Genetic News and Research

RSS

Mifepristone offers hope for breast cancer victims

A team of scientists have discovered some unexpected benefits with the abortion pill RU486 (Mifepristone).

4 Dec 2006

Weight determination of individual viruses with a miniature ion trap

Viruses are the simplest life forms on our planet, consisting of only DNA or RNA and a shell. After the prokaryotes (bacteria and archebacteria), viruses are the second most common type of organism. In our oceans they are the most common life form.

4 Dec 2006

European network launched to aid muscle disease patients

Some of the world's leading doctors and scientists will join together in a multi-million pound international network aimed at improving treatment and finding cures for thousands of patients with debilitating neuromuscular diseases.

2 Dec 2006

New genetic theory of parental teamwork

A molecular 'battle of the sexes' long considered the major driving force in a baby's development is being challenged by a new genetic theory of parental teamwork.

From The University of Manchester 2 Dec 2006

Gene therapy to treat erectile dysfunction shows promise

The first human study using gene transfer to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) shows promising results and suggests the potential for using the technology to treat overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma, according to the researchers.

2 Dec 2006

Computational model for cancer invasion

Vito Quaranta clicks on a small black dot on his computer screen. The dot - which represents about a thousand cancer cells - begins to "grow," morphing into a mass with finger-like projections that looks like an invasive tumor.

2 Dec 2006

Genetically engineered blood protein can be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen

Scientists have combined two molecules that occur naturally in blood to engineer a molecular complex that uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, says research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

2 Dec 2006

Folic acid shown to prevent heart attacks and stroke

British researchers have found enough scientific evidence to support the claim that folic acid is both an easy and inexpensive way to reduce heart disease and strokes.

27 Nov 2006

Whoever said people were much the same was wrong!

An international research team have come up with a new genetic map which could demand a fundamental shift in how we think genes work.

22 Nov 2006

Nanotechnology continues to advance anticancer gene therapy

Given that cancer is a disease in which genetic errors play a major role, it should come as no surprise that many experts envision a time when gene therapy will play an equally important role in the treatment of cancer.

20 Nov 2006

Scientists discover function for antisense RNA

Researchers have found that a class of RNA molecules, previously thought to have no function, may in fact protect sex cells from self-destructing. These findings will be published in the November 17 issue of the journal Cell.

20 Nov 2006

Gene expression and lung cancer prognosis

While there have been significant advances in the use of gene expression profiling to assess a cancer prognosis, a Mayo Clinic review and analysis of existing lung cancer studies shows that this technology has not yet surpassed the accuracy of conventional methods used to assess survival in lung cancer patients.

19 Nov 2006

Evolution is driving therapeutic resistance to cancer therapies

The dynamics of evolution are fully in play within the environment of a tumor, just as they are in forests and meadows, oceans and streams.

19 Nov 2006

A chocolate or two a day, just what the doctor ordered!

A recent study has news that chocolate lovers will be overjoyed to hear, it seems that chocolate is good for the heart!

16 Nov 2006

MChip to detect H5N1

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an inexpensive "gene chip" test based on a single influenza virus gene that could allow scientists to quickly identify flu viruses, including avian influenza H5N1.

14 Nov 2006

Food can have an impact in preventing cancer

With cancer, researchers don't believe "you are what you eat"; that disease is always a direct result of what is, or what isn't, on your dinner plate.

14 Nov 2006

Children report more frequent sleep problems than parents acknowledge

Elementary-school-aged children commonly experience sleep problems, but little research has addressed the reasons behind this phenomenon.

14 Nov 2006

DNA analysis could boost accuracy of thyroid tests

By fine-tuning "fine-needle aspiration" biopsies with a super-fast genetic microarray technology, a team of surgeons from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City says they can greatly enhance the accuracy of these tests.

14 Nov 2006

Discovery of a simian immunodeficiency virus infection in wild gorillas

In 2005, 40.3 million people in the world, including 25.8 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, were living with HIV. The question of the origin of HIV-1, responsible for the AIDS pandemic, has been stimulating the scientific community for many years.

13 Nov 2006

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene improves radiation effectiveness

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene can enhance the cell-killing effects of radiation, a team of radiation oncologists and cancer biologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has found.

8 Nov 2006