand specialist and a kidney specialist. Her two sisters and two brothers had the problem too, but no doctor could understand why.

3 Feb 2011

IDF commends Florida council for recommending SCID screening for all newborns

The Florida Genetics and Newborn Screening Program Advisory Council voted unanimously to recommend that the Department of Health screen all newborns for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) – commonly known as bubble boy disease.

3 Feb 2011

Losartan improves effectiveness of nanotherapeutics against cancer

Low doses of an inexpensive, FDA-approved hypertension medication may improve the results of nanotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment. In a report in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators describe experiments showing that the generic drug losartan, by modifying the network of collagen fibers that characterizes most solid tumors, improved the effectiveness of two nanotherapeutics against several types of cancer.

3 Feb 2011

Metamark announces Nature journal published landmark prostate cancer study results

Metamark Genetics, Inc., a privately-held oncology molecular diagnostics company, today announced results from a landmark prostate cancer study published as an Advance Online Publication in the journal Nature.

3 Feb 2011

HMORN, iSAEC collaborate to enroll subjects in SAE research project using EMR database

The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium announced today a new collaboration with the HMO Research Network to enroll subjects in research to identify genetic markers that may help predict risk associated with a range of serious drug-related adverse events.

3 Feb 2011

Merck announces publication of GARDASIL pivotal Phase III study data in NEJM

Merck announced today that data from the pivotal Phase III study with GARDASIL in males were published in the February 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Feb 2011

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists, led by Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to the brain disorder - and a signaling pathway that may be treatable with existing compounds.

3 Feb 2011

New study indicates predisposition to lumbar disc disease could be inherited

Symptomatic lumbar disc disease, a condition caused by degeneration or herniation of the discs of the lower spine, may be inherited, according to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

3 Feb 2011

Four-gene/protein signature more accurately predicts metastatic prostate cancer

Prostate tumors that carry a "signature" of four molecular markers have the potential to become dangerously metastatic if not treated aggressively, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report in a study published online today by the journal Nature. The discovery lays the groundwork for the first gene-based test for determining whether a man's prostate cancer is likely to remain dormant within the prostate gland, or spread lethally to other parts of the body.

3 Feb 2011

Seattle Genetics prices underwritten public offering of 10,000,000 shares of common stock

Seattle Genetics, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock, offered at a price to the public of $15.50 per share.

3 Feb 2011

Cell Press launches new iPhone application for downloading research articles

Cell Press is delighted to announce the launch of its new iPhone app - Cell Alerts, available to download for free at www.cell.com/iphone or http://bit.ly/fw9pbx.

2 Feb 2011

Multi-national group of researchers announce launch of International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project

The launch of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) - a collaboration formed to discover and map the genes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease - was announced today by a multi-national group of researchers including Drs. Lindsay Farrer and Sudha Seshadri at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). The collaborative effort, spanning universities from both sides of the Atlantic, will combine the knowledge, staff and resources of four consortia that work on Alzheimer's disease genetics.

2 Feb 2011

New study to address causes and risk factors of ovarian cancer in African American women

University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are conducting an important new study addressing the lack of knowledge about causes and risk factors for ovarian cancer in African American women. The five-year study is funded by the National Cancer Institute through Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

2 Feb 2011

Boston-based Research 2.0 begins Viral Genetics coverage, publishes initial report

Boston-based Research 2.0 initiated coverage of Viral Genetics, Inc, and published their initial report today. The report is available on the company's website at www.viralgenetics.com/investors/press-releases/R20Report and is also distributed over the internet and through institutional platforms including FactSet, CapitalIQ, and TheMarkets.com.

2 Feb 2011

Mother’s stroke history can help predict daughter’s risk of heart attack

If you're a woman and your mother had a stroke, you may have a risk of heart attack in addition to a higher risk of stroke, according to new research on family history and heart disease published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics.

2 Feb 2011

Seattle Genetics to sell common stock in underwritten public offering

Seattle Genetics, today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. All of the shares in the offering are to be sold by Seattle Genetics.

1 Feb 2011

Vanderbilt researchers announce multi-national collaboration on Alzheimer's disease genetics

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and across the globe, announced today a multi-national collaboration to discover and map all genes relating to Alzheimer's disease through the formation of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project.

1 Feb 2011