Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Link between dystrophin gene and age of cardiac disease onset in BMD patients identified

Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital have identified a link between specific modifications of the dystrophin gene and the age of cardiac disease onset in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). This information could help clinicians provide early cardiac intervention for BMD patients based on genetic testing results performed on a blood sample. These findings are a result of analysis of the largest number of BMD patients to date and are published in the December issue of the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics.

18 Jan 2010

Portugal life scientist awarded ERC's Advanced Investigator Grant

Zachary Mainen, coordinator of the Champalimaud Foundation Neuroscience Programme at the IGC, has become one of the most recent winners of the prestigious and highly competitive European Research Council grants, to the value of 2.3 million euro, for a period of five years. This grant, which recognises Mainen's contribution to the Neuroscience field, will be used to elucidate the biological role of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

18 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new gene variants associated With glucose, insulin levels

A major international study with leadership from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified 10 new gene variants associated with blood sugar or insulin levels. Two of these novel variants and three that earlier studies associated with glucose levels were also found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Along with a related study from members of the same research consortium, associating additional genetic variants with the metabolic response to a sugary meal, the report will appear in Nature Genetics and has been released online.

18 Jan 2010

Joubert Syndrome - an inherited neurological disease found among Ashkenazi Jews

Two scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) are part of an international team that has discovered a genetic mutation that causes Joubert Syndrome. JBTS, as it is commonly called, is a devastating inherited neurological disease that is very rare in the general population but found relatively more often among Ashkenazi Jews.

18 Jan 2010

Researchers uncover novel genetic markers for diabetes-related traits

In two major studies published in Nature Genetics today, researchers use biological understanding to dissect the genetics of diabetes. An international team comprising researchers from more than 100 institutions analysed vast suites of genetic data from more than 100,000 people of European descent to uncover the associations.

18 Jan 2010

Findings could pave way for new therapeutic approaches for Friedreich's ataxia

Elevated levels of DNA damage have for the first time been found in the cellular mitochondria and nuclei of patients with the inherited, progressive nervous system disease called Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), says a multicenter research team led by an expert from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI).

18 Jan 2010

Bariatric surgery offers a new hope for obese patients

Obesity is a condition that often follows family lines, but bariatric surgery offers hope for breaking this generational pattern.

18 Jan 2010

IGC scientist wins ERC grant for neuroscience research

18 Jan 2010

First genetic map of malaria drug plant could increase crop yields, study says

The first genetic map of the plant Artemisia annua, which could "help scientists develop the species into a high-yielding crop" to fight malaria, was published in a study in the journal Science on Thursday, Reuters reports (Kelland, 1/14).

18 Jan 2010

New findings may yield novel therapies for chronic neurodegenerative diseases

We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.

18 Jan 2010

Scientists discover new links between inherited blindness and AHI1 gene

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered new links between a common form of inherited blindness affecting children and a gene known as Abelson helper integration site-1 (AHI1).

18 Jan 2010

Targeted Genetics to delist its common stock on NASDAQ Capital Market

Targeted Genetics Corporation (the “Company”) today announced that it has determined that the expense and management attention required for NASDAQ Capital Market and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) compliance outweigh the benefits for the Company and its shareholders at this time.

13 Jan 2010

Research shows missing, mutated genes occur simultaneously in unique set of pediatric brain tumors

Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children. Now a more accurate diagnosis of childhood brain cancers may soon be possible, according to researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah. The information is published online today in the journal Cancer Research.

13 Jan 2010

Green tea could modulate smoke-induced lung cancer

Drinking green tea could modulate the effect of smoking on lung cancer. Results of this hospital-based, randomized study conducted in Taiwan were presented at the AACR-IASLC Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer, held here from Jan. 11-14, 2010.

13 Jan 2010

Monsanto and Stokes Bio announce licensing agreement and R&D collaboration

Monsanto Company and Limerick-based biotechnology firm, Stokes Bio Limited, announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement and R&D collaboration, which is expected to help accelerate the pace of new advancements in plant breeding.

13 Jan 2010

Pathway Genomics launches new campaign to highlight the benefits of genetic testing services

Pathway Genomics™ (www.PATHWAY.com), a privately held, venture-backed company, today launched a new campaign designed to facilitate discussions around consumer genetic testing services. Called ‘DNA Conversation Starters,’ Pathway will address a range of topics about genetic testing, further educating members of the media, the genetic testing community, and consumers about the benefits of genetic testing services and the depth of information obtained from Pathway’s Genetic Health and Ancestry tests.

13 Jan 2010

Ongoing pressures of human evolution could explain rise in disorders; scientists call for broader perspective

The subtle but ongoing pressures of human evolution could explain the seeming rise of disorders such as autism, autoimmune diseases, and reproductive cancers, researchers write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

12 Jan 2010

University Hospitals in Cleveland selects Sectra as PACS provider

University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio has selected the IT and medical-technology company Sectra as their PACS provider. University Hospitals has been recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 10 hospital system in the U.S., and by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s best hospitals.

12 Jan 2010

Yoga lowers number of compounds in blood and reduces inflammation

Regularly practicing yoga exercises may lower a number of compounds in the blood and reduce the level of inflammation that normally rises because of both normal aging and stress, a new study has shown.

12 Jan 2010

NetApp, Stanford Genome Technology Center build gastric cancer registry powered by NetApp storage technology

Gastric cancer is the number two cancer killer worldwide and one of the top cancer killers in the U.S., but gastric cancer research gets the least federal funding of any type of cancer research. According to a CBS News analysis of data released by the American Cancer Society, for every cancer-related death in the U.S., only $1,168 federal research dollars are spent on gastric cancer, versus $18,870 for cancer of the cervix and $14,095 for breast cancer.

12 Jan 2010