Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers use nanopores to smuggle DNA or proteins across membranes

A living cell is built with barriers to keep things out - and researchers are constantly trying to find ways to smuggle molecules in.‬ ‪Professor Giovanni Maglia (Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, KU Leuven) and his team have engineered a biological nanopore that acts as a selective revolving door through a cell's lipid membrane. The nanopore could potentially be used in gene therapy and targeted drug delivery.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

24 Oct 2013

Study uncovers new genetic pathways that could revolutionise acute dendritic leukaemia treatment

Acute dendritic leukaemia is a rare type of leukaemia, but one with the worst prognosis-the average patient survival rate is just 12-14 months-that is difficult to treat. Juan Cruz Cigudosa's team, from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre's Molecular Cytogenetics Group, has for the first time sequenced the exome -the coding, or protein-generating, regions of the genome- of dendritic cell leukaemia.

24 Oct 2013

Researchers describe why current medications only moderately reduce Fragile X symptoms

When you experience something, neurons in the brain send chemical signals called neurotransmitters across synapses to receptors on other neurons. How well that process unfolds determines how you comprehend the experience and what behaviors might follow. In people with Fragile X syndrome, a third of whom are eventually diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, that process is severely hindered, leading to intellectual impairments and abnormal behaviors.

24 Oct 2013

A simple blood test may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer

Reporting on a small preliminary study, Johns Hopkins researchers say a simple blood test based on detection of tiny epigenetic alterations may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer, a disease that is nearly always fatal because it isn't usually discovered until it has spread to other parts of the body.

23 Oct 2013

Study identifies new genes involved in autism

A scientific study published on the journal Molecular Psychiatry identifies new genes involved in autism, a polygenic disorder that is difficult to diagnose and treat. Autism spectrum disorders represent a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which affect one out of 80-100 children.

23 Oct 2013

Promising technique for treating eye disease proves effective in preclinical studies

A promising technique for treating human eye disease has proven effective in preclinical studies and may lead to new treatments to prevent blindness, according to experiments conducted at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

23 Oct 2013

Study could enhance process of reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that physical cues can replace certain chemicals when nudging mature cells back to a pluripotent stage, capable of becoming any cell type in the body.

23 Oct 2013

Functional biomarker could help guide treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant melanomas

A functional biomarker that can predict whether BRAF-mutant melanomas respond to drugs targeting BRAF could help guide the treatment of patients with these cancers, according to results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19 - 23.

23 Oct 2013

New MDx prototype platform can detect BRAF V600 mutations in 90 minutes

A new diagnostic platform to detect BRAF mutations in melanoma and other cancer types is faster and more accurate compared with the standard method currently used in clinics, and this could help accelerate diagnosis and treatment, according to results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19-23.

23 Oct 2013

P400 predicts RCC outcome

Reduced expression of a senescence-associated protein is associated with worse outcome in patients with renal cell carcinoma, study findings show.

22 Oct 2013

BRCA1/2 mutations may alter endometrial, ovarian function

Scientists have detected significant differences in endometrial thickness and hormone levels in women with and without BRCA1/2 mutations that may play a role in cancer susceptibility or development.

22 Oct 2013

Illumina announces launch of TruGenome Undiagnosed Disease Test

Illumina, Inc. today announced the launch of its TruGenome Undiagnosed Disease Test provided by the CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited Illumina Clinical Services Laboratory.

From Illumina, Inc. 22 Oct 2013

Buck Institute finds link between ApoE4 and anti-aging protein targeted by resveratrol in red wine

he major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), present in about two-thirds of people who develop the disease, is ApoE4, the cholesterol-carrying protein that about a quarter of us are born with. But one of the unsolved mysteries of AD is how ApoE4 causes the risk for the incurable, neurodegenerative disease.

22 Oct 2013

Study opens doors to novel treatments for aggressive brain cancer

Ludwig researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which cancer cells change how they metabolize glucose to generate the energy and raw materials required to sustain runaway growth.

22 Oct 2013

CUMC develops new technique that uses patient's own cells to grow new hair

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a hair restoration method that can generate new human hair growth, rather than simply redistribute hair from one part of the scalp to another.

22 Oct 2013

FDA approves SC formulation of Genentech's Actemra for rheumatoid arthritis

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a subcutaneous formulation of Actemra (tocilizumab) for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have used one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, such as methotrexate, that did not provide enough relief.

22 Oct 2013

Two drug combinations may provide new treatment option for patients with pancreatic cancers

Two drug combinations that simultaneously block two major signaling pathways downstream of the protein KRAS, which is aberrantly active in most pancreatic cancers, may provide a new treatment option for patients with this disease, according to preclinical results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19-23.

22 Oct 2013

Einstein researchers receive $2.8M grant to focus on vexing question related to aging and cancer risk

Gene mutations increase as people age, which helps explain why cancer usually strikes older people. But what other consequences of aging promote cancer development or protect against it?

22 Oct 2013

Personalis launches early access program to Personalis ACE Clinical Exome

Personalis, Inc., the leading provider of advanced medical exome and genome sequencing and interpretation services today announced the launch of an early access program to the Personalis ACE Clinical Exome, a single test that integrates enhanced exome sequencing with genome-wide structural variant detection to increase diagnostic yield.

21 Oct 2013

Verastem presents positive results from VS-6063 clinical and preclinical studies at 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting

Verastem, Inc., focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by the targeted killing of cancer stem cells, announced positive results from the Phase 1 portion of its Phase 1/1b study of defactinib (VS-6063) in combination with paclitaxel in patients with ovarian cancer that were presented at the 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Boston.

21 Oct 2013

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers use nanopores to smuggle DNA or proteins across membranes

Study uncovers new genetic pathways that could revolutionise acute dendritic leukaemia treatment

Researchers describe why current medications only moderately reduce Fragile X symptoms

A simple blood test may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer

Study identifies new genes involved in autism

Promising technique for treating eye disease proves effective in preclinical studies

Study could enhance process of reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells

Functional biomarker could help guide treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant melanomas

New MDx prototype platform can detect BRAF V600 mutations in 90 minutes

P400 predicts RCC outcome

BRCA1/2 mutations may alter endometrial, ovarian function

Illumina announces launch of TruGenome Undiagnosed Disease Test

Buck Institute finds link between ApoE4 and anti-aging protein targeted by resveratrol in red wine

Study opens doors to novel treatments for aggressive brain cancer

CUMC develops new technique that uses patient's own cells to grow new hair

FDA approves SC formulation of Genentech's Actemra for rheumatoid arthritis

Two drug combinations may provide new treatment option for patients with pancreatic cancers

Einstein researchers receive $2.8M grant to focus on vexing question related to aging and cancer risk

Personalis launches early access program to Personalis ACE Clinical Exome

Verastem presents positive results from VS-6063 clinical and preclinical studies at 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting

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