Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Human amniotic fluid skin cells "reprogrammed" to pluripotency

In a breakthrough that may help fill a critical need in stem cell research and patient care, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have demonstrated that skin cells found in human amniotic fluid can be efficiently "reprogrammed" to pluripotency, where they have characteristics similar to human embryonic stem cells that can develop into almost any type of cell in the human body. The study is online now and will appear in print in the next issue of the journal Cellular Reprogramming, to be published next month.

16 Mar 2010

LUMC purchases Fluidigm Access Array system

Fluidigm Corporation and BIOKÉ, distributor of Fluidigm systems in the Benelux, today announced that Leiden University Medical Center’s (LUMC) Human Genetics Department has purchased a Fluidigm Access Array™ system. The Access Array system enables users to automatically prepare sequencing-ready libraries from up to 48 individual samples at a time, for as little as €7 (EUR) per sample.

16 Mar 2010

Blocking RhoA enzyme increases survival in SMA mouse model

Scientists from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have identified a promising new approach for developing drugs to treat Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading inherited cause of death in infants and toddlers. Dr. Rashmi Kothary and his doctoral student Melissa Bowerman have found that an enzyme called RhoA is overly active in a mouse model of the disease and blocking this enzyme can greatly increase survival. The study is published in Human Molecular Genetics.

16 Mar 2010

MIT biochemist joins Thomson Reuters’ annual ‘Top 12’ list

The world's "hottest" researcher is biochemist Rudolf Jaenisch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is joined by scientists scattered from Ann Arbor to Osaka on the annual Thomson Reuters list of the world's 12 hottest researchers.

16 Mar 2010

MIF exhibits potential as viable therapeutic target for Type 2 diabetes

An experimental oral drug has lowered blood sugar levels and inflammation in mice with Type 2 diabetes, suggesting that the medication could someday be added to the arsenal of drugs used by millions of Americans with this disease, according to new research.

16 Mar 2010

International symposium to feature latest findings on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants

Leading insect vector biologists from around the world will gather at the University of California, Riverside for two days this month to discuss their latest research on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants.

16 Mar 2010

Study confirms blood-stage infection is due to population mixing and disease evolution

In a paradigm changing discovery, Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria has been identified in a population historically thought to be resistant to the disease, those who do not express the Duffy blood group protein on their red blood cells, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Pasteur Institute, and the Madagascar Ministry of Health.

16 Mar 2010

Comparison study of genetic tests for ASD finds CMA with highest detection rate

The Autism Consortium, an innovative research, clinical and family collaboration dedicated to catalyzing research and enhancing clinical care for families with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), announced today that the results of its comparison study of genetic testing methods for autism spectrum disorders is available from the journal Pediatrics through early online release in their eFirst pages today and will appear in the journal's April issue.

15 Mar 2010

Enzo Biochem to market MultiGEN’s multiplex DNA sequencing based diagnostic tests in state of New York

Enzo Biochem, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with MultiGEN Diagnostics Inc., of San Diego, California, for exclusive rights to market MultiGEN’s unique diagnostic tests based on multiplex DNA sequencing, in the state of New York. In addition, Enzo has been granted marketing rights for other non-exclusive territories in United States.

15 Mar 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents data on RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the presentation of new pre-clinical data from its hypercholesterolemia program, performed in collaboration with scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The data were presented at the PCSK9 Conference: From Gene to Therapeutics held in Nantes, France from March 11-13, 2010.

15 Mar 2010

ATS releases new clinical policy statement on CCHS

The American Thoracic Society has released a new official clinical policy statement on congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a disorder of respiratory and autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation. The ANS regulates reflexive acts, including heart rate and blood pressure, digestion, body temperature and pain perception.

15 Mar 2010

Study: Chromosomal microarray analysis detects genetic changes related to ASDs better than standard tests

A large study from Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston-based Autism Consortium finds that a genetic test that samples the entire genome, known as chromosomal microarray analysis, has about three times the detection rate for genetic changes related to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) than standard tests. Publishing in the April issue of Pediatrics (and online March 15), the authors urge that CMA become part of the first-line genetic work-up for ASDs.

