Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Scientists discover master switches for adult blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found a set of "master switches" that keep adult blood-forming stem cells in their primitive state.

8 Feb 2007

International consortium to get to heart of coronary artery disease

An international consortium has been launched to tackle coronary artery disease using the latest scientific tools. Funded by the European Commission, the initiative will build on recent advances in genomic science and the understanding of our genes to develop effective strategies for preventing and treating the disease.

7 Feb 2007

Research helps explain origin of self-reactive B cells

Doctors have long wondered why, in some people, the immune system turns against parts of the body it is designed to protect, leading to autoimmune disease.

7 Feb 2007

Horse genome sequence assembled

The first draft of the horse genome sequence has been deposited in public databases and is freely available for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, leaders of the international Horse Genome Sequencing Project announced today.

7 Feb 2007

New test shows which breast cancers will recur

Approval has been granted by the FDA for a gene-based test that helps tell early-stage breast cancer patients whether they need chemotherapy after their surgery.

7 Feb 2007

Single transcription factor GABP a major player in cell growth

When cells go about the business of dividing, they can get sidelined. Maybe there aren't enough nutrients. Maybe there aren't the right signals to resume multiplying. Either way, cells go quiet.

7 Feb 2007

Human proteins evolving slowly thanks to multi-tasking genes

Many human proteins are not as good as they might be because the gene sequences that code for them have a double role which slows down the rate at which they evolve, according to new research published in PLoS Biology.

6 Feb 2007

Scientists step closer to understanding the relationship between aging and cancer

Wielding a palette of chromosome paints, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have taken a step closer to understanding the relationship between aging and cancer by visualizing chromosomes of cells from patients with a heritable premature aging disease known as Werner Syndrome.

6 Feb 2007

Severe form of "enlarged prostate" discovered

Millions of middle-aged and older men experience the symptoms of an enlarged prostate multiple times during the day and night. What they may not know is that the disease known as BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), marked by urgency and frequent urination, is not one but at least a pair of disorders, and that one of the pair - tied to a newly identified gene - has far more serious implications.

5 Feb 2007

Scientists find molecular cause for form of deafness

Scientists exploring the physics of hearing have found an underlying molecular cause for one form of deafness, and a conceptual connection between deafness and the organization of liquid crystals, which are used in flat-panel displays.

5 Feb 2007

Gene found for Cornelia deLange syndrome

Studying mutations that give rise to a rare genetic disease, genetics researchers have identified a novel biological pathway that may have a broader role during human development, potentially in cases of mental retardation and autism.

5 Feb 2007

New understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments

Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer.

5 Feb 2007

Apolipoprotein E gene raises newborns' cerebral palsy risk

Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene associated with heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults, can also increase the likelihood that brain-injured newborns will develop cerebral palsy, researchers at Children's Memorial Research Center have discovered.

5 Feb 2007

Health effects of passive somking studied in first-of-a-kind clinical study

Until bans on in-flight smoking took effect, beginning in 1988, flight attendants were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

1 Feb 2007

UK scientists reverse symptoms of mad cow disease

The researchers at University College, London, believe they have found a way to treat the disease in humans as long as it is detected before it has done harm to a large number of brain cells.

1 Feb 2007

Different treatments may be needed for chronic asthma, depending on whether it results from allergies or lung infections

Researchers have now identified a particular gene that influences how severe a M. pneumoniae infection may be, which in turn suggests that a different strategy might be needed for treating asthma resulting from this and similar lung infections rather than allergies.

31 Jan 2007