Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers identify new group of growth factor receptors that signal to brain tumours

One in 25,000 people worldwide is affected by neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a condition where the loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin results in multiple tumours in the brain and nervous system.

16 Jan 2013

Stem cell transplantation prevents decrease in heart function associated with DMD

Researchers have shown that transplanting stem cells derived from normal mouse blood vessels into the hearts of mice that model the pathology associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) prevents the decrease in heart function associated with DMD.

16 Jan 2013

MI-ONCOSEQ program identifies NAB2-STAT6 fusion in solitary fibrous tumors

It started with a 44-year-old woman with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare cancer seen in only a few hundred people each year. By looking at the entire DNA from this one patient's tumor, researchers have found a genetic anomaly that provides an important clue to improving how this cancer is diagnosed and treated.

16 Jan 2013

Study identifies 24 new copy number variants linked with autism

University of Utah (the U) researchers, in collaboration with several groups from around the country, published a paper on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, following one of the biggest studies of its kind, that extends our understanding of genes related to autism spectrum diseases (ASDs) and advances methods for early detection and treatment.

16 Jan 2013

NEDD9 gene controls growth of progenitor cells that give rise to breast tumors

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. Many of these deaths occur when there is an initial diagnosis of invasive or metastatic disease. A protein called NEDD9-which regulates cell migration, division and survival-has been linked to tumor invasion and metastasis in a variety of cancers.

16 Jan 2013

Experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect against Ebola virus infection

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have found that an experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect nonhuman primates from Ebola virus infection.

16 Jan 2013

Genetics researchers identify 25 additional copy number variations associated with autism

Genetics researchers have identified 25 additional copy number variations (CNVs)—missing or duplicated stretches of DNA—that occur in some patients with autism. These CNVs, say the researchers, are "high impact": although individually rare, each has a strong effect in raising an individual's risk for autism.

16 Jan 2013

Study explains how Timothy syndrome mutation causes wiring defects that underlie cognition

A new finding in neuroscience for the first time points to a developmental mechanism linking the disease-causing mutation in an autism-related disorder, Timothy syndrome, and observed defects in brain wiring, according to a study led by scientist Ricardo Dolmetsch and published online yesterday in Nature Neuroscience.

16 Jan 2013

p53 activation suppresses malic enzyme expression and leads to senescence in pre-cancerous cells

It is perhaps impossible to overstate the importance of the tumor suppressor gene p53. It is the single most frequently mutated gene in human tumors. p53 keeps pre-cancerous cells in check by causing cells, among other things, to become senescent - aging at the cellular level. Loss of p53 causes cells to ignore the cellular signals that would normally make mutant or damaged cells die or stop growing.

16 Jan 2013

TSC22D4 gene plays a key role in the onset of cachexia

Cachexia or wasting is a condition affecting up to 70 percent of cancer patients, depending on the type of cancer. It is characterized by a dramatic loss of body weight that is independent of food intake. Cachexia is seen particularly often and most pronounced in patients suffering from cancers of the digestive tract and the lungs.

16 Jan 2013

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Increased NEK2 gene expression linked to increased drug resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer patient outcome - The finding may improved diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer care and could lead to improved cancer therapies

16 Jan 2013

Aggressive breast cancer’s metastasis molecular switch identified

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

15 Jan 2013

Tailored asthma therapy on the horizon

UK researchers report that montelukast therapy is more effective than salmeterol in children with asthma who have a particular genotype – a finding that could pave the way for personalized asthma management.

15 Jan 2013

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Bionic devices are implants which replace biological functions which have been lost due to nerve damage. They use electrical signals to stimulate the remaining nerve cells following disease or injury. Although the term bionic was only coined in the late 1950s, the earliest bionic devices were cardiac pacemakers, developed in the early 1900s. However the first commercial implantable units were not available until the 1950s.

14 Jan 2013

Cancer researchers solve mystery of how Chd5 protein exerts its beneficial effects

A team of cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has solved the mystery of how one of the most powerful of the body's natural tumor-suppressing proteins, called Chd5, exerts its beneficial effects.

11 Jan 2013

Melanomas that develop resistance to vemurafenib also become addicted to the drug

Researchers in California and Switzerland have discovered that melanomas that develop resistance to the anti-cancer drug vemurafenib (marketed as Zelboraf), also develop addiction to the drug, an observation that may have important implications for the lives of patients with late-stage disease.

11 Jan 2013

Blocking TRIP-Br2 gene protects against obesity and insulin resistance

Scientists observed that blocking the expression of the gene TRIP-Br2 in mice protects them against obesity and insulin resistance. The study shows that the gene modulates fat storage by regulating energy expenditure and lipolysis, the process which transforms fat into lipids for the body's energy consumption.

11 Jan 2013

Results from Morphotek’s farletuzumab Phase III combination study on ovarian cancer

Morphotek Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today top-line results from a Phase III study of its investigational agent farletuzumab (MORAb-003) in combination with carboplatin and a taxane in patients with platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer in first relapse.

11 Jan 2013

Saliva gland test shows promise for Parkinson's

New research suggests that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a way to diagnose Parkinson's disease.

11 Jan 2013

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

Researchers at Saint Louis University have received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to test a new method of screening newborns for a group of rare, but serious genetic disorders that affect approximately 200 babies born in the U.S., each year.

11 Jan 2013

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers identify new group of growth factor receptors that signal to brain tumours

Stem cell transplantation prevents decrease in heart function associated with DMD

MI-ONCOSEQ program identifies NAB2-STAT6 fusion in solitary fibrous tumors

Study identifies 24 new copy number variants linked with autism

NEDD9 gene controls growth of progenitor cells that give rise to breast tumors

Experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect against Ebola virus infection

Genetics researchers identify 25 additional copy number variations associated with autism

Study explains how Timothy syndrome mutation causes wiring defects that underlie cognition

p53 activation suppresses malic enzyme expression and leads to senescence in pre-cancerous cells

TSC22D4 gene plays a key role in the onset of cachexia

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Aggressive breast cancer’s metastasis molecular switch identified

Tailored asthma therapy on the horizon

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Cancer researchers solve mystery of how Chd5 protein exerts its beneficial effects

Melanomas that develop resistance to vemurafenib also become addicted to the drug

Blocking TRIP-Br2 gene protects against obesity and insulin resistance

Results from Morphotek’s farletuzumab Phase III combination study on ovarian cancer

Saliva gland test shows promise for Parkinson's

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

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