Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

TapImmune announces results from HER2/neu interim study on breast cancer

TapImmune Inc. has announced that an interim safety analysis on the first five breast cancer patients treated with HER2/neu Class II antigens at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN., did not show any serious adverse events.

11 Jan 2013

H. pylori may protect against stroke and some cancers

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers reveals that an especially virulent strain of the gut bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) isn't implicated in the overall death rate of the U.S. population, and may even protect against stroke and some cancers.

10 Jan 2013

TSRI chemists develop new cell-marking method

Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found an easier way to perform one of the most fundamental tasks in molecular biology. Their new method allows scientists to add a marker to certain cells, so that these cells may be easily located and/or selected out from a larger cell population.

10 Jan 2013

Simple and inexpensive method to cut DNA could transform genetic medicine

A simple, precise and inexpensive method for cutting DNA to insert genes into human cells could transform genetic medicine, making routine what now are expensive, complicated and rare procedures for replacing defective genes in order to fix genetic disease or even cure AIDS.

10 Jan 2013

Several genes may control body-fat responses to fast-food diets

Researchers at UCLA say it's not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter - it's also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat responses to a typical fast-food diet are determined in large part by genetic factors, and they have identified several genes they say may control those responses.

10 Jan 2013

Researchers uncover genetic causes of von Willebrand disease

In 2006, the lab of Dr. David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute put a call out for siblings attending the University of Michigan to donate blood for a study of blood-clotting disorders.

10 Jan 2013

Minor mutations can lead to big improvements in antibiotic resistance

Rice University scientists have found that mutations of small effect can turn out to be game changers in the bacterial fight against antibiotic drugs.

10 Jan 2013

Pannexin1 channel protein critical for memory and orientation

The channel protein Pannexin1 keeps nerve cells flexible and thus the brain receptive for new knowledge. Together with colleagues from Canada and the U.S., researchers at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum led by the junior professor Dr. Nora Prochnow from the Department of Molecular Brain Research describe these results in PLoS ONE.

10 Jan 2013

Susceptibility genes for bovine digital dermatitis found

Researchers have identified genetic variants that influence susceptibility to bovine digital dermatitis, an infectious condition that causes lameness of the hindfoot.

9 Jan 2013

Key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis. The study, which paves the way for developing novel targeted ovarian cancer therapies, is published online in the current issue of Cell Cycle.

9 Jan 2013

Scientists wrestle to understand why Huntington's can produce variable symptoms

Scientists have wrestled to understand why Huntington's disease, which is caused by a single gene mutation, can produce such variable symptoms. An authoritative review by a group of leading experts summarizes the progress relating cell loss in the striatum and cerebral cortex to symptom profile in Huntington's disease, suggesting a possible direction for developing targeted therapies.

9 Jan 2013

Insect research yields insights for muscle control and nerve disorders in mammals

Working with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins scientists have decoded the activity of protein signals that let certain nerve cells know when and where to branch so that they reach and connect to their correct muscle targets. The proteins' mammalian counterparts are known to have signaling roles in immunity, nervous system and heart development, and tumor progression, suggesting broad implications for human disease research.

9 Jan 2013

Researchers use electrokinetic patterning to separate particles and microbes by size

Researchers have demonstrated a new technology that combines a laser and electric fields to create tiny centrifuge-like whirlpools to separate particles and microbes by size, a potential lab-on-a-chip system for medicine and research.

9 Jan 2013

Link between IRGM gene and composition of human gastrointestinal bacteria

New research led by the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and the University of Glasgow, Scotland, has identified a link between a human gene and the composition of human gastrointestinal bacteria.

9 Jan 2013

Scientists describe detailed structure and function of the TFIID protein complex

A research team of scientists from EMBL Grenoble and the IGBMC in Strasbourg, France, have, for the first time, described in molecular detail the architecture of the central scaffold of TFIID: the human protein complex essential for transcription from DNA to mRNA. The study, published today in Nature, opens new perspectives in the study of transcription and of the structure and mechanism of other large multi-protein assemblies involved in gene regulation.

9 Jan 2013

Researchers identify protein that helps prevent obesity

University of Florida researchers and colleagues have identified a protein that, when absent, helps the body burn fat and prevents insulin resistance and obesity.

8 Jan 2013

EHR implementation with technical support can improve patient care in small physician practices: Study

The relationship between a physician practice's adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and quality improvements in patient care remains unclear.

7 Jan 2013

Newly discovered gene predicts HCV interferon response

Researchers have discovered a gene which interferes with the clearance of hepatitis C virus infection.

7 Jan 2013

Edison Pharmaceuticals to commence EPI-743 phase 2B Friedreich's ataxia study

Edison Pharmaceuticals today announced the initiation of a phase 2B study entitled, "Safety and Efficacy Study of EPI-743 on Visual Function in Patients with Friedreich's Ataxia."

7 Jan 2013

New research reveals a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine

New research reveals a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), indicate that having a strong family history of seizure disorders increases the chance of having migraine with aura (MA).

7 Jan 2013