Genetic News and Research

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Genetic cause of autism

The researchers at the U School of Medicine made the finding by tracing variations in the DNA of an extended Utah family that has a high occurrence of the disorder and whose members are descended from one couple.

18 Jan 2006

Link found between household insecticides and childhood leukaemia

In a report which will be of concern to parents, French researchers say that household insecticides may increase the risk of childhood leukaemia.

17 Jan 2006

Genome-wide prediction of mammalian enhancers for control of gene expression

Molecular biologists, developmental biologists and computer scientists at the Universtity of Helsinki, Finland, came together to advance towards cracking the code for how gene expression is controlled. The results of this work are published in Cell, in January 2006.

16 Jan 2006

Identification of gene in childhood kidney disease

An international research collaboration led by Mayo Clinic has identified a new gene involved in causing the inherited kidney disorder, Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS). Children with MKS have central nervous system deformities as well as abnormal cysts in their kidneys, and usually die shortly after birth.

16 Jan 2006

Genetic fingerprint unmasks microbial vandals

For the first time DNA analysis can identify paper-degrading microorganisms.

16 Jan 2006

Diabetes gene found in 40% of population

Researchers in Iceland say they have identified a single genetic change which could predispose close to 40 percent of the population to type-2 diabetes.

16 Jan 2006

Sickle cell corrected with gene copy

Scientists in the U.S. say they have found a way to use embryonic stem cells to correct the mutation that causes sickle cell disease in mice.

16 Jan 2006

DinB DNA polymerase is a key player in DNA repair

A quarter century after they discovered it, researchers have identified the job of one of the most common DNA-damage response proteins. The enzyme has puzzled scientists because it is present in nearly every organism, which suggests that it is crucial to life, and yet, in laboratory experiments, its function has remained a mystery.

11 Jan 2006

St. Jude projects 90 percent cure rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The cure rate for the once almost universally fatal childhood cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) could reach 90 percent in the near future, thanks to improvements in diagnosis and treatment over the past four decades, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 Jan 2006

Molecular mechanism involved with neural tube defects

Environmental and genetic factors lead to neural tube defects in 1 in every 1,000 births and cause 1 in 20 of every spontaneous abortion. One cause of these defects is the failure of cells within the neural tube to migrate to the middle of the developing neural tube.

11 Jan 2006

Hedgehog protein plays a role in regulating fat and bone

A protein that guides the early development of creatures as diverse as fruit flies and humans also plays a role in regulating fat and bone formation in adult organisms, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.

10 Jan 2006

Risk of puerperal psychosis highest after birth of first baby

The risk of bipolar affective puerperal psychosis - a severe mental illness following childbirth - is highest after the birth of a first baby, a new study has confirmed.

10 Jan 2006

Psychiatric patients who smoke

An editorial in the January 2006 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation packages, and asks whether they are appropriate for psychiatric patients.

10 Jan 2006

Loyola to study for first time IV medication for osteopenia and inflammatory bowel diseases

Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.

10 Jan 2006

Slow human evolution revealed by worm genome

Humans have retained genomic characteristics of a very ancient ancestor that have been lost in simpler animals such as the fly, indicating that humans are one of the most slowly evolving species. This is the finding of an international team of scientists including Dr David Ferrier of Oxford’s Department of Zoology published in a recent edition of the journal Science.

10 Jan 2006

Genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of West Nile Virus infection

A genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of developing clinical West Nile Virus infection, according to a new study appearing online on January 9th in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

9 Jan 2006

Aussie team discover rare breast stem cell responsible for tissue growth

Australian scientists have discovered the rare stem cell that drives the formation of all breast tissue.

9 Jan 2006

Myelin breakdown appears to be key contributor to Alzheimer disease later in life

A new UCLA imaging study shows that age-related breakdown of myelin, the fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring, correlates strongly with the presence of a key genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease.

8 Jan 2006

DNA polymerase zeta gives cells with damaged DNA a new lease on life

Fortunately, our cells contain many enzymes devoted strictly to detecting and repairing any damage caused by these insults. In fact, failure of these enzymes to make needed repairs to genes can lead to the accumulation of mutations and, eventually, cell death or possibly cancer.

6 Jan 2006

New approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis

Medical researchers at the University of Bonn, working in collaboration with scientists from Israel, the USA and Britain, have identified a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in the process of bone loss. Their findings could open up new approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis.

6 Jan 2006