Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal Sex Determination test

Sequenom, Inc. today announced the launch of the SensiGene™ Fetal(XY) (Fetal Sex Determination) test by Sequenom's CAP accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory, Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM). This is the company's second laboratory developed test powered by its SEQureDx™ technology.

17 Feb 2010

Circumcision: Risky by untrained providers with inappropriate equipment

How safe is circumcision? A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Urology has found that neonatal and infant circumcision by trained staff rarely results in problems. Risks can be higher among older boys, especially when undertaken by untrained providers with inappropriate equipment.

16 Feb 2010

Researchers find new risk factor for early-onset dementia

Examining brain tissue from over 500 individuals in 11 countries, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues found a new risk factor for the second-most-common cause of early-onset dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

16 Feb 2010

Nascent symptoms of autism in infants emerge during latter part of first year of life

A study of the development of autism in infants, comparing the behavior of the siblings of children diagnosed with autism to that of babies developing normally, has found that the nascent symptoms of the condition - a lack of shared eye contact, smiling and communicative babbling - are not present at 6 months, but emerge gradually and only become apparent during the latter part of the first year of life.

16 Feb 2010

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King's College London, have identified numerous novel regions of the genome where the chemical modifications involved in controlling gene expression are influenced by either genetic variation or the parental origin of that particular stretch of DNA. This contradicts previous assumptions that epigenetic signals are generally equal across both copies of a given region of the genome, except at a small number of known imprinted genes.

15 Feb 2010

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals.

15 Feb 2010

Plagiocephaly babies need to be screened and monitored early in life for possible cognitive, motor delays

In a new study, infants averaging six months of age who exhibited positional plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) had lower scores than typical infants in observational tests used to evaluate cognitive and motor development. Positional or deformational plagiocephaly may occur when external forces shape an infant's skull while it is still soft and malleable, such as extended time spent lying on a hard surface or in one position. This is the first controlled study to suggest that babies who have flattened areas on the back of their heads during the first year of life may be at risk for developmental delay.

15 Feb 2010

Viral Genetics: Company update

Our mission is to bring new drug compounds to the marketplace. And we've never been in a stronger position to deliver on that promise. We've built the solid foundation needed to take drug therapies from the laboratory to the marketplace. After years in development, we believe several of our most promising compounds are moving closer to clinical trials.

12 Feb 2010

NewLink Genetics receives FDA SPA approval for HyperAcute immunotherapy Phase 3 pancreatic cancer trial

NewLink Genetics Corporation announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process for a pivotal Phase 3 trial of its HyperAcute immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal and is currently an area of very significant unmet medical need. The SPA is a written agreement between NewLink as the trial sponsor and the FDA regarding the design, endpoints, and planned statistical analysis of a Phase 3 trial to be used in support of a Biologic License Application (BLA).

12 Feb 2010

Scientists uncover new gene that could help save sight of patients with inherited blindness

The international research team led by the University of Leeds found that the TSPAN12 gene is faulty in patients with a disease known as FEVR (Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy), which affects the development of the eye.

12 Feb 2010

LabCorp reports financial results for quarter and year ended December 31, 2009

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp®) today announced results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

11 Feb 2010

Researchers investigate risk factors for childhood obesity

Both genetics and parents who comfort their infants with food are the focus of a study funded for $1 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestion and Kidney Disease investigating risk factors for childhood obesity.

11 Feb 2010

Ingrid Grummt to receive 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) announced Ingrid Grummt from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, as the winner of the 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award. Ingrid Grummt has made important contributions to the field of transcriptional regulation in cells throughout her career.

11 Feb 2010

Current research underway to prevent preterm births

Family history, infection and stress all may play a role in raising a woman's risk of having a premature baby - but they don't fully explain why some women give birth too soon and others don't, according to a review article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Feb 2010

fMRI study shows neural network may be brain's back burner for social decision making

When we put an idea on the back burner, it goes into a processing area of the brain called the default-mode network. This network enables us to hold the low-priority idea in abeyance until a time when we aren't busy with something else.

11 Feb 2010

Raptor Pharmaceutical to present DR Cysteamine trial data at Lysosomal Disease Network Symposium

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., today announced the presentation of cystinosis data at the Annual Lysosomal Disease Network WORLD Symposium 2010, being held February 10-12 in Miami, Florida. Biomarker data from a Phase IIb pilot study of Raptor's proprietary delayed-release cysteamine bitartrate ("DR Cysteamine") will be the subject of a poster titled, "Correlation of Plasma Cysteamine and WBC Cystine Levels at Steady State in Patients Treated with Cysteamine Bitartrate." The results will also be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Molecular Genetics and Metabolism.

10 Feb 2010

Mapping of all fragile sites of yeast S.cerevisiae may lead to better understanding of cancer development

The research group of Dr. Fran-ois Robert, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), in collaboration with the team of Dr. Daniel Durocher (Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute and University of Toronto) accomplished a technical breakthrough: they mapped all the fragile sites of a living organism, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method used by the researchers can be applied to humans. This study has been published online today in the scientific journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.

10 Feb 2010

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the causal agent of chronic gastritis, ulcer and gastric cancer. It has the potential to persist in the human stomach for decades, sometimes causing neither harm nor clinical symptoms. Nevertheless, on some occasions, depending on the host immune system and the strain causing the infection, the outcome can be very serious. To maintain the infection, the bacterium must adapt to survive the host defences. One way to accomplish this is to sequentially change the external proteins on the bacterial surface.

10 Feb 2010

VSV has potential to be genetically modified to serve as anti-cancer agent

Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses, which include viruses that cause influenza, measles and rabies.

10 Feb 2010

HairDX introduces improved genetic baldness test, incorporates maternal and paternal influences

HairDX, developer of the first genetic test for predicting the risk of male and female pattern hair loss (Androgenetic Alopecia) today announced it is now able to provide doctors with an improved prediction by looking at genetic variants inherited from the mother combined with the risk for baldness attributed by the father.

10 Feb 2010

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal Sex Determination test

Circumcision: Risky by untrained providers with inappropriate equipment

Researchers find new risk factor for early-onset dementia

Nascent symptoms of autism in infants emerge during latter part of first year of life

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Plagiocephaly babies need to be screened and monitored early in life for possible cognitive, motor delays

Viral Genetics: Company update

NewLink Genetics receives FDA SPA approval for HyperAcute immunotherapy Phase 3 pancreatic cancer trial

Scientists uncover new gene that could help save sight of patients with inherited blindness

LabCorp reports financial results for quarter and year ended December 31, 2009

Researchers investigate risk factors for childhood obesity

Ingrid Grummt to receive 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award

Current research underway to prevent preterm births

fMRI study shows neural network may be brain's back burner for social decision making

Raptor Pharmaceutical to present DR Cysteamine trial data at Lysosomal Disease Network Symposium

Mapping of all fragile sites of yeast S.cerevisiae may lead to better understanding of cancer development

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

VSV has potential to be genetically modified to serve as anti-cancer agent

HairDX introduces improved genetic baldness test, incorporates maternal and paternal influences

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging