Genetic Information News and Research

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As medicine targets personal DNA profiles, researchers examine ethics and patient experiences

Researchers at the University of York are beginning a major study into the ethical and personal issues raised by a potential revolution in healthcare, which could incorporate individualised medical care – pharmacogenetics - into clinical practice.

5 Aug 2004

DNA of rare and endangered species is to be preserved for future generations

The DNA of rare and endangered species is to be preserved for future generations, thanks to a groundbreaking new project involving scientists at The University of Nottingham, the Institute of Zoology and London’s Natural History Museum.

29 Jul 2004

First international server to analyze genetic diversity on a large scale

Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have developed the first international server that allows the user to analyze genetic diversity on a large scale.

19 Jul 2004

Should the results of genetic tests be considered personal

Should the results of genetic tests be considered personal, or should health professionals be able to use them in providing health care to the whole family, ask researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Jul 2004

The structure of AGT shows how one human protein reduces the potency of chemotherapy

The fine details of this x-ray structure may help scientists find ways to fight certain cancers, such as brain tumors, which express high levels of AGT making them resistant to chemotherapy.

9 Jul 2004

UV exposure from sun tanning beds leads to pain relief and euphoric feelings

Frequent tanning bed users may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center say exposure to ultraviolet light may produce a “relaxing” effect that lures tanners back to the beds.

7 Jul 2004

No compulsory genetic testing for newborn babies in Europe

European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin today rejected stories in several media claiming he had called for genetic testing of all newborn babies in Europe.

2 Jul 2004

Harmless form of the herpes virus may help create a vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists have taken an important step toward creating a vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease, customizing the response of the immune system with unprecedented precision.

30 Jun 2004

Relatively difficult for the AIDS virus to develop resistance to the drug, tenofovir, or the DAPY (diarylpyrimidine) family of compounds

HIV is a moving target, unpredictably changing direction to elude anti-AIDS drugs, but researchers at Rutgers are clearly on the track of solutions to combat HIV drug resistance.

29 Jun 2004

Research suggests the brain is a much more sensitive organ than originally perceived, sensitive to the tiniest of chemical signals

The brain is a maddeningly complex organ for scientists to understand. No assumption can remain unchallenged, no given taken as a given.

24 Jun 2004

Bionomics and Nanogen reach milestone on the development of genetic tests for serious forms of childhood epilepsy

Bionomics Limited has announced that it had achieved a further milestone in its collaboration with Nanogen on the development of genetic tests for serious forms of childhood epilepsy

21 Jun 2004

Recommended guidelines to govern genetic testing in Europe

Genetic testing may soon prove that prevention is better than cure. However, the emerging practice could have certain less desirable ethical and practical implications.

17 Jun 2004

3dgenome program should lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of how our genome functions

Under the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for Research and Development (2002-2006) 2.2 million Euros have been awarded to the 3DGENOME-research program.

17 Jun 2004

High school student makes significant contribution to breast cancer research

A high school student from Albany, New York, has made a significant contribution toward understanding how mutations to a gene called BRCA-1 contributes to hereditary breast cancer.

5 Jun 2004

Mice may hold the key to longer life

Scientists from the University of Aberdeen, the Aberdeen-based Rowett Research Institute and the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge have made a major breakthrough in understanding how metabolism affects lifespan.

2 Jun 2004

How we pass our genes to our children

An Oxford-led team of researchers has found out more about what happens during recombination, the process by which the genetic information you inherited from your mother and father is mixed up to make a sex chromosome to pass on to your offspring.

1 Jun 2004

Cellular garbage plays a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as "cellular garbage" has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.

27 May 2004

Call to bring cancer genomics from the lab bench into large-scale clinical trials

Professor Patrick Johnston is one of a number of pioneering scientists exploring how intimate genetic knowledge from individual tumours could help doctors predict which treatments will benefit their patients best. Major trials of this approach – which has shown considerable success in the lab – are needed to test its full predictive potential.

24 May 2004

Genome research sheds light on Bardet-Biedl syndrome

By comparing the genomes of an alga, a weed and humans, a team of researchers has identified a new gene behind Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a complex condition marked by learning disabilities, vision loss and obesity.

21 May 2004

Natural biological process by which yeast cells dismantle amyloid fibers

Amyloid fibers, those clumps of plaque-like proteins that clog up the brains of Alzheimer's patients, have perplexed scientists with their robust structures. In laboratory experiments, they are able to withstand extreme heat and cold and powerful detergents that cripple most other proteins.

20 May 2004