Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

"Mechanistic basis for understanding why we treat symptoms"

In the 1990s, the notion of "six degrees of separation" emphasized human linkages that connected people around the world.

9 Jun 2006

New football boots and toxic shock syndrome

As the World Cup kicks off, doctors in this week's British Medical Journal report an unusual condition that can develop in budding young footballers.

8 Jun 2006

Potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes

The University of Manchester team has discovered that injection of a novel therapeutic that works by stimulating a person's genes may prevent nerve damage - primarily to the hands and feet - caused by the disease.

From The University of Manchester 8 Jun 2006

Black women twice as likely to get aggressive breast cancer

New research has found that African-American women who contract breast cancer before reaching menopause are more than twice as likely as white women to have an aggressive, deadlier form of the disease.

8 Jun 2006

Black women twice as likely to get aggressive breast cancer

7 Jun 2006

Black women have fewer breast cancers than white women, but their mortality is worse

For decades, researchers have tried to understand why breast cancer in younger black women is such a significant public health problem.

7 Jun 2006

First analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes

Researchers have completed the first analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes, an accomplishment that has far-reaching implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases.

7 Jun 2006

Scientists describe elaborate system of gene control triggered by chemical damage to DNA

Scientists describe for the first time a web of inter-related responses that cells use to avoid becoming diseased or cancerous after being exposed to a powerful mutagen.

7 Jun 2006

Prophylactic surgery reduces the incidence of ovarian and related cancers

A new multicenter study is the first to suggest that the prophylactic removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes may provide a different benefit for women who carry a genetic mutation in the BRCA2 gene than for those who have a BRCA1 genetic mutation.

7 Jun 2006

Gene mutation potentially involved in breast cancer initiation

Researchers have found evidence suggesting that a mutation in a gene that normally helps block the formation of breast tumors could play a role in the initiation of a major form of breast cancer.

6 Jun 2006

Long-term benefits of imatinib for patients newly diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia

The overall survival of most people with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) treated with imatinib (Gleevec, STI-571) is extremely high and the relapse rate is quite low, according to new data from a study out of the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute.

6 Jun 2006

Calpain protein key to preventing or promoting cell death

A protein called calpain can be the key either preventing or promoting the cell death, a Queen's University study has found.

6 Jun 2006

Hormonal treatments reduce risk of cancer returning

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who carry a certain genetic mutation can have breast-sparing surgery but should consider hormonal treatments to reduce their risk of cancer returning.

6 Jun 2006

Type 1 diabetes results from selective destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells

IDDM, which used to be referred to as Type 1 diabetes, results from selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta cells by the body's immune system.

6 Jun 2006

Gene therapy used to accelerate muscle regeneration

Researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage.

6 Jun 2006

Potential new treatment for diabetic nerve damage

A potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes has shown promising results in preclinical and early patient trials.

From The University of Manchester 6 Jun 2006

Men have a biological clock too and produce poor quality sperm as they age

Researchers in the U.S. say that even though men are able to father children well into old age, the quality of the sperm declines as men age.

6 Jun 2006

Milstein gift seeks cure for antibiotic-resistant TB and malaria

A $7.25 million gift to Weill Medical College of Cornell University will establish the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Chemistry Core Facility and the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology.

5 Jun 2006

Heel prick test can cause unnecessary parental stress

Virtually all babies in the U.S. have their heels pricked soon after birth to get a blood sample for genetic testing.

5 Jun 2006

West Nile virus DNA vaccine shows promise in phase 1 trial

Vical Incorporated has announced that in a Phase 1 clinical trial, a West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine candidate administered using Vical's proprietary DNA delivery technology was safe and well tolerated

5 Jun 2006