Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers discover NPC1 protein as crucial for Ebola virus to enter host cells

Although outbreaks are rare, Ebola virus, the cause of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is one of the deadliest known viruses affecting humans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1,850 EHF cases with more than 1,200 deaths have been documented since the virus was identified in 1976.

25 Aug 2011

Scientists aim to tackle Hawaii's liver cancer problem with improved detection

Two scientists from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and The Queen's Medical Center have received a five-year $2.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop novel methods that can better detect liver cancer through the joint analysis of gene expression and imaging data of the liver.

24 Aug 2011

IGF1 plays key role in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

There are numerous specialized growth factors that are responsible for cells of different tissues of our body to divide and differentiate when needed. These hormone-like factors bind to matching receptors on the surface of their target cells and thus give order for the cell to divide. However, a single genetic alteration can be sufficient for the whole system to get out of control.

24 Aug 2011

IARS launches $750,000 anesthesia research grant

The International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) launched a $750,000 research grant today - the largest single grant offered by the Society in its 90 year history. The Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award, created in 1995, has traditionally been a $500,000 grant.

24 Aug 2011

Largest ever molecular-genetic study of ependymomas of the cerebellum

Ependymomas are the second most frequent type of malignant brain tumor in children. Ependymoma develops from precursor cells of the tissue that lines the hollow cavities of the brain. Therapy results of ependymoma vary immensely: While in some patients tumor growth comes to a standstill after surgery and radiotherapy, in other children the disease rapidly takes a severe course.

24 Aug 2011

New stem cell lines help study genetic, biological underpinnings of bipolar disorder

New stem cell lines developed from the skin of adults living with bipolar disorder are providing researchers at the University of Michigan Health System an unprecedented opportunity to delve into the genetic and biological underpinnings of the devastating mood disorder.

24 Aug 2011

MDA announces $13.7M in grants to 40 new muscular dystrophy research initiatives

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced funding, totaling $13.7 million, for 40 new research initiatives targeting nearly two dozen progressive neuromuscular diseases.

24 Aug 2011

Hospital acquired Clostridium difficile bug defense system identified

American researchers have discovered the process by which the cells in the gut fight off toxins produced by a hospital bug - Clostridium difficile. Writing in Nature Medicine, they showed how a chemical - GSNO - deactivated a toxin from Clostridium difficile which causes inflammation and diarrhea. They hope to use their findings to develop a treatment for C. difficile.

23 Aug 2011

Hutchinson Center to participate in NCI-funded proteome research consortium

The National Cancer Institute today announced that a team co-led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and The Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., has been selected to participate in a National Cancer Institute-funded research consortium dedicated to understanding the molecular basis of cancer.

23 Aug 2011

MicroRNA biomarkers provide guidance to develop specific gene therapies for glioblastoma

Patients suffering from an aggressive brain cancer will benefit from the results of a University of Illinois study that could advance the development of targeted gene therapies and improve prognosis.

23 Aug 2011

KU professor to create patient-friendly lung cancer treatment

A Kansas State University professor is trying to create a patient-friendly treatment to help the more than 220,000 people who are diagnosed with lung cancer each year.

23 Aug 2011

Molecular Endocrinology journal publishes two studies on estrogen hormones

University of Houston (UH) researchers have their sights set on developing possible treatments for breast and colon cancer.

23 Aug 2011

ARUP Laboratories introduces Affymetrix CytoScan HD Array

ARUP Laboratories, a leading national clinical and anatomic pathology reference laboratory and a leader in innovative laboratory research and development, is pleased to introduce its newest SNP-based microarray technology, the Affymetrix CytoScan HD Array.

23 Aug 2011

Risk of Parkinson's disease increases with traumatic brain injury and exposure to pesticide paraquat

Traumatic brain injury has entered the public's consciousness as the silent, signature wound brought back by many of our military warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. But such injuries don't only happen in warfare, they happen to civilians too. Think car crashes, a slip and fall, two football players colliding helmet to helmet.

22 Aug 2011

Cellular pathology of Lou Gehrig’s disease discovered

Researchers claim to have found a common cause behind the mysterious and deadly affliction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The discovery could pave the way to new treatments for the devastating disorder whose victims include top physicist Professor Stephen Hawking.

22 Aug 2011

Scientists identify common cause of all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The underlying disease process of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease), a fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims, has long eluded scientists and prevented development of effective therapies. Scientists weren't even sure all its forms actually converged into a common disease process.

22 Aug 2011

New CDI therapeutic approach may offer treatment for other bacterial diseases

Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a molecular process by which the body can defend against the effects of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), pointing the way to a promising new approach for treating an intestinal disease that has become more common, more severe and harder to cure in recent years.

22 Aug 2011

Scientists reveal how thiostrepton blocks FOXM1 protein, prevents breast cancer development

Scientists have discovered how a molecule that was first discovered in bacteria blocks a protein which causes breast cancer to develop and spread, reveals research published in Nature Chemistry today.

22 Aug 2011

New model for biomedical education

Leaders in biomedical education at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are calling for a radical new approach to post-graduate training in the life sciences to address significant challenges, including an avalanche of new discoveries in the last decade and the need to transcend traditional departmental boundaries to understand biological processes at multiple levels.

20 Aug 2011

Medicinal Genomics sequences entire genomes of two therapeutic Cannabis strains

Medicinal Genomics, a private company headquartered in Marblehead, Mass., USA and the Netherlands, announced today that it has sequenced the entire genomes of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, representing two strains of the therapeutic plant.

19 Aug 2011