Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Researchers find gene regulator that plays key role in DS-AMKL

Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets.

1 Mar 2010

For people who carry common gene variants, smoking increases risk of aneurysm

For people who carry common gene variants, cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk that a blood vessel in the brain will weaken and balloon out - called an aneurysm - which could be life-threatening if it ruptures, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010.

27 Feb 2010

MLL cancer cells rely on normal protein to proliferate

Researchers have found that one particularly aggressive type of blood cancer, mixed lineage leukemia (MLL), has an unusual way to keep the molecular motors running. The cancer cells rely on the normal version of an associated protein to stay alive.

27 Feb 2010

Mutations in MeCP2 cause autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome

A paper published online today in Molecular Cell proposes that Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) impacts the entire genome in neurons, rather than acting as a regulator of specific genes. Mutations in MeCP2 cause the autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome as well as some cases of neuropsychiatric problems including autism, schizophrenia and learning disabilities.

26 Feb 2010

Ferring Pharmaceuticals, GSN sign agreement to test Parental Support technology

Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Gene Security Network announced that they have signed an agreement to conduct a clinical trial of GSN's advanced preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) technology, Parental Support™.

26 Feb 2010

Genetic test for autism: Transgenomic licenses exclusive intellectual property from IntegraGen

Transgenomic, Inc. announced today that it has licensed on an exclusive U.S. basis intellectual property from IntegraGen SA that will enable Transgenomic to develop and commercialize a genetic test designed to assess the risk of autism in children who have older siblings diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Under the agreement Transgenomic will develop the test in the Company's CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory, and anticipates launching the new test in the second quarter of 2010. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

24 Feb 2010

QR Pharma awarded patent covering use of Posiphen and analogs in treatment of DS

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD), announced today that it was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,625,942, a "Method of Treating Down Syndrome" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The '942 patent covers use of Posiphen and analogs to treat cognitive impairments associated with Down Syndrome (DS). This patent valuably expands upon the original Posiphen and analog patent that claims composition of matter and use of compounds to lower amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) and thereby treat dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

24 Feb 2010

ES cells-functions: Condensins promote mitotic progression and maintain interphase chromatin compaction

Regulatory proteins common to all eukaryotic cells can have additional, unique functions in embryonic stem (ES) cells, according to a study in the February 22 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org). If cancer progenitor cells-which function similarly to stem cells-are shown to rely on these regulatory proteins in the same way, it may be possible to target them therapeutically without harming healthy neighboring cells.

24 Feb 2010

New genetic data may help predict risk for end-stage kidney disease

Israeli and American researchers have identified new genetic data that could be used in the future to predict who will develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD requires dialysis or transplantation to sustain life, and is fatal in most regions of the world, where these treatments are not available.

24 Feb 2010

DNA interval in unexplored region of human genome increases risk for coronary artery disease

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have learned how an interval of DNA in an unexplored region of the human genome increases the risk for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

23 Feb 2010

Researchers use new technology to reveal different genetic patterns of neuroblastoma

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Karolinska Institutet have used novel technology to reveal the different genetic patterns of neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. This discovery may lead to significant advances in the treatment of this malignant disease, which mainly affects small children.

22 Feb 2010

New gene locus influencing risk for atrial fibrillation identified

Atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia - a chronic irregularity of heartbeat - which affects an estimated 1 million people in Germany. Although the condition is not acutely life-threatening, it does increase the risk of developing more serious illnesses, such as cardiac insufficiency, stroke and dementia. In the third of a series of genomewide asssociation studies, an international team of researchers, led by LMU physician PD Dr. Stefan K--b, now reports the identification of a new gene locus that has a significant influence on risk for atrial fibrillation.

22 Feb 2010

Researchers identify common gene variant associated with atrial fibrillation

An international research team has identified a common gene variant associated with a form of the irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation. In their report in the journal Nature Genetics, being published online, the investigators describe finding that variations affecting a protein that may help control the heart's electrical activity appear to increase the risk of what is called lone atrial fibrillation (AF), a type seen in younger individuals with no other form of heart disease.

