Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Digital versions of standard molecular biology tool to detect common tumor-associated mutation in CSF

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers and their colleagues have used digital versions of a standard molecular biology tool to detect a common tumor-associated mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with brain tumors. In their report being published in the open-access journal Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, the investigators describe using advanced forms of the gene-amplification technology polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze bits of RNA carried in membrane-covered sacs called extracellular vesicles for the presence of a tumor-associated mutation in a gene called IDH1.

24 Jul 2013

Research: No association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors

The potential impact of exposure to low levels of mercury on the developing brain - specifically by women consuming fish during pregnancy - has long been the source of concern and some have argued that the chemical may be responsible for behavioral disorders such as autism.

24 Jul 2013

Fibromyalgia diagnosis: an interview with Dr. Bruce Gillis, CEO of EpicGenetics

Presently, it is a diagnosis of exclusion. Patients end up spending, according to what’s been published in the medical literature, as many as 3 - 5 years going from doctor to doctor seeking a diagnosis because they tend to have nonspecific symptoms of a subjective nature.

23 Jul 2013

Array BioPharma announces positive results from ARRY-502 Phase 2 trial for allergic asthma

Array BioPharma Inc. today announced positive results from a placebo-controlled, randomized, double‑blind Phase 2 trial in mild to moderate persistent allergic asthma for ARRY-502, an oral CRTh2 antagonist.

23 Jul 2013

Discovery may help explain how anti-inflammatory steroid drugs work

A gene long presumed dead comes to life under the full moon of inflammation, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found.

23 Jul 2013

Serum Institute of India secures license to patents, technologies related to tuberculosis vaccine

Hopes are high for a new and improved tuberculosis vaccine: Serum Institute of India is planning on taking a promising vaccine - originally developed in Germany - and introducing it into the clinical setting.

23 Jul 2013

Potential breakthrough to help prevent diabetes

The resistance to insulin seen in type 2 diabetics is caused partly by the lack of a protein that has not previously been associated with diabetes. This breakthrough could potentially help to prevent diabetes.

23 Jul 2013

Research findings on brain development may shed light on neurological disorders

Dennis O'Leary of the Salk Institute was the first scientist to show that the basic functional architecture of the cortex, the largest part of the human brain, was genetically determined during development.

23 Jul 2013

NF-κB protein complex may boost immune system to eliminate cancerous cells

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in China have discovered a gene expression signature that may lead to new immune therapies for lung cancer patients.

23 Jul 2013

New finding provides fresh hope for women with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer

A new finding provides fresh hope for the millions of women worldwide with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Australian scientists have shown that a specific change, which occurs when tumours become resistant to anti-oestrogen therapy, might make the cancers susceptible to treatment with chemotherapy drugs.

23 Jul 2013

p53 and cancer research: an interview with Professor Sir David Lane, Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

P53 is a tumor suppressor gene. The gene encodes for a protein that monitors the state of the cell. If something goes wrong, it stops the cell from dividing or causes the cell to commit suicide. I call it the “guardian of the genome” as it is the molecule that seems to keep cells normal. It is one of our big defenses against cancer.

22 Jul 2013

HistoGenetics selects MiSeq sequencing system from Illumina for use in CLIA laboratory

Illumina, Inc. today announced that HistoGenetics, the leader in high-resolution sequence-based human leukocyte antigen testing services, has selected the MiSeq sequencing system for use in its CLIA laboratory.

From Illumina, Inc. 22 Jul 2013

CLAMP: A newly discovered protein that regulates genes

They say a good man is hard to find. Were it not for a newly discovered protein, the X chromosome of a male fruit fly could never be found by a gene-regulating complex that male flies need to develop and survive. And that case is just one example of what the new finding means. More generally, the research provides biologists with a model of how proteins that govern gene transcription find their targets on chromosomes, a process that's essential to healthy cell function and sometimes implicated in disease.

22 Jul 2013

New stem cell discovery may help scientists replace damaged organs

Stem-cell researchers at UC San Francisco have found a key role for a protein called BMI1 that may help scientists direct the development of tissues to replace damaged organs in the human body.

22 Jul 2013

Implications for treating some common food allergies

Food is an integral part of life; but, for some, it can be harmful. Allergic inflammation caused by inappropriate immune responses to some types of food has become a major public health issue. Over the past ten years, the prevalence of food allergies has increased by nearly 20 percent, affecting an estimated six million people in the U.S.

22 Jul 2013

Quickly clearing out damaged proteins may help prevent neurodegenerative disorders: Study

Recycling is not only good for the environment, it's good for the brain. A study using rat cells indicates that quickly clearing out defective proteins in the brain may prevent loss of brain cells.

22 Jul 2013

Weeds derived from crop plant pose special challenges for modern farming

The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once asked whether the living world would be different "if the tape were played twice." If there were a duplicate Earth evolving quietly beside ours, would we observe the emergence of creatures like ourselves and of plants and anaimals familiar to us, or would the cast of characters be entirely different?

22 Jul 2013

New research project has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance

The sounds of success are ringing at Kansas State University through a research project that has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance.

20 Jul 2013

Structural properties have changed across bacterial families without putting limits on antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been emerging at an alarming rate. In some of the scariest of these pathogens, the mechanism responsible for the bacteria's ability to defeat antibiotics is a complex protein molecule embedded in the bacterial cell wall -- the enzyme β-lactamase.

20 Jul 2013

Investigators report complete catalog of genes expressed in retina

Investigators at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have published the most thorough description of gene expression in the human retina reported to date. In a study published today in the journal BMC Genomics, Drs. Michael Farkas, Eric Pierce and colleagues in the Ocular Genomics Institute at Mass. Eye and Ear reported a complete catalog of the genes expressed in the retina.

20 Jul 2013

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Digital versions of standard molecular biology tool to detect common tumor-associated mutation in CSF

Research: No association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors

Fibromyalgia diagnosis: an interview with Dr. Bruce Gillis, CEO of EpicGenetics

Array BioPharma announces positive results from ARRY-502 Phase 2 trial for allergic asthma

Discovery may help explain how anti-inflammatory steroid drugs work

Serum Institute of India secures license to patents, technologies related to tuberculosis vaccine

Potential breakthrough to help prevent diabetes

Research findings on brain development may shed light on neurological disorders

NF-κB protein complex may boost immune system to eliminate cancerous cells

New finding provides fresh hope for women with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer

p53 and cancer research: an interview with Professor Sir David Lane, Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

HistoGenetics selects MiSeq sequencing system from Illumina for use in CLIA laboratory

CLAMP: A newly discovered protein that regulates genes

New stem cell discovery may help scientists replace damaged organs

Implications for treating some common food allergies

Quickly clearing out damaged proteins may help prevent neurodegenerative disorders: Study

Weeds derived from crop plant pose special challenges for modern farming

New research project has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance

Structural properties have changed across bacterial families without putting limits on antibiotic resistance

Investigators report complete catalog of genes expressed in retina

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Decoding Cannabis: Differentiating Hemp and Marijuana

Deciphering the Microbiome with The Microsetta Initiative

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research