Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Discovery of two gene variants associated with increased risk for early heart attack

Scientists at University of California - San Francisco (UCSF), Celera Genomics and The Cleveland Clinic have discovered two gene variants associated with a significantly increased risk for early heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI).

12 May 2006

Study holds promise for malarial susceptibility test

Cell and animal studies conducted jointly by scientists at Johns Hopkins, Yale and other institutions have uncovered at least one important contributor to the severe anemia that kills almost half of the 2 million people worldwide who die each year of malaria.

12 May 2006

Cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke found in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents

When mum or dad puffs on a cigarette, their infants may inhale the resulting second-hand smoke. Now, scientists have detected cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents.

12 May 2006

Study sheds light on cancer susceptibility and disease involving bone-marrow failure

Defective protein production can occur in cells even when the genes controlling those proteins are normal, according to a new study to be published May 12 in Science.

12 May 2006

K55R polymorphism gene variation linked to coronary heart disease

New research at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, found that a common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2006

c-myc gene found to play role in immune system

c-myc, a gene commonly involved in cancer onset, has been found to have a role in the immune system's normal function according to a study published in Blood.

11 May 2006

Extension of embryo screening will help reduce serious illness

A fertility watchdog in Britain, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has given approval for the extension of embryo screening to cover a wider range of mutated genes, in the main those which raise the risk of cancer in later life.

11 May 2006

Researchers link novel mutated gene to mental retardation and imbalance syndrome

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a genetic cause for a form of pediatric brain malformation involving the cerebellum.

11 May 2006

Europe-wide study into the role of genetics and the environment in the development asthma

Previous investigations have fallen short of proving cause-effect due to the complexity of human genetics and varying lifestyles. But the EU-funded GABRIEL study has pooled the very best in the field from all over Europe and can draw on the latest genomic and environmental data and approaches.

11 May 2006

Gene amplification could guide treatment for high-risk breast cancer

A new study shows that breast cancer patients with an "amplification," or greater number of copies, of the TOP2A gene are 45% more likely than women who do not have this amplification to benefit from a longer course of anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

11 May 2006

Interferon-gamma plays a critical role in damaging the cells that produce myelin

A new way to preserve the cells that surround and protect nerves could lead to new treatments for demyelinating diseases such a multiple sclerosis, a research team reports in the May 10, 2006, issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

10 May 2006

Mental activity leads to mental agility

Scientists have long known that brains need neural activity to mature and that sensory input is most important during a specific window of time called the "critical period" when the brain is primed for aggressive learning.

10 May 2006

Neurons can produce Alzheimer's-linked apolipoprotein E

A question long debated among Alzheimer's disease researchers has been definitively answered by scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco.

10 May 2006

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Brain tumor specialists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are poised on the brink of a new era.

10 May 2006

Stem cell 'fusion' occurs in tumors

An Oregon Health & Science University study is adding credence to an increasingly popular theory that fusion is what bonds stem cells with bone marrow cells to regenerate organ tissue.

10 May 2006

Scientists detect cancer genes with new algorithm

Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a new algorithm that enhances the ability to detect a cancer gene, and have applied their algorithm to map the set of tumor-suppressor genes involved in lung cancer.

10 May 2006

Gene "CGI-58" linked to rare disease activates fat breakdown

A gene earlier linked to a rare disease plays a critical role in the body's "finely tuned balance" of fat storage and break down, new evidence reported in the May Cell Metabolism reveals.

10 May 2006

Genetic analysis of opioid-induced hyperalgesia

In findings published in Nature Biotechnology (May 2006, vol. 24 No. 5), Roche scientists present a new method for analyzing the metabolism of a commonly prescribed drug.

10 May 2006

St. Jude step towards cure for retinoblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered the role of several key genes in the development of the retina, and in the process have taken a significant step toward understanding how to prevent or cure the potentially deadly eye cancer retinoblastoma.

10 May 2006

"Junk" RNA regulates important cellular processes

It has been known for a long time that much of a cell’s RNA stems from DNA regions called intergenic spacers (IGS) that lie between two genes and do not code for proteins.

9 May 2006

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Discovery of two gene variants associated with increased risk for early heart attack

Study holds promise for malarial susceptibility test

Cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke found in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents

Study sheds light on cancer susceptibility and disease involving bone-marrow failure

K55R polymorphism gene variation linked to coronary heart disease

c-myc gene found to play role in immune system

Extension of embryo screening will help reduce serious illness

Researchers link novel mutated gene to mental retardation and imbalance syndrome

Europe-wide study into the role of genetics and the environment in the development asthma

Gene amplification could guide treatment for high-risk breast cancer

Interferon-gamma plays a critical role in damaging the cells that produce myelin

Mental activity leads to mental agility

Neurons can produce Alzheimer's-linked apolipoprotein E

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Stem cell 'fusion' occurs in tumors

Scientists detect cancer genes with new algorithm

Gene "CGI-58" linked to rare disease activates fat breakdown

Genetic analysis of opioid-induced hyperalgesia

St. Jude step towards cure for retinoblastoma

"Junk" RNA regulates important cellular processes

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

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