Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Mutation in alpha tectorin gene causes progressive childhood deafness

Deafness is the most common disorder of the senses. Tragically, it commonly strikes in early childhood, severely damaging an affected child's ability to learn speech and language. In many cases, children gradually lose their hearing to become profoundly deaf over a long period of months to years, but scientists know very little about how this progressive loss happens, making prospects for prevention and cure very slim.

8 Feb 2010

Gene linked to endometrial cancer identified

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract, representing 6% of all cancers. There is currently no screening method or biomarker to indicate early presence of disease. "It is a very common malignancy that affects women of all ages" comments paper author Dr. Diego Castrillon. The cancer forms from the cells that grow along the inner lining of the uterus, which is called the endometrium, and usually it is diagnosed following patient reports of abnormal bleeding.

8 Feb 2010

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome.

8 Feb 2010

Gene variants associated with human biological ageing identified

Scientists announced today (7 Feb) they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC.

7 Feb 2010

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

In the 7 Feb. 2010 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), report that a genetic molecule, called Tbx3, which is crucial for many aspects of early developmental processes in mammals, significantly improves the quality of stem cells that have been reprogrammed from differentiated cells.

7 Feb 2010

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that a research team in Washington, D.C. has found that dystrophin-deficient Mdx mice, treated twice a week for six months with Tβ4, showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle regenerating fibers compared to untreated mice. No effects related to muscle function or fibrosis and no adverse reactions were observed in the mice.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Groundbreaking research done at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) School of Biological Sciences (SBS) could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and kills up to three million people each year.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning it into a virus factory.

6 Feb 2010

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released today a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the potentially harmful recommendations of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) in its Report on Gene Patents and Licensing Practices and Their Impact on Patient Access to Genetic Tests.

6 Feb 2010

Scientists employ new approach to understand metabolic changes of TB bacteria

The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) may be better understood using mathematical models, according to an article published in the February issue of Microbiology Today.

5 Feb 2010

Biotechnology: The next medical revolution

A recent article in the Scandia Journal reported that biotechnology is helping to improve our knowledge of many devastating illnesses, and has armed patients and their doctors with exciting new diagnostics and treatments to battle disease.

5 Feb 2010

EVMS researchers identify source that causes Type 1 diabetes

Doctors at Eastern Virginia Medical School's Strelitz Diabetes Center have been stalking the culprit responsible for Type 1 diabetes. Now, they are one step closer.

5 Feb 2010

Results validating performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental Support technology published

Gene Security Network, Inc (GSN) today announced that Human Reproduction published results validating the exceptional performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental SupportTM technology over existing methods to detect chromosome abnormalities during in vitro-fertilization (IVF).

5 Feb 2010

Anti-doping community urges researchers and athletes to fight illegal doping

With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games just days away, officials in the anti-doping community are urging researchers and those in the athletic community to re-double their efforts to fight illegal doping.

5 Feb 2010

International Stem Cell opens new cell production facility in Oceanside, California

International Stem Cell Corporation, www.internationalstemcell.com, announced today that its new cell production facility has passed final building inspection, which will enable development and manufacturing of the company and its partners’ clinical-grade stem cell products.

5 Feb 2010

Bioheart initiates REGEN Phase I Clinical Trial for testing genetically modified MyoCell in CHF patients

Bioheart, Inc., announced today that the company has commenced work on its REGEN trial, a Phase I Clinical Trial to test genetically modified MyoCell® in patients suffering from Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). Bioheart’s MyoCell® is a regenerative cell therapy that uses myoblasts, or muscle stem cells,that are grown from a patient’s own muscle. MyoCell® has been tested successfully on patients in four clinical trials.

5 Feb 2010

Children exposed to acetaminophen prenatally more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five

Children who were exposed to acetaminophen prenatally were more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five in a study of 300 African-American and Dominican Republic children living in New York City.

5 Feb 2010

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

4 Feb 2010

Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

A new cause of obesity due to a defect on chromosome 16 has just been discovered. It is thought to explain close to 1% of obesity cases. For carriers of the defect, the risk of becoming overweight is 50 times higher. This research is the result of close cooperation between the team of Professor Froguel, a CNRS researcher, in Lille, and colleagues at Imperial College in London and Vaudois University Hospital in Lausanne, with the support of ten other European research groups. The findings of the study are to be published in Nature on February 4, 2010.

4 Feb 2010

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

New evidence that genetics play a significant role in some premature births may help explain why a woman can do everything right and still give birth too soon.

4 Feb 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Mutation in alpha tectorin gene causes progressive childhood deafness

Gene linked to endometrial cancer identified

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Gene variants associated with human biological ageing identified

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

Scientists employ new approach to understand metabolic changes of TB bacteria

Biotechnology: The next medical revolution

EVMS researchers identify source that causes Type 1 diabetes

Results validating performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental Support technology published

Anti-doping community urges researchers and athletes to fight illegal doping

International Stem Cell opens new cell production facility in Oceanside, California

Bioheart initiates REGEN Phase I Clinical Trial for testing genetically modified MyoCell in CHF patients

Children exposed to acetaminophen prenatally more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology