Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

PHF21A gene plays a big role in Potocki-Shaffer syndrome

A gene whose mutation results in malformed faces and skulls as well as mental retardation has been found by scientists.

6 Jul 2012

Insight into understanding IDH mediated disease

Agios Pharmaceuticals, the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in cancer metabolism, announced today the publication of a new study that provides further evidence of the link between a mutated metabolic enzyme and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in adults.

6 Jul 2012

Scientists discover new signalling pathway that controls both obesity and atherosclerosis

A*STAR scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) have discovered a new signalling pathway that controls both obesity and atherosclerosis.

6 Jul 2012

Study shows cells from different Parkinson’s patients have unique drug responses

Researchers have taken a step toward personalized medicine for Parkinson's disease, by investigating signs of the disease in patient-derived cells and testing how the cells respond to drug treatments.

5 Jul 2012

Neighboring non-cancer cells may contribute to drug resistance

One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients. One of the burning questions in the field of cancer research has been and remains: how does cancer evade drug treatment?

5 Jul 2012

Researchers use maternal blood sample to sequence genome of an unborn baby

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have for the first time sequenced the genome of an unborn baby using only a blood sample from the mother.

5 Jul 2012

Scientists identify causative link between oncometabolite and onset of AML

A team of international scientists led by principal investigator Dr. Tak Mak at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, has identified a causative link between the product of a mutated metabolic enzyme and the onset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in adults.

5 Jul 2012

Single dose breast cancer treatment helps forego 6-7 week radiation regimen

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is the first and only hospital in the five boroughs of New York City to offer women with early stage breast cancer INTRABEAM radiotherapy, an innovative radiation treatment delivered in a single dose at the time of surgery.

5 Jul 2012

Alcoholic liver disease risk only ‘modestly’ affected by genetic factors

Research has suggested that environmental factors have a greater impact on the risk of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) than genetic predisposition.

5 Jul 2012

The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation supports Genetic Initiative at CCFA

The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, which actively supports science research, has given substantial support to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America to continue its Genetic Initiative to find a cure for the diseases.

4 Jul 2012

Study examines how cells exploit gene sequences to cope with toxic stress

Toxic chemicals wreak havoc on cells, damaging DNA and other critical molecules. A new study from researchers at MIT and the University at Albany reveals how a molecular emergency-response system shifts the cell into damage-control mode and helps it survive such attacks by rapidly producing proteins that counteract the harm.

4 Jul 2012

Epigenetic changes due to methylation play a key role in altering genes in RA

It's not just our DNA that makes us susceptible to disease and influences its impact and outcome. Scientists are beginning to realize more and more that important changes in genes that are unrelated to changes in the DNA sequence itself - a field of study known as epigenetics - are equally influential.

4 Jul 2012

Important insight into association between childhood maltreatment and suicide

Exposure to childhood maltreatment increases the risk for most psychiatric disorders as well as many negative consequences of these conditions. This new study, by Dr. Gustavo Turecki and colleagues at McGill University, Canada, provides important insight into one of the most extreme outcomes, suicide.

4 Jul 2012

Cigarette smoke reduces production of Fallopian tube gene - BAD

Cigarette smoke reduces the production of a Fallopian tube gene known as "BAD", which helps explain the link between smoking and ectopic pregnancy. The finding, from scientists led by Drs Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh, UK, was described today at the annual meting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) in Istanbul.

4 Jul 2012

Scientists develop new animal model to study nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Scientists at Texas Biomed have developed the laboratory opossum as a new animal model to study the most common liver disease in the nation - afflicting up to 15 million Americans - and for which there is no cure.

4 Jul 2012

Nicotine addiction: An interview with Dr. Crystal

Cigarette smoking and nicotine addiction are widespread problems throughout the world. Many people continue to smoke despite high taxes and the available public information on the dangers of smoking.

3 Jul 2012

Treating Sickle Cell Disease with L-Glutamine

By focusing on how best to help patients, researchers can sometimes find solutions that are much simpler than anticipated. That has been the guiding approach to our efforts to develop a treatment for sickle cell disease.

3 Jul 2012

New method promotes selection and growth of dangerous cancer cells

The news a cancer patient most fears is that the disease has spread and become much more difficult to treat. A new method to isolate and grow the most dangerous cancer cells could enable new research into how cancer spreads and, ultimately, how to fight it.

3 Jul 2012

Study confirms a rare susceptibility variant in glioma

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center working with colleagues at three other institutions have validated a link between a rare genetic variant and the risk of glioma, the most common and lethal type of brain tumor.

3 Jul 2012