Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

"Knowledge deficit" about methadone responsible for resulting deaths

In a unique and comprehensive literature review of poisoning deaths involving opioids from 1999 -- 2009, the deaths involving methadone were found to be disproportionately high. Methadone represented less than five percent of all opioid prescriptions but is responsible for a third of the deaths. After four years of investigation, the major underlying cause was found to be fundamental misunderstandings about the properties of the medicine -- a "knowledge deficit" -- especially when converting patients from other opioids.

4 Feb 2010

Mapping of human genome modification during embryonic development

Scientists at The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) led an international effort to build a map that shows in detail how the human genome is modified during embryonic development.

4 Feb 2010

GEN Feb issue provides up-to-date coverage on the emerging field of epigenetics

Increasing numbers of research studies clearly demonstrate that genetics alone cannot explain the diversity of living organisms, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

4 Feb 2010

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

New evidence that genetics play a significant role in some premature births may help explain why a woman can do everything right and still give birth too soon.

4 Feb 2010

Neuroscience research and clinical care launched at UT Medical School

Innovative neuroscience research and expanded clinical care have been launched at the new Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

4 Feb 2010

Type 1 diabetes: Regeneration exhibits potential as a possible cure

A hormone responsible for the body's stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, according to JDRF- funded researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes.

4 Feb 2010

Brentuximab vedotin-chemotherapy combination clinical trial for Hodgkin lymphoma announced

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced that they have initiated a phase I clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Brentuximab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is also in single-agent clinical trials, including a pivotal trial for relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and a phase II trial for systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

4 Feb 2010

Canadian Institutes of Health Research awards $2.3M for study on integrative biology of inflammatory diseases

A research team led by Dr. John D. Rioux, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) and professor in the faculty of medicine at the Université de Montréal, has been awarded a grant of more than $2.3 million to finance a major research project on the integrative biology of inflammatory diseases. From among the roughly 70 applications submitted, Dr. Rioux's team is one of six selected by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to receive the Emerging Team Grant - From Genes to Proteins, Cells, Tissues and Patients.

4 Feb 2010

Court weighs patents for human genes

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a genetics company that holds patents on breast- and ovarian-cancer-causing genes, saying their claims on the two genes hinders further research by other companies and scientists, the Associated Press/CBS News reports.

4 Feb 2010

BRAF drugs may accelerate tumour growth in cancer patients with faulty RAS gene

A team of UK scientists has made the unexpected discovery that drugs which target a well known fault in a protein called BRAF could actually fuel the progression of cancer in some cases. The findings of this study, which was jointly funded by Cancer Research UK, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Wellcome Trust are published in Cell.

3 Feb 2010

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children - and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems - carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Feb 2010

Research opens new avenues for understanding genetic basis of type 2 diabetes

Together with colleagues in Barcelona, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have generated a complete map of the areas of the genome that control which genes are "turned on" or "off."

3 Feb 2010

EpiCept regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement

EpiCept Corporation today announced that Nasdaq notified the Company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement in Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) and met the requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Qualification Panel (the “Panel”) decision dated November 2, 2009. Accordingly, the Panel has determined to continue the listing of the Company’s common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market.

3 Feb 2010

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Entelos, Inc., a simulation and modeling company focused on human health, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,654,955 entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Assessing Metabolic Substrate Utilization” to the Company. These methods further strengthen the Entelos® Metabolism PhysioLab® platform and leverage insights about human physiology that can lead to improved diagnosis, clinical testing, and personalized treatment across a highly variable patient population.

2 Feb 2010

Medco Health Solutions acquires DNA Direct

Committed to being at the forefront of translating personalized medicine from the science to its daily practice in healthcare, Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the acquisition of DNA Direct, Inc., a leader in providing guidance and decision support for genomic medicine to patients, providers, payors and employees.

2 Feb 2010

Researchers identify 1.1M base pairs of DNA in soybean genome

In 2009, soybeans represented an almost $30 billion industry in the U.S. alone, making soybeans the second-most profitable crop next to corn. Worldwide, soybeans have been used in human foods and livestock feed for centuries and have been a key component in industrial products, such as plastics and soy biodiesel, an environmentally friendly fuel.

2 Feb 2010

Argonaute binds to microRNA and shuts down protein production

Johns Hopkins scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins.

2 Feb 2010

Biocell Center collaborates with Innovative Medical Solutions to preserve amniotic fluid stem cells

Preservation of amniotic fluid stem cells is an innovative technology that recently became available to expecting mothers in the United States with Biocell Center having launched its pioneering service here following its success in Europe.

2 Feb 2010

ADA's position paper addresses nutrition aspects of health care for people with developmental disabilities

The American Dietetic Association has published an updated position paper that addresses the nutrition aspects of health care for people with developmental disabilities and special health care needs.

2 Feb 2010

Researchers identify antiviral small molecule that is effective against numerous viruses

Viruses are insidious creatures. They differ from each other in many ways, and they can mutate - at times seemingly at will, as with HIV - to resist a host of weapons fired at them. Complicating matters further is that new viruses are constantly emerging.

2 Feb 2010

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

"Knowledge deficit" about methadone responsible for resulting deaths

Mapping of human genome modification during embryonic development

GEN Feb issue provides up-to-date coverage on the emerging field of epigenetics

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

Neuroscience research and clinical care launched at UT Medical School

Type 1 diabetes: Regeneration exhibits potential as a possible cure

Brentuximab vedotin-chemotherapy combination clinical trial for Hodgkin lymphoma announced

Canadian Institutes of Health Research awards $2.3M for study on integrative biology of inflammatory diseases

Court weighs patents for human genes

BRAF drugs may accelerate tumour growth in cancer patients with faulty RAS gene

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Research opens new avenues for understanding genetic basis of type 2 diabetes

EpiCept regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Medco Health Solutions acquires DNA Direct

Researchers identify 1.1M base pairs of DNA in soybean genome

Argonaute binds to microRNA and shuts down protein production

Biocell Center collaborates with Innovative Medical Solutions to preserve amniotic fluid stem cells

ADA's position paper addresses nutrition aspects of health care for people with developmental disabilities

Researchers identify antiviral small molecule that is effective against numerous viruses

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