Chromosome 4 News and Research

RSS

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.

Scientists find link between early-onset Parkinson's and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University Health Network (UHN) have found a new link between early-onset Parkinson's disease and a piece of DNA missing from chromosome 22. The findings help shed new light on the molecular changes that lead to Parkinson's disease.

10 Sep 2013

International team of scientists discover new disease related to inability to process Vitamin B12

An international team of scientists, including University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado researchers, has discovered a new disease related to an inability to process Vitamin B12.

6 Sep 2013

Research: Male sexual development less stable than other genetic programs

The idea that men and women are fundamentally different from each other is widely accepted. And throughout the world, this has created distinct ideas about which social and physical characteristics are necessary in each gender to maintain healthy human development.

3 Sep 2013

Scientists identify protein that blocks death of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a protein that certain high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells need to survive and have used that knowledge to fashion a more effective method of killing tumor cells. The findings appear in the August 29 edition of the journal Blood.

30 Aug 2013

Personality may be key to genetics of bipolar disorder

People with bipolar disorder vary significantly from their unaffected relatives, and from healthy controls, on several measures of personality, a study shows.

28 Aug 2013

Study shows ABL kinases have enhanced expression and activity in CML

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) is a cancer of the white blood cells that is most commonly found in adults and in the elderly. Its incidence has been estimated to be 1 to 2 in 100,000 people. CML was the first cancer to be associated with a genetic abnormality, known as the Philadelphia Chromosome, which 95% of all CML patients carry in their cells.

28 Aug 2013

Researchers identify genetic locus associated with increased risk of CHD in type 2 diabetes patients

Researchers have identified a previously unknown genetic locus (the place a gene occupies on a chromosome) significantly associated with increased coronary heart disease risk among patients with type 2 diabetes, but the association was not found in individuals without diabetes, according to a study in the August 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Aug 2013

Scientists discover that chromosomal rearrangements can be advantageous

In a pioneer study published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications, a research team at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC; Portugal), led by Miguel Godinho Ferreira in collaboration with Isabel Gordo, show for the first time that chromosomes rearrangements (such as inversions or translocations) can provide advantages to the cells that harbor them depending on the environment they are exposed.

23 Aug 2013

Researchers identify gene that contributes to development of acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) have identified a gene that contributes to the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This pivotal finding follows 40 years of University of Chicago research that has slowly unraveled the genetic basis of leukemia.

21 Aug 2013

Children with gene amplification may require more aggressive treatment for ALL

A recent study by members of the Children's Oncology Group reports results of a large trial showing that children whose leukemia cells have amplification of a portion of chromosome 21 may require more aggressive treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) than children without this gene amplification.

21 Aug 2013

Researchers identify genome-wide locus for serious gastrointestinal condition in infants

Researchers have identified a new genome-wide significant locus (the place a gene occupies on a chromosome) for infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS), a serious gastrointestinal condition associated with gastrointestinal obstruction, according to a study in the August 21 issue of JAMA. Characteristics of this locus also suggest the possibility of an inverse relationship between levels of circulating cholesterol in neonates and IHPS risk.

21 Aug 2013

Trinity researchers reveal CHD5 protein acts as tumor suppressor in nervous system development

CHD5 has previously been proposed as a tumour suppressor, acting as a brake that prevents healthy cells from developing into cancer cells. But the part played by the protein in healthy tissue, and whether this role is important for its ability to counter tumour growth, has remained largely uncharted.

14 Aug 2013

Study reports high survival rates for children with rare subtype of leukaemia

A pioneering genetic study means that children with a rare subtype of leukaemia have 75% less chance of their leukaemia recurring.

13 Aug 2013

Bacterial strains that delay cell division might be used to design drugs that stop division entirely

In 1958 a group of scientists working in Denmark made the striking observation that bacterial cells are about twice as large when they are cultured on a rich nutrient source than when they are cultured on a meager one.

13 Aug 2013

Risk for childhood cancer moderately increased among adolescents with major birth defects

A multistate study led by researchers at the University of Utah has revealed that the risk for childhood cancer is moderately increased among children and young adolescents with certain types of major birth defects.

12 Aug 2013

Study: Immune-regulating molecules can trigger lymphomas

A small group of immune-regulating molecules, when overproduced even moderately, can trigger the blood cancers known as lymphomas, according to a new study led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI).

9 Aug 2013

Researchers unveil comprehensive portrait of the genome of world's first immortal cell line

A team from the University of Washington has unveiled a comprehensive portrait of the genome of the world's first immortal cell line, known as HeLa. The cell line was derived in 1951 from an aggressive cervical cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American tobacco farmer and mother of five - the subject of the 2010 New York Times bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

8 Aug 2013

Chromosome 4 News and Research

Further Reading

Scientists find link between early-onset Parkinson's and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

International team of scientists discover new disease related to inability to process Vitamin B12

Research: Male sexual development less stable than other genetic programs

Scientists identify protein that blocks death of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

Personality may be key to genetics of bipolar disorder

Study shows ABL kinases have enhanced expression and activity in CML

Researchers identify genetic locus associated with increased risk of CHD in type 2 diabetes patients

Scientists discover that chromosomal rearrangements can be advantageous

Researchers identify gene that contributes to development of acute myeloid leukemia

Children with gene amplification may require more aggressive treatment for ALL

Researchers identify genome-wide locus for serious gastrointestinal condition in infants

Trinity researchers reveal CHD5 protein acts as tumor suppressor in nervous system development

Study reports high survival rates for children with rare subtype of leukaemia

Bacterial strains that delay cell division might be used to design drugs that stop division entirely

Risk for childhood cancer moderately increased among adolescents with major birth defects

Study: Immune-regulating molecules can trigger lymphomas

Researchers unveil comprehensive portrait of the genome of world's first immortal cell line

Research findings may give scientists a way to destroy cancerous cells

Cancer-linked mitosis: an interview with Professor Scott Kern, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Scientists reveal biochemical pathway responsible for manufacturing glycoalkaloids

Shaping the Future of Neuroscience: A Conversation with Atlas Antibodies on the MolBoolean™ and the Impact of SfN 2024

How the Arts Reshape Brain Function: Susan Magsamen on the Future of Neuroaesthetics

Inside the Alzheimer's Association: Dr. Heather Snyder on Driving Research and Collaboration

Latest News