Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Astrocytes more effective in promoting recovery after brain injury

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

25 Apr 2013

Sofosbuvir is safer than interferon for hepatitis C patients, say scientists

A new drug is offering dramatic cure rates for hepatitis C patients with two subtypes of the infection -- genotype 2 and 3, say a team of scientists led by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers.

25 Apr 2013

Sirolimus effective in treating children with Pretzel syndrome, new study reports

With a better understanding of underlying mechanisms that cause a rare neurodevelopmental disorder in the Old Order Mennonite population, referred to as Pretzel syndrome, a new study reports that five children were successfully treated with a drug that modifies the disease process, minimizing seizures and improving receptive language.

25 Apr 2013

Individuals with MEN1 are at increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors

A mutation in a protein called menin causes a hereditary cancer syndrome called MEN1 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1).

25 Apr 2013

Hospital for Special Surgery receives grant for new genomics center to study autoimmune diseases

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City has received a $5.6 million grant from The Tow Foundation to establish the Hospital for Special Surgery Genomics Center.

25 Apr 2013

Individual hydroxymethylcytosine molecules in DNA detected by new method involving chemical modification and nanopore analysis

Changes in the bases that make up DNA act as markers, telling a cell which genes it should read and which it shouldn’t. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a British team has now introduced a new method that makes it possible to enrich the rare gene segments that contain the modified base hydroxymethylcytosine and to identify individual hydroxymethylcytosine molecules in DNA. Such modifications are associated with autoimmune diseases and cancer.

24 Apr 2013

Advaita selected to participate in Michigan I-Corps program starting May 2013

Advaita, a Plymouth, MI biotechnology startup company spun out from Wayne State University, is one of 25 companies selected to participate in the new Michigan I-Corps program starting May 2013.

24 Apr 2013

Tissue engineering combined with gene therapy can manage repair of defective articular cartilage

Researchers at Micro Orthopaedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, led by Dr. Ai-xi Yu, have suggested that articular cartilage defects can be repaired by a novel thermo-sensitive injectable hydrogel engineered with gene modified bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.

24 Apr 2013

Researchers decode toggle switch that can stimulate fat burning

For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning.

24 Apr 2013

Study identifies gene variants associated with histological features of NAFLD

More patients could be diagnosed earlier with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after a cohort study presented at the International Liver Congress 2013 identified variants within four genes significantly associated with the histological features of the disease.

24 Apr 2013

Study identifies malaria parasite protein as potential new target for drug treatment to prevent malaria

Scientists have discovered how a protein within the malaria parasite is essential to its survival as it develops inside a mosquito. They believe their findings identify this protein as a potential new target for drug treatments to prevent malaria being passed to humans.

24 Apr 2013

Methodist Hospital will soon have new brain and pituitary tumor treatment center

Brain and pituitary tumor patients will soon have access to a state-of-the-art facility at The Methodist Hospital, a result of a $10 million dollar commitment from a Houston oil executive.

24 Apr 2013

Investigational treatment for ALS passes early phase clinical trial for safety

An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital report.

24 Apr 2013

Isis Pharmaceuticals starts ISIS-SMNRx Phase 2 study in infants with SMA

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase 2 study of ISIS-SMNRx in infants with spinal muscular atrophy. SMA is a severe and rare genetic neuromuscular disease characterized by muscle atrophy and weakness and is the most common genetic cause of infant mortality.

24 Apr 2013

PPMI to launch additional study to evaluate multiple potential biomarkers for Parkinson's disease

The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, a landmark biomarker clinical study, has completed enrollment of its initial 600-member cohort of Parkinson's patients and controls, and will launch additional study cohorts to leverage the existing PPMI infrastructure and evaluate multiple potential biomarkers for Parkinson's disease.

24 Apr 2013

Research shows sophisticated genetic circuits allow individual bacterium to act on its own

Individual freedom and social responsibility may sound like humanistic concepts, but an investigation of the genetic circuitry of bacteria suggests that even the simplest creatures can make difficult choices that strike a balance between selflessness and selfishness.

23 Apr 2013

Study suggests lung cancer patients with HER2 mutations may benefit from anti-HER2 drugs

New results from a retrospective study conducted in Europe suggest that anti-HER2 treatments, like the widely used breast cancer agent trastuzumab (Herceptin), have anti-cancer effects in a small subset of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring specific HER2 protein mutations.

23 Apr 2013

iQBS researchers discover three unique genetic variations that influence body size, obesity in African ancestry

Researchers from Dartmouth's Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences (iQBS) and the Center for Genomic Medicine have helped to discover three unique genetic variations that influence body size and obesity in men and women of African ancestry.

23 Apr 2013

Animal models of Huntington's disease allow better insights into disease's genetics

Scientific progress in Huntington's disease (HD) relies upon the availability of appropriate animal models that enable insights into the disease's genetics and/or pathophysiology.

23 Apr 2013

Researchers find deficiency in anti-tumor protein can delay DNA repair after radiation treatment

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that a deficiency in an important anti-tumor protein, p53, can slow or delay DNA repair after radiation treatment. They suggest that this is because p53 regulates the expression of two enzymes (JMJD2b and SUV39H1) that control the folding of DNA.

23 Apr 2013

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Astrocytes more effective in promoting recovery after brain injury

Sofosbuvir is safer than interferon for hepatitis C patients, say scientists

Sirolimus effective in treating children with Pretzel syndrome, new study reports

Individuals with MEN1 are at increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors

Hospital for Special Surgery receives grant for new genomics center to study autoimmune diseases

Individual hydroxymethylcytosine molecules in DNA detected by new method involving chemical modification and nanopore analysis

Advaita selected to participate in Michigan I-Corps program starting May 2013

Tissue engineering combined with gene therapy can manage repair of defective articular cartilage

Researchers decode toggle switch that can stimulate fat burning

Study identifies gene variants associated with histological features of NAFLD

Study identifies malaria parasite protein as potential new target for drug treatment to prevent malaria

Methodist Hospital will soon have new brain and pituitary tumor treatment center

Investigational treatment for ALS passes early phase clinical trial for safety

Isis Pharmaceuticals starts ISIS-SMNRx Phase 2 study in infants with SMA

PPMI to launch additional study to evaluate multiple potential biomarkers for Parkinson's disease

Research shows sophisticated genetic circuits allow individual bacterium to act on its own

Study suggests lung cancer patients with HER2 mutations may benefit from anti-HER2 drugs

iQBS researchers discover three unique genetic variations that influence body size, obesity in African ancestry

Animal models of Huntington's disease allow better insights into disease's genetics

Researchers find deficiency in anti-tumor protein can delay DNA repair after radiation treatment

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