15 Mar 2010

Study shows experimental thyroid drug reduces cholesterol

An experimental thyroid drug reduces cholesterol without the troublesome side effects experienced by some people on statins, according to a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. An international team of investigators at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the Karolinska University Hospital and Institute, and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research tested a substance called Eprotirome in patients with high cholesterol.

12 Mar 2010

Discovery of novel cellular mechanism may help develop new treatments for cancer

A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has discovered a previously unknown cellular "switch" that may provide researchers with a new means of triggering programmed cell death, findings with implications for treating cancer.

12 Mar 2010

USPTO issues patent related to Seattle Genetics' ADC technology

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent related to its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology. U.S. Patent No. 7,659,241 covers cleavable linkers and potent auristatin drug payloads used in certain of Seattle Genetics’ ADC programs, most notably brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35), as well as many ADC programs in development by its collaborators.

11 Mar 2010

Genomatix systems utilized to analyze cis and epigenetic elements that control reproductive events

The C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, installed a Genomatix Mining Station and a Genomatix Genome Analyzer last year at their labs in Detroit, MI in order to support the analysis of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data.

11 Mar 2010

AAA approves guidelines to accept donation of bodies for education and biomedical research

The Board of Directors of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) has approved a set of guidelines to govern programs accepting the donation of bodies for education and biomedical research. The guidelines cover the minimum requirements that should be met by any Willed Body Program.

11 Mar 2010

Scientists identify specific causative genetic mutation associated with CMT

Scientists using advanced genomic analysis technologies from Life Technologies Corporation have sequenced an individual’s genome and identified the specific causative mutation associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), one of the most common inherited neurological disorders currently affecting 1 in 2,500 individuals in the United States.

11 Mar 2010

Molecular master switch plays a key role in maturation process of brain cells

About four out of every 10 cells in the brain are so-called oligodendrocytes. These cells produce the all-important myelin that coats nerve tracts, ensuring fast, energy-efficient transmission of nerve impulses.

11 Mar 2010

Study supports Myriad Genetics' PROLARIS molecular diagnostic test for predicting prostate cancer recurrence

Myriad Genetics, Inc. today said data that provides further clinical validation supporting its newest molecular diagnostic product, PROLARIS™, was recently presented at the 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. The abstract of the presentation entitled: "Cell Cycle Genes Predict Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy" by Gregory P. Swanson, M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, and colleagues is now available on the American Society of Clinical Oncology's website, www.asco.org.

11 Mar 2010

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Human amniotic fluid skin cells "reprogrammed" to pluripotency

LUMC purchases Fluidigm Access Array system

Blocking RhoA enzyme increases survival in SMA mouse model

MIT biochemist joins Thomson Reuters’ annual ‘Top 12’ list

MIF exhibits potential as viable therapeutic target for Type 2 diabetes

International symposium to feature latest findings on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants

Study confirms blood-stage infection is due to population mixing and disease evolution

Comparison study of genetic tests for ASD finds CMA with highest detection rate

Enzo Biochem to market MultiGEN’s multiplex DNA sequencing based diagnostic tests in state of New York

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents data on RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for hypercholesterolemia

ATS releases new clinical policy statement on CCHS

Study: Chromosomal microarray analysis detects genetic changes related to ASDs better than standard tests

Study shows experimental thyroid drug reduces cholesterol

Discovery of novel cellular mechanism may help develop new treatments for cancer

USPTO issues patent related to Seattle Genetics' ADC technology

Genomatix systems utilized to analyze cis and epigenetic elements that control reproductive events

AAA approves guidelines to accept donation of bodies for education and biomedical research

Scientists identify specific causative genetic mutation associated with CMT

Molecular master switch plays a key role in maturation process of brain cells

Study supports Myriad Genetics' PROLARIS molecular diagnostic test for predicting prostate cancer recurrence

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