X chromosome News and Research

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A more accurate blood test to detect fetal Downs syndrome launched

Pregnant mothers in the U.S. who wish to know whether they're carrying a fetus with Down syndrome now have access to a commercial genetic blood test that has a 99 per cent accuracy rate.

20 Oct 2011

Scientists discover complex cell mechanism that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and CIC bioGUNE discover a complex cell mechanism activated by a protein —HOXB9— that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness.

20 Oct 2011

New sequencing method can identify genetic variants linked to ASD

Geneticists at Emory University School of Medicine have demonstrated a method that enables the routine amplification of all the genes on the X chromosome. The technology allows the rapid and highly accurate sequencing and identification of novel genetic variants affecting X chromosome genes.

19 Oct 2011

JPO issues new patent for Genprex's lead lung cancer candidate

A new patent covering tumor suppression technologies, including the company's lead product candidate Oncoprex, was recently awarded to The University of Texas System by the Japan Patent Office. Patent number 4813746 pertains to the discovery that chromosome 3p21.3 genes act as cancer suppressors.

19 Oct 2011

New DNA-based prenatal blood test can identify pregnancy with Down syndrome

A new DNA-based prenatal blood test that can strikingly reduce the number of risky diagnostic procedures needed to identify a pregnancy with Down syndrome is ready to be introduced into clinical practice.

18 Oct 2011

Two genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to severe dengue

Researchers in South East Asia have identified two genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to severe dengue. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore, offers clues to how the body responds to dengue infection.

18 Oct 2011

Raw fruits and veggies may offset genetic risk for heart disease: Study

In a new study a team of researchers looked at the genotypes of 27,243 people from two separate studies to see if they had a certain gene variant. Earlier studies including a 2010 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. found that the 9p21 gene is associated with a higher risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease.

13 Oct 2011

ASHG to honor U of U geneticist with William Allan Award

As a teenager just moved to Iowa from war-ravaged Germany in 1951, John M. Opitz, M.D., wanted to study developmental biology, but his "very Prussian" mother insisted he go to medical school instead.

12 Oct 2011

CHOP, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to study genetics of conotruncal defects

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and collaborators at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) a five-year, $6.7 million grant to study the genetics of both rare and common congenital heart abnormalities known as conotruncal defects.

12 Oct 2011

Genetics & IVF Institute now offers 24 Chromosome Microarray

The Genetics & IVF Institute is now offering 24 Chromosome Microarray, which is a new, comprehensive test used as part of an IVF cycle to evaluate the number of chromosomes present in an embryo before it is transferred to the mother.

11 Oct 2011

Scientists identify 16M SNPs that associate with risk of gout, serum uric acid levels

Scientists at deCODE Genetics and academic collaborators from Iceland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the USA report the discovery of low frequency variants in the human genome that associate with risk of gout, a common inflammatory arthritis, and serum uric acid levels.

10 Oct 2011

Study identifies three new chromosomal regions implicated in susceptibility to melanoma

The genomic analysis technologies enable the study of genetic factors related to numerous diseases. In few areas this researches brought such a big and useful volume of information as in the case of melanoma.

10 Oct 2011

Researchers identify unusual genomic architecture linked with very severe forms of disease

When cells divide normally, DNA gets copied perfectly and distributed among the daughter cells with an even hand. Occasionally though, DNA breaks during division and is rearranged, resulting in duplications or deletions of important parts of the blueprint.

3 Oct 2011

Researchers develop HTGTS to map translocatome in the genome

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute (IDI) have created a method for mapping "hot spots" in the genome where chromosomes are most likely to break and recombine, knowledge that helps define the rules that govern when and where breaks occur.

30 Sep 2011

GWAS uncovers new genes associated with type 1 diabetes

The largest-ever analysis of genetic data related to type 1 diabetes has uncovered new genes associated with the common metabolic disease, which affects 200 million people worldwide. The findings add to knowledge of gene networks involved in the origin of this complex disorder, in which patients depend on frequent insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels.

30 Sep 2011

New technique helps identify how RNA molecules control gene expression

A new technique developed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine allows researchers to identify the exact DNA sequences and locations bound by regulatory RNAs. This information is necessary to understand how the recently identified RNA molecules control the expression of neighboring and distant genes.

30 Sep 2011

Study provides insight into earliest stages of some cancers

A novel technique that enables scientists to measure and document tumor-inducing changes in DNA is providing new insight into the earliest events involved in the formation of leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas, and could potentially lead to the discovery of ways to stop those events.

30 Sep 2011

Prototype drug shows promise against chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Pre-clinical research has generated some very promising findings about a prototype drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

29 Sep 2011

X-chromosome related microRNA may impact immunity and cancer

As anyone familiar with the phrase 'man-flu' will know women consider themselves to be the more robust side of the species when it comes to health and illness. Now new research, published in BioEssays, seems to support the idea. The research focuses on the role of MicroRNAs encoded on the X chromosome to explain why women have stronger immune systems to men and are less likely to develop cancer.

28 Sep 2011

Afraxis to participate in NIH's Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Disease Program

Afraxis, a San Diego-based biotechnology company developing drugs to treat rare genetic diseases through the modulation of p21-activated kinase (PAK), announced today that it has been selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Disease (TRND) Program.

27 Sep 2011