Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Western Swedish women with breast cancer at greater risk of ovarian cancer

Previous research has shown that women with breast cancer are more likely than other women to develop ovarian cancer, but now researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have shown that actually only women with a known Western Swedish mutation behind hereditary breast cancer run this increased risk of ovarian cancer.

5 Apr 2010

Implementing value-based insurance design programs in health care reform law

Value-based insurance design programs -- a concept created at the University of Michigan -- are part of the nation's new national health care plan, and U-M physician A. Mark Fendrick, M.D. is working with policy setters to implement the strategy.

3 Apr 2010

Invalidation of gene patents will benefit patients

Dr. Jim Evans, an expert in gene patenting and genetics policy who has led a program to educate federal judges about the intricacies of genetics and genetic policy, says the ruling by United States District Court Judge Robert Sweet that invalidated seven patents related to the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes "came as a surprise to everybody. It's really quite unusual for plaintiffs to get a summary judgment."

3 Apr 2010

New production method yields hundredsfold more ubiquitylated proteins critical for cancer research

Scientists at the University of Delaware have developed a new method for producing proteins critical to research on cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

3 Apr 2010

Winner of 2010-2011 Luminex/ACMGF Award

The American College of Medical Genetics Foundation (ACMGF) has awarded Dr. Marilyn M. Li, of the Tulane Medical Center and the Tulane University School of Medicine the 2010-2011 Luminex/ACMGF Award at the ACMG 2010 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Albuquerque, NM.

From Luminex 3 Apr 2010

"Mouse model" study finds LRRK2 gene mutation may cause inherited Parkinson's disease

Using new one-of-a-kind "mouse models" that promise to have a significant impact on future Parkinson's disease research, Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers are among the first to discover how mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause inherited (or "familial") Parkinson's disease, the most common form of the disease.

2 Apr 2010

DNA patent case: US District Judge rules in favor of AMP

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) is an international medical and professional association representing approximately 1,800 physicians, doctoral scientists, and medical laboratory scientists who perform laboratory testing based on knowledge derived from molecular biology, genetics, and genomics. AMP applauds US District Judge Robert Sweet's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al.

2 Apr 2010

Genome of Australian zebra finch decoded

Nearly all animals make sounds instinctively, but baby songbirds learn to sing in virtually the same way human infants learn to speak: by imitating a parent.

2 Apr 2010

DNA resources coupled to EMR systems hold potential as valuable tools for clinical research

A new study reveals an exciting potential benefit of the rapidly accumulating databases of health care information, the ability to make unprecedented links between genomic data and clinical medicine. The research, published by Cell Press in the April issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, supports the idea that large scale DNA databanks linked to electronic medical record (EMR) systems provide a valuable platform for discovering, assessing and validating associations between genes and diseases.

2 Apr 2010

'Prior approval' regulation of health insurance rates needed to ensure fair charges by insurers

Consumer Watchdog said Massachusetts' rejection today of excessive and unreasonable health insurance rate increases shows the need for effective "prior approval" rate regulation in every state to ensure that health insurers charge fair prices under national health reform legislation, which is modeled on Massachusetts' mandatory health insurance law. Massachusetts regulators recently adopted emergency prior approval regulations in anticipation of large insurance premium increases.

2 Apr 2010

Zebra finch genetic sequence decoded: help for speech impaired round the corner say researchers

Finches have been associated with evolution since the time of Darwin. In a new development researchers have successfully decoded the compete genetic make up of the zebra finch commonly known as the "little Aussie battler" (Taeniopygia guttata).

2 Apr 2010

NewLink Genetics occupies new administrative and manufacturing facility

NewLink Genetics Corporation announced that it has taken occupancy of its new administrative and manufacturing facility. The building includes both a cGMP manufacturing suite as well as administrative and executive offices. It is located on the campus of the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames, Iowa.

2 Apr 2010

Invalidation of gene patents: ACMG celebrates US District Court ruling

The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), one of the original plaintiffs in the anti-gene-patenting lawsuit filed in 2009, celebrated the US District Court ruling yesterday that genes are "unpatentable."

2 Apr 2010

Scientists create genetic map to identify mechanism behind heart abnormalities

Though heart disease is a major cause of disability and death, very little is understood about its genetic underpinnings. Recently, an international team of investigators at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and other organizations shed new light on the subject.

2 Apr 2010

Biotech reports record financial results for 2010 first quarter

Biotech racked up impressive gains for both the month of March and the first quarter of 2010. The Burrill Biotech Select Index posted a 3.7 percent jump in value in March and an 8 percent overall gain for Q1 '10.

2 Apr 2010

Researchers identify link between genetic mutation and schizophrenia

In what may provide the most compelling evidence to date, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated how a genetic variant may lead to schizophrenia by causing a disruption in communication between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex regions of the brain, areas believed to be responsible for carrying out working memory.

2 Apr 2010

Genes improperly granted patents

Some time mid last year six breast cancer patients sued reputed Myriad Genetics, a company that holds patent of two vital genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 that play a role in increasing the risk of breast and ovarian cancers. The fees that the company charges for these genetic tests is a whopping $3,000 which these women claim they cannot afford and the most important of all these women cannot get a second opinion regarding the tests since no one else does them.

1 Apr 2010

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Western Swedish women with breast cancer at greater risk of ovarian cancer

Implementing value-based insurance design programs in health care reform law

Invalidation of gene patents will benefit patients

New production method yields hundredsfold more ubiquitylated proteins critical for cancer research

Winner of 2010-2011 Luminex/ACMGF Award

"Mouse model" study finds LRRK2 gene mutation may cause inherited Parkinson's disease

DNA patent case: US District Judge rules in favor of AMP

Genome of Australian zebra finch decoded

DNA resources coupled to EMR systems hold potential as valuable tools for clinical research

'Prior approval' regulation of health insurance rates needed to ensure fair charges by insurers

Zebra finch genetic sequence decoded: help for speech impaired round the corner say researchers

NewLink Genetics occupies new administrative and manufacturing facility

Invalidation of gene patents: ACMG celebrates US District Court ruling

Scientists create genetic map to identify mechanism behind heart abnormalities

Biotech reports record financial results for 2010 first quarter

Researchers identify link between genetic mutation and schizophrenia

Genes improperly granted patents

Neogen announces acquisition of GeneSeek

Genetic risk factor for schizophrenia can disrupt connectivity at level of single neurons

Series of awareness and fundraising initiatives to take place throughout Autism Awareness Month

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

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