Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Agilent Technologies introduces SureSelect Human All Exon Kit

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) has chosen the Cambridge Health Institute’s Next-Generation Sequencing Analysis conference today to introduce its SureSelect Human All Exon Kit for target enrichment prior to next-generation DNA sequencing.

23 Sep 2009

Advanced Hair Studio to introduce genetic baldness tests in Australia

Men and women in Australia now have access to genetic tests for predicting the risk of male or female hair loss thanks to a distribution agreement announced today by pharmacogenomics research and development innovator PharmaGenoma, Inc. and its subsidiary HairDX, LLC. (www.hairdx.com)

23 Sep 2009

Advancements in the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma

Researchers have made significant advances in the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma - one of the most difficult cancers to treat successfully once it has started to spread - according to a study to be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 [1], in Berlin on Thursday.

23 Sep 2009

SEA technology to increase potency of monoclonal antibodies

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today the introduction of its sugar engineered antibody (SEA) technology, a novel approach to increasing the potency of monoclonal antibodies through enhanced effector function. The technology will be presented today by Dennis Benjamin, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemistry, during the Americas Antibody Congress being held in Washington, DC.

23 Sep 2009

Declining performance of muscles linked to harmful byproducts of air we breathe

If you think the air outside is polluted, a new research report in the September 2009 issue of the journal Genetics (http://www.genetics.org) might make you to think twice about the air inside our bodies too. That's because researchers show how about 3 percent of the air we breathe gets converted into harmful superoxides, which ultimately harm our muscles.

23 Sep 2009

NIH, NephCure Foundation and University of Michigan support study of nephrotic syndrome

University of Michigan Health System researchers will lead a $10.25 million effort to study rare kidney diseases that cause kidney failure and the need for dialysis.

23 Sep 2009

StemCells to take part in international networking event

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today its participation in the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit to be held September 21 – 23 in Baltimore, Maryland.

22 Sep 2009

Diabetes more prevalent in African Americans due to living conditions

The higher incidence of diabetes among African Americans when compared to whites may have more to do with living conditions than genetics, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, available online in advance of publication in the October 2009 edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that when African Americans and whites live in similar environments and have similar incomes, their diabetes rates are similar, which contrasts with the fact that nationally diabetes is more prevalent among African Americans than whites.

22 Sep 2009

Gene variant discovery could lead to future glaucoma treatments

An international team, led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the National Eye Institute, has discovered gene variants for glaucoma in a black population. The finding could lead to future treatments or a cure for this disease, which leads to blindness in two million Americans each year.

22 Sep 2009

Gene variant shows a strong gender bias for cancer predisposition

Cancer predisposition resulting from the presence of a specific gene variant shows a strong gender bias, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have demonstrated.

22 Sep 2009

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

22 Sep 2009

MDC scientist receives 1 million euros for diabetic research

A European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant worth more than a million euros over the next five years has been awarded to Dr. Francesca M. Spagnoli of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany.

21 Sep 2009

Book on pediatric bone disorders and mineral metabolism

Summarizing current knowledge, the physiology of calcium, magnesium and phosphate metabolism, the technique of bone biopsy and uses and pitfalls of bone density scanning are discussed. The main part of this publication describes in detail the disorders associated with hypocalcemia, hypercalcemia, rickets, phosphate metabolism, primary and secondary osteoporosis. The genetic nature of many of these conditions is highlighted and each condition is referred to by the number of its OMIM entry. The final chapter, which distinguishes this book from previous publications on the topic, comprises case reports illustrating some of the problems that are examined in previous chapters.

21 Sep 2009

Study: Racial health disparities cost $229 billion from 2003-2006

"Racial health disparities cost the United States $229 billion between 2003 and 2006 — money that could help cover an overhaul of the nation's health care system, according to a new report by Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland researchers," The Baltimore Sun reports.

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that KCNE2 and KCNQ1 mutations can results in thyroid dysfunction

Genes previously known to be essential to the coordinated, rhythmic electrical activity of cardiac muscle -- a healthy heartbeat -- have now also been found to play a key role in thyroid hormone (TH) biosynthesis, according to Weill Cornell Medical College researchers.

21 Sep 2009

Alcoholism may be dependent on IL-1 polymorphisms: Study

Cytokines are small proteins secreted by cells that serve as molecular messengers between cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines - which function in the immune system - may be involved in alcohol dependence (AD). A study of three polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 gene complex (IL-1) and one of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) has found that IL-1 may directly contribute to AD among Spanish Caucasian males.

21 Sep 2009

Four single-letter variations in SNPs increse prostate cancer risk

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced that a team of its scientists and academic colleagues from Finland, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States have today published the discovery of four novel single-letter variations in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) conferring increased risk of prostate cancer.

21 Sep 2009

National Medal of Science awarded to J. Craig Venter

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., founder, president and chairman of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), has been named a recipient of this year's National Medal of Science. Dr. Venter will be awarded the Medal from President Obama on October 7 at a White House ceremony.

18 Sep 2009

Researchers study the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer

Penn State College of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southern California, have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer.

18 Sep 2009

National Institutes of Health funds for thymus research

The National Institutes of Health have awarded, as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, a two-year, $2 million grant to a University of Georgia genetics researcher and her colleagues for studies on the thymus, the organ in humans that produces disease-fighting T-cells.

18 Sep 2009