Chromosome 4 News and Research

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Humans normally have 46 chromosomes in each cell, divided into 23 pairs. Two copies of chromosome 4, one copy inherited from each parent, form one of the pairs. Chromosome 4 spans more than 191 million DNA building blocks (base pairs) and represents more than 6 percent of the total DNA in cells.

Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 4 likely contains between 1,300 and 1,600 genes.

Genes on chromosome 4 are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 total genes in the human genome.

Tumour suppressor gene has greater anti-cancer activity than previously thought

New insight into the function of a gene important in the suppression of cancer is published today. Researchers at the National University of Ireland Galway have shown that the TP53 gene has even greater anti-cancer activity than previously thought.

22 Sep 2016

Color-deficiency or color-blindness?

Color blindness could be considered a bit of a misleading term, because there are very few people who can't see color at all. Most people have what we call color deficiency or color confusion, which means that they're not blind to color; they just see a reduced number of colors.

From Vision Express 22 Sep 2016

Researchers identify genetic switch that may be potential target for Alzheimer's disease

A team at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, based at Imperial College London, has found an important part of the machinery that switches on a gene known to protect against Alzheimer's Disease.

20 Sep 2016

Gender matching key for corneal transplants? An interview with Professor Kaye

The cornea is a transparent tissue lining the front of the eye, that is invisible tissue to the naked eye. It is a delicate tissue and disease or injury may lead to a loss of transparency or a change in the shape of the cornea, resulting in severe visual impairment.

19 Sep 2016

Study identifies new gene that suppresses breast cancer in mice

In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing worldwide, and breast cancer is becoming a serious object of public concern.

13 Sep 2016

UAB researchers find microRNA as potential therapeutic target for MDD

A tiny RNA appears to play a role in producing major depression, the mental disorder that affects as many as 250 million people a year worldwide.

9 Sep 2016

Researchers describe how genetic mutations cause unnamed neurological disorder

In rare cases -- for instance, among siblings in two families from Pakistan and Oman described in a new study -- children have been born with an unnamed neurological disorder.

6 Sep 2016

Researchers identify new gene for type 2 diabetes at well-established genomic location

Gene researchers have used sophisticated scientific tools to reveal a new gene for type 2 diabetes at a well-established genomic location.

31 Aug 2016

Research findings could lead to new biomarker for early stages of tumor development

To treat or not to treat? That is the question researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory hope to answer with a new advance that could help doctors and their cancer patients decide if a particular therapy would be worth pursuing.

31 Aug 2016

New study shows variation in junk DNA can affect health

All humans are 99.9 percent identical, genetically speaking. But that tiny 0.1 percent variation has big consequences, influencing the color of your eyes, the span of your hips, your risk of getting sick and in some ways even your earning potential.

30 Aug 2016

Preimplantation genetic screening using next generation sequencing: an interview with Dr Luis Alcaraz

PGS, Preimplantation Genetic Screening, is a genetic test that analyses biopsied cells from embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. PGS determines whether the embryos are chromosomally normal (euploid) or not (aneuploid), thus giving the chance to transfer chromosomally normal embryos that are more apt to successfully implant and develop into a pregnancy.

24 Aug 2016

Scientists move a step closer to translating BubR1 protein's function into potential cancer therapy

In a paper published recently in the journal eLife, Mayo Clinic scientists take a step toward translating the protein BubR1's function into a potential therapy for cancer.

24 Aug 2016

NIH researchers discover rare, lethal inflammatory disease that affects young children

National Institutes of Health researchers have discovered a rare and sometimes lethal inflammatory disease - otulipenia - that primarily affects young children. They have also identified anti-inflammatory treatments that ease some of the patients' symptoms: fever, skin rashes, diarrhea, joint pain and overall failure to grow or thrive.

23 Aug 2016

Nobel laureate-led study uses new technology to watch interaction between telomerase and telomeres

As the rope of a chromosomes replicates, it frays at the ends. No problem: A chromosome's ends have extra twine so that fraying doesn't reach into the body of the rope where the important information resides.

19 Aug 2016

Study reveals crucial role of TERRA in preservation of telomeres

Despite their especially compact structure that is difficult to access, telomeres transcribe information like the rest of the DNA.

18 Aug 2016

Study offers clues about how genetic mutations can increase risk of psychiatric disorders

Brain scans have revealed how a genetic mutation linked to major psychiatric disorders affects the structure, function and chemistry of the brain.

16 Aug 2016

New study uncovers how chromosomal changes impact tumor formation and growth

As with most cancers, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells have abnormal amounts of chromosomes or DNA copy number aberrations (CNAs) in their genomes.

16 Aug 2016

New model of Williams syndrome may shed light on neurobiology of the human social brain

In a study spanning molecular genetics, stem cells and the sciences of both brain and behavior, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and elsewhere, have created a neurodevelopmental model of a rare genetic disorder that may provide new insights into the underlying neurobiology of the human social brain.

11 Aug 2016

New disease gene linked to shortened telomeres appears to raise risk of pulmonary fibrosis-emphysema

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a new disease gene that, when mutated, appears to increase the risk in a small number of people of developing emphysema and a lung-scarring condition known as pulmonary fibrosis.

10 Aug 2016

Geneticists identify enzyme that regulates chromosome segregation during meiosis

GENETICISTS have identified an enzyme which regulates the production of sperm and egg cells in human reproduction.