22 Feb 2010

Children born through assisted reproduction at greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes related defects

More than three million children have been born as a result of assisted reproductive technologies since the birth of the first "test tube baby" in 1978. While the majority of these children are healthy and normal, as a group they are at greater risk of certain kinds of birth defects and being low birth weight, which is associated with obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes later in life.

22 Feb 2010

Scientists develop new mathematical model to understand CML better

Doctors can now understand better chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), including how it responds to therapy, thanks to a new mathematical model for the disease, developed by scientists in Portugal, Belgium and the United States. The work, to be published in the June edition of the journal Haematologica, also reveals that current therapies - which are not believed to cure CML - with the right protocol can actually get rid of the disease, and provides guidelines on how to do that.

21 Feb 2010

Two genetic alterations linked to benign enzyme condition keep hepatitis C patients anemia-free

Many people who undergo treatment for hepatitis C develop hemolytic anemia, a disorder that destroys red blood cells. In some cases, it is so severe they have to reduce their medication or stop therapy altogether. But now, scientists in Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have discovered two genetic alterations linked to a benign enzyme condition that keep some patients anemia-free.

21 Feb 2010

Kinesin protein motor shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide by rocking like a seesaw

Life's smallest motor, a protein that shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide, does so by rocking up and down like a seesaw, according to research conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Brandeis University.

19 Feb 2010

Cancer genomes: Distinguishing between 'driver' and 'passenger' mutations

A new study of mutations in cancer genomes shows how researchers can begin to distinguish the 'driver' mutations that push cells towards cancer from the 'passenger' mutations that are a by-product of cancer cell development. The study also shows that at least one in nine genes can be removed without killing human cells.

19 Feb 2010

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

An international team of researchers has created a genome-scale map of 26 different cancers, revealing more than 100 genomic sites where DNA from tumors is either missing or abnormally duplicated compared to normal tissues. The study, the largest of its kind, finds that most of these genetic abnormalities are not unique to one form of cancer, but are shared across multiple cancers. The work appears in the February 18 issue of the journal Nature.

19 Feb 2010

Study analyzes genome and exome sequence data from hunter-gatherer participants of South Africa

In a study published online today in Nature, a team of researchers from Penn State University and the University New South Wales present the complete genome sequences of an indigenous hunter-gatherer from the Kalahari Desert and a Bantu from southern Africa, along with three additional whole exome sequences of Kalahari hunter-gatherers.

19 Feb 2010

Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Researchers find gene regulator that plays key role in DS-AMKL

For people who carry common gene variants, smoking increases risk of aneurysm

MLL cancer cells rely on normal protein to proliferate

Mutations in MeCP2 cause autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome

Ferring Pharmaceuticals, GSN sign agreement to test Parental Support technology

Genetic test for autism: Transgenomic licenses exclusive intellectual property from IntegraGen

QR Pharma awarded patent covering use of Posiphen and analogs in treatment of DS

ES cells-functions: Condensins promote mitotic progression and maintain interphase chromatin compaction

New genetic data may help predict risk for end-stage kidney disease

DNA interval in unexplored region of human genome increases risk for coronary artery disease

Researchers use new technology to reveal different genetic patterns of neuroblastoma

New gene locus influencing risk for atrial fibrillation identified

Researchers identify common gene variant associated with atrial fibrillation

Children born through assisted reproduction at greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes related defects

Scientists develop new mathematical model to understand CML better

Two genetic alterations linked to benign enzyme condition keep hepatitis C patients anemia-free

Kinesin protein motor shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide by rocking like a seesaw

Cancer genomes: Distinguishing between 'driver' and 'passenger' mutations

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

Study analyzes genome and exome sequence data from hunter-gatherer participants of South Africa

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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