Chromosome News and Research

Latest Chromosome News and Research

Gene named scrawny keeps stem cells healthy

Stem cells are the body's primal cells, retaining the youthful ability to develop into more specialized types of cells over many cycles of cell division.

6 Jan 2009

New drug being tested for Fragile X syndrome

A pilot trial of an oral drug therapy called fenobam has shown promising initial results and could be a potential new treatment option for adult patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS).

6 Jan 2009

Biologist finds plant polymerases IV and V are really variants of polymerase II

It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.

6 Jan 2009

Metadherin gene linked to metastasis of breast cancer

A team of researchers at Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has identified a long-sought gene that is fatefully switched on in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients, spreading the disease, resisting traditional chemotherapies and eventually leading to death.

5 Jan 2009

New methods for studying DNA repair and protein modification

This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features two articles detailing experimental methods for the analysis of molecular processes involved in DNA repair and post-translational modification of proteins.

5 Jan 2009

Discovery of new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia

A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome: mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3).

5 Jan 2009

Discovery of new genetic markers for ulcerative colitis

An international team led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers has identified genetic markers associated with risk for ulcerative colitis.

5 Jan 2009

Neuropeptide Y gene variation may lead to early coronary artery disease

Researchers from Duke University Medical Center have identified a variation in a particular gene that increases susceptibility to early coronary artery disease.

5 Jan 2009

Culprit found in rare type of baldness

Scientists in Beijing say they have discovered a genetic cause for a certain type of premature baldness and they suggest their discovery offers hope in future that those who inherit this rare type of baldness will eventually be able to keep their hair.

5 Jan 2009

New understanding of genetic signature associated with Alzheimer's disease

Scientists have new information about the complex genetic signature associated with Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.

1 Jan 2009

In lung cancer, silencing one crucial gene disrupts normal functioning of genome

While examining patterns of DNA modification in lung cancer, a team of international researchers has discovered what they say is a surprising new mechanism.

1 Jan 2009

Researchers identify common gene variant linked to high blood pressure

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a common gene variant that appears to influence people's risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the results of a study being published online Dec. 29, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

30 Dec 2008

Ancient African exodus mostly involved men

Modern humans left Africa over 60,000 years ago in a migration that many believe was responsible for nearly all of the human population that exist outside Africa today.

21 Dec 2008

Researchers identify gene linked to inherited form of fatal lung disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that a mutation in a gene known for its role in defending the lungs against invading pathogens is responsible for some inherited cases of a lethal lung disease affecting older adults. The same mutation may also be associated with lung cancer, the researchers said.

21 Dec 2008

Borderline personality disorder more common than schizophrenia

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, borderline personality disorder (BPD) is more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and is estimated to affect 2 percent of the population.

16 Dec 2008

Breast cancer genome shows instability of cancer

A newly published genome sequence of a breast cancer cell line reveals a heavily rearranged genetic blueprint involving breaks and fusions of genes and a broken DNA repair machinery, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the journal Genome Research.

15 Dec 2008