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Researchers discover multiple genes associated with meconium ileus

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. In Canada, one in every 3,600 children born has the disease. Researchers have long been puzzled as to how individuals who carry the same CFTR mutations can experience such different courses of disease. Patients with CF are affected in multiple organs such as the lungs, pancreas and liver, to varying degrees.

3 Apr 2012

RainDance introduces new panel for cancer mutation screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology company, today announced the worldwide availability of its new panel for cancer mutation screening research using any next-generation sequencing (NGS) system.

2 Apr 2012

Blocking PRC2 protein may help protect against AML

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a candidate drug target for treating acute myeloid leukemia, a white blood cell cancer that proliferates out of control in the bone marrow.

2 Apr 2012

TGen to present TNBC study at AACR 2012 annual meeting

Because cases of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) are so genetically different, whole-genome sequencing is needed to detect the subtle molecular differences that might point to specific treatments for individual patients.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists use DNA sequencing to identify 'driver' mutations in cancer

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using powerful DNA sequencing technology not only to identify mutations at the root of a patient's tumor - considered key to personalizing cancer treatment - but to map the genetic evolution of disease and monitor response to treatment.

2 Apr 2012

RNA binding motif protein 20 regulates titin splicing

Cardiomyopathy comprises a deterioration of the heart muscle that affects the organ's ability to efficiently pump blood through the body. Previously researchers have tied forms of the disease to the alternative splicing of titin, a giant protein that determines the structure and biomechanical properties of the heart, but the molecular mechanism remained unknown.

2 Apr 2012

Genetic variations could be linked with meconium ileus in CF patients

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers working as part of the International Cystic Fibrosis Consortium have discovered several regions of the genome that may predispose cystic fibrosis (CF) patients to develop an intestinal blockage while still in the uterus.

2 Apr 2012

Infection with dengue virus turns on feeding-related genes in mosquitoes

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have, for the first time, shown that infection with dengue virus turns on mosquito genes that makes them hungrier and better feeders, and therefore possibly more likely to spread the disease to humans.

30 Mar 2012

Marfan syndrome researcher to receive March of Dimes/Colonel Harland Sanders Award

A long-time clinician and researcher on Marfan syndrome who helped identify the syndrome's genetic cause and a potential treatment will be honored by the March of Dimes.

30 Mar 2012

Scientists produce first genetic brain atlas

The first atlas of the surface of the human brain based upon genetic information has been produced by a national team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

30 Mar 2012

Researchers discover MicroRNAs as new switch of adipose cell development

Hunger has always threatened mankind. This makes it unsurprising that human bodies attempt to store all surplus nourishment in adipose tissue. In developed countries, this life-saving craving is turning into a problem and obesity—adiposity—is turning into a danger. Why, though, does excess fat the body ill? How does fat trigger diabetes? And can these superfluous fat reserves be turned into warmth and just as well burnt?

30 Mar 2012

XRCC2 gene mutations cause increased breast cancer risk

Mutations in a gene called XRCC2 cause increased breast cancer risk, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The study looked at families that have a history of the disease but do not have mutations in the currently known breast cancer susceptibility genes.

30 Mar 2012

Researchers profile genetic changes in cancer with drug sensitivity

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have profiled genetic changes in cancer with drug sensitivity in order to develop a personalised approach to cancer treatments. The study is published in Nature on Thursday 29 March 2012.

29 Mar 2012

Nature journal publishes first volume of Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia

The goal of cancer treatment is to match the right drug to the right target in the right patient. But before such "personalized" drugs can be developed, more knowledge is needed about specific genomic alterations in cancers and their sensitivity to potential therapeutic agents.

29 Mar 2012

Cracking Your Genetic Code raises bioethics issues

Will genetic testing and personalized medicine change the way you think about your life? Should it? What can you really learn about your future from direct-to-consumer genetic tests-or even from whole genome scanning, which is becoming increasingly affordable? And what about your privacy: how well is your genetic information protected?

28 Mar 2012

Researchers identify DNA methylation in patients with schizophrenia

In a new study, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have identified epigenetic changes - known as DNA methylation - in the blood of patients with schizophrenia.

28 Mar 2012

Brown University to host 'Materials by Design' conference

Last June, President Obama announced the Materials Genome Initiative, an ambitious effort to assist American companies to develop advanced materials at twice the speed as currently possible and at a fraction of the cost.

28 Mar 2012

New gene transfer technique can treat beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia

A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment.

28 Mar 2012

CRG, Illumina partner for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) has recently signed a year-long collaboration agreement with Illumina, a leading developer and manufacturer of life sciences tools and integrated systems for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

From Illumina, Inc. 28 Mar 2012

IU biologist to genetically modify variants of chlamydia

An Indiana University biologist has been awarded over $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to genetically modify variants of the human pathogen chlamydia in hopes of finding a vaccine for the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States.

27 Mar 2012