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House Ways and Means committee passes bill to prohibit genetic discrimination

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday by voice vote unanimously approved a bill (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CongressDaily reports.

22 Mar 2007

AACR's Sixth Annual Landon Awards recognize Richard Kolodner, Douglas Lowy and John Schiller

Scientists whose discoveries have led to fundamental advances in the science and treatment of cancer are the recipients of two prestigious international prizes offered by the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Mar 2007

Researchers discover vitiligo gene

In a study appearing in the March 22 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at St George's, University of London, the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC) and the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes have discovered a connection between a gene and the chronic skin condition vitiligo, as well as a possible link to an array of other autoimmune diseases.

22 Mar 2007

Scientists discover new approach for treating virus-induced lymphomas

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus and an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). PELs are aggressive lymphomas with reported median survival time shorter than six months after diagnosis.

19 Mar 2007

Researchers use poliovirus to destroy neuroblastoma tumors in mice

The cause of one notorious childhood disease, poliovirus, could be used to treat the ongoing threat of another childhood disease, neuroblastoma.

15 Mar 2007

Gene and a region of a chromosome identified that may lead to autism in children

Yale School of Medicine autism experts Fred Volkmar, M.D. and Ami Klin are part of a global research consortium from 19 countries to identify a gene and a region of a chromosome that may lead to autism in children.

13 Mar 2007

New method for identifying viruses and bacteria that cause common infections in children

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a new method for identifying suspect viruses and bacteria that cause some of the most common acute infections in children.

13 Mar 2007

The need for a bronzed glow could be in the genes

Researchers have found that a gene which helps to control tumours also triggers the chemical chain reaction that makes the skin tan when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.

12 Mar 2007

Scientists test 'secret weapon' against tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists in Glasgow have devised a new method of attacking cancer cells. They report the findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

11 Mar 2007

New Alzheimer's genes found

Cardiff University researchers have found evidence for new genes involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

5 Mar 2007

Aspirin offers help for Barrett's esophagus

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that people with the most-aggressive form of Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that can lead to esophageal cancer, may benefit the most from preventive therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.

27 Feb 2007

First 3-D structure from key influenza protein revealed

In 1918, 50 million people died during a worldwide influenza pandemic caused by mutation of a bird-specific strain of the influenza virus. Recently H5N1, another highly infectious avian strain has caused outbreaks of bird flu around the world.

27 Feb 2007

microRNA directly regulates a gene implicated in human cancers

MicroRNAs are tiny snippets of RNA that can repress activity of a gene by targeting the gene's messenger RNA (which copies DNA information and starts the process of protein production).

22 Feb 2007

microRNAs undergo molecular editing with significant physiological consequences

Tiny molecules called microRNAs, only 19 to 21 nucleotides in length, are able to effectively silence sometimes large sets of genes. They do this by specifically binding to and neutralizing another form of RNA called messenger RNA, responsible for conveying the information from genes to the cellular machinery that uses that information to create proteins, the building blocks of the body.

22 Feb 2007

Entire genetic blueprints of more than 2,000 human and avian influenza viruses completed and made public

The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), announced today that it has achieved a major milestone.

21 Feb 2007

Scientists find new genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease

In the first genome-wide search for the genetic roots of the most common form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Johns Hopkins scientists have newly identified 34 unique variations in the human genetic code among 276 unrelated subjects with ALS.

21 Feb 2007

How DNA is packed

The life cycles of many viruses include a self-assembly stage in which a powerful molecular motor must pack the DNA genome into the virus's preformed shell (the capsid). How it manages this intricate feat has been subject to debate, but we know that the DNA passes into the capsid shell through a channel formed by a structure called the connector. Scientists have speculated that rotation of the connector complex might feed the DNA into the capsid as it turns.

20 Feb 2007