Genetic News and Research

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Variations in gene pathway alter risk of esophageal cancer

Variations in a common gene pathway may affect esophageal cancer risk, a dangerous and rapidly increasing type of cancer, according to research by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

6 Nov 2008

A probiotic bacterium reduces hospital infections

A probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum 299, has been used to out-compete the dangerous bacteria that cause respiratory illness in ventilated patients.

6 Nov 2008

Scientists map molecular regulation of fat-cell genetics

A research team led by Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has used state-of-the-art genetic technology to map thousands of positions where a molecular "master regulator" of fat-cell biology is nestled in DNA to control genes in these cells.

5 Nov 2008

Scientists map molecular "master regulator" of fat-cell biology

5 Nov 2008

Scientists show how "junk" DNA may be a major driver for evolution

In a paper published in Genome Research on Nov. 4, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) report that what was previously believed to be "junk" DNA is one of the important ingredients distinguishing humans from other species.

5 Nov 2008

Pycnodysostosis sheds light on enzyme's role in bone metabolism

Pycnodysostosis, a condition from which the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec suffered, is a genetic disease characterized by short stature.

5 Nov 2008

Death by hyperdisease

It took less than a decade for native rats to become extinct on the Indian Ocean's previously uninhabited Christmas Island once Eurasian black rats jumped ship onto the island at the turn of the 20th century.

5 Nov 2008

Consumer market not ready for so-called nutrigenomics

In the near future it will be possible to customise the food we eat to individual needs, based on the genetic profile of the individual.

5 Nov 2008

'Natural killer' immune cells reveal factors for reproductive success

Immune cells known as natural killer (NK) cells are linked with pregnancy problems including pre-eclampsia and recurrent miscarriage. Collaborative research between scientists at the Babraham Institute and Centre for Trophoblast Research in Cambridge is illuminating the role that pregnancy-related NK cells play in moderating the biochemical interactions at the boundary between maternal tissues and the developing foetus.

4 Nov 2008

Researchers look at direct-to-consumer genetic testing

What's your child's "genetic destiny?" Does diabetes run in your family? Or has a genetic test indicated that your child may some day be at risk for developing heart disease?

4 Nov 2008

Genetic mutation linked to seasonal affective disorder

With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to experience the winter blahs.

4 Nov 2008

Sibling study could lead to better treatments for inherited form of colon cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) believe they may be one step closer to understanding how certain forms of colon cancer develop.

4 Nov 2008

Scientists step closer to finding a defense against superbugs

A discovery from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has put scientists are one step closer to finding a defense against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes called "superbugs."

4 Nov 2008

Research shows why parents are born and not made

New research reveals for the first time that the different roles of mothers and fathers are influenced by genetics.

4 Nov 2008

Rates of psychosis higher among minority groups in Britain

Both first- and second-generation immigrants to the United Kingdom appear to have a higher risk of psychoses than white British individuals, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Nov 2008

Biologists identify genes that prevent changes in physical traits due to environmental changes

New York University biologists have identified genes that prevent physical traits from being affected by environmental changes.

4 Nov 2008

Discovery of biomarkers for esophageal cancer before it develops

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus.

4 Nov 2008

Just one mutated SMAD4 allele is enough to cause cancer

Tumour suppressor genes do not necessarily require both alleles to be knocked out before disease phenotypes are expressed.

4 Nov 2008

New clinical study will help doctors assess abnormal bleeding

How do you know if you bleed normally? Scientists at The Rockefeller University Hospital's Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) aim to answer that question more definitively with the launch of an assessment tool designed to help physicians and researchers more accurately determine what is inside and outside the normal range of bleeding symptoms.

3 Nov 2008

Researchers develop DNA vaccine for West Nile virus

Researchers are developing a DNA-based vaccine against the dreaded West Nile virus (WNV), which can be transmitted from animals to humans. The unique feature of this vaccine is that it is also effective after onset of the disease, for it has therapeutic properties.

3 Nov 2008