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HOXB13 gene mutation linked to familial prostate cancer risk

The quest for genetic information in the fight against prostate cancer is nearly two decades long. While researchers and doctors have long accepted the hereditary nature of the disease, in that closer relatives are at a two-fold increased risk of developing prostate cancer, the genetic explanation remained a mystery. Last week geneticists shared news of a novel gene mutation linked to familial prostate cancer risk.

19 Jan 2012

New colorectal cancer screening test is highly accurate and more sensitive: Study

Results of two studies suggest that a new, investigational colorectal cancer screening test developed in a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Inc. of Madison, Wis., is highly accurate and significantly more sensitive than other noninvasive tests at detecting precancerous tumors (adenomas) and early-stage cancer.

19 Jan 2012

Quotient's ALBAcyte Reagent Red Blood Cell products receive U.S. FDA license

Quotient Biodiagnostics, Inc., a supplier of innovative and high-quality transfusion diagnostic products to hospitals, blood banks and other healthcare institutions, is pleased to announce that its range of ALBAcyte Reagent Red Blood Cell products have been licensed for sale in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration.

19 Jan 2012

Exposure to metformin may decrease risk of cancer

In 2005, news first broke that researchers in Scotland found unexpectedly low rates of cancer among diabetics taking metformin, a drug commonly prescribed to patients with Type II diabetes. Many follow-up studies reported similar findings, some suggesting as much as a 50-per-cent reduction in risk.

19 Jan 2012

Study identifies mechanism that AML cells use to evade chemotherapy

A study published this week in the journal Leukemia identifies a mechanism that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells use to evade chemotherapy - and details how to close this escape route.

19 Jan 2012

PfSET10 molecule plays a crucial role in malaria infection

The discovery by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of a molecule that is key to malaria's 'invisibility cloak' will help to better understand how the parasite causes disease and escapes from the defenses mounted by the immune system.

19 Jan 2012

New genetic signature could cause bile duct cancer

Investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a new genetic signature associated with bile duct cancer, a usually deadly tumor for which effective treatment currently is limited.

19 Jan 2012

Novel technique accurately maps gene-regulation proteins

A novel technique has been developed and demonstrated at Penn State University to map the proteins that read and regulate chromosomes -- the string-like structures inside cells that carry genes.

19 Jan 2012

GSA honors researchers, educators for distinguished service in the field of genetics

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce the 2012 recipients of its five awards for distinguished service in the field of genetics. The recipients of these awards were nominated and selected by their colleagues.

19 Jan 2012

Scientists crack genetic code for Schistosoma haematobium

Scientists have cracked the genetic code and predicted some high priority drug targets for the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium, which is linked to bladder cancer and HIV/ AIDS and causes the insidious urogenital disease schistosomiasis haematobia in more than 112 million people in Africa.

19 Jan 2012

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from experimental drug

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug being tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.

19 Jan 2012

TB associated with EGFR mutations in patients with lung adenocarcinoma

Tuberculosis (TB) has been suspected to increase a person's risk of lung cancer because the pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis can induce genetic damage. However, direct evidence of specific genetic changes and the disease have not been extensively reported.

19 Jan 2012

Alpha-hemolysin may play an unexpected role in UTIs

Researchers from the University of Utah have identified a process by which the most common types of urinary tract infection-causing bacteria are able to trigger bladder cell shedding and disable immune responses. According to this new study, published in the Jan. 19, 2012, issue of Cell Host & Microbe, α-hemolysin, a toxin secreted by many strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), may play an important, unexpected role during both the establishment and persistence of urinary tract infections.

19 Jan 2012

Promega announces beta launch of Find My Gene

Promega announces the beta launch of the online gene exploration tool Find My Gene. Find My Gene integrates a number of robust functionalities to help researchers better understand their gene's function.

19 Jan 2012

RaNA Therapeutics completes $20.7 million round of financing

RaNA Therapeutics, Inc. today announced it has completed a $20.7 million round of financing co-led by Atlas Venture, SR One, and Monsanto, with participation of Partners Innovation Fund. The company is developing a technology platform to enable selective activation of target genes and expression of therapeutic factors by targeting a type of regulatory RNA called long non-coding RNA.

18 Jan 2012

Melanoma drug makes pre-existing cells with RAS mutation grow into skin squamous cell cancers

Patients with metastatic melanoma taking the recently approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf) responded well to the twice daily pill, but some of them developed a different, secondary skin cancer.

18 Jan 2012

Slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins cause Parkinson's disease

Imagine if doctors could spot Parkinson's disease at its inception and treat the protein that triggers it before the disease can sicken the patient.

18 Jan 2012

Memory retraining using mSMT increases cerebral activation in MS patients

Neuroscientists at Kessler Foundation have documented increased cerebral activation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) following memory retraining using the modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT).

18 Jan 2012

Converted umbilical cord stem cells hold hope for spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis

For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases.

18 Jan 2012

Researchers identify critical cellular, molecular events that lead to esophageal adenocarcinoma

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the critical early cellular and molecular events that give rise to a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest-rising solid tumor in the United States.

18 Jan 2012