Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers identify genetic variant associated with increased risk of AAA

Geisinger researchers are part of an international team that has identified a genetic variant more common in individuals with abdominal aortic aneurysms. This is one of the largest studies ever into the genetics of AAA. The results of the work will appear in this week's online edition of Nature Genetics.

13 Jul 2010

Researchers discover gene mutation that causes auditory neuropathy

Researchers have identified a gene mutation that causes a rare form of hearing loss known as auditory neuropathy, according to U-M Medical School scientists. In the study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, U-M's Marci Lesperance, M.D., and Margit Burmeister, Ph.D. led a team of researchers who examined the DNA of individuals from the same large family afflicted with the disorder.

13 Jul 2010

$Binge-drinking teenagers at risk for future osteoporosis, bone fractures$

Binge-drinking teenagers at risk for future osteoporosis, bone fractures

Binge-drinking teenagers may be putting themselves at risk for future osteoporosis and bone fractures, according to researchers at Loyola University Health System.

13 Jul 2010

Research findings could offer new approach to diabetes therapy, nutrition experts say

Nutrition experts at Oregon State University have essentially "cured" laboratory mice of mild, diet-induced diabetes by stimulating the production of a particular enzyme. The findings could offer a new approach to diabetes therapy, experts say, especially if a drug could be identified that would do the same thing, which in this case was accomplished with genetic manipulation.

13 Jul 2010

Study explores direct role of FTO gene on Alzheimer's and dementia risk in old age

A gene known as FTO, which appears to be correlated with obesity in humans, may also increase risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, according to new research presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 in Honolulu, HI. And when a person has certain variants of both FTO and a recognized Alzheimer's risk gene known as APOE, the risk of Alzheimer's could be doubled.

13 Jul 2010

Common SNP in sequence of human genome conferring risk of vascular diseases discovered

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from the Netherlands and twelve other countries across Europe and North America today report the discovery of a common single-letter variation (SNP) in the sequence of the human genome conferring risk of a range of vascular diseases. The SNP confers risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), early-onset heart attack, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and pulmonary embolism, independent of other known risk factors.

12 Jul 2010

Drosophila fly study may aid in staving off diseases in humans using defensive bacteria

It has been a basic principle of evolution for more than a century that plants and animals can adapt genetically in ways that help them better survive and reproduce.

12 Jul 2010

Experts use Mexican aquatic salamander to study evolution and genetics of stem cells

Dr Andrew Johnson is speaking today (12 July) at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual conference. He and his team from the University of Nottingham have been using a Mexican aquatic salamander called an axolotl to study the evolution and genetics of stem cells - research that supports the development of regenerative medicine to treat the consequences of disease and injury using stem cell therapies. This team has found that there are extraordinary similarities in the development of axolotls and mammals that provide unique opportunities to study the properties of embryonic stem cells and germ cells.

12 Jul 2010

Subtle mutation affecting epigenome may lead to inherited form of mental retardation: Researchers

A subtle mutation affecting the epigenome –- a set of dynamic factors that influence gene activity -- may lead to an inherited form of mental retardation that affects boys, find researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. The disorder, which also involves cleft lip or cleft palate, appears to hinge on an enzyme working in a biological pathway that may offer several potential drug targets.

12 Jul 2010

Sirtuin1 protein promotes memory, brain flexibility: MIT researchers

The same molecular mechanism that increases life span through calorie restriction may help boost memory and brainpower, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory report in the July 11 issue of Nature.

12 Jul 2010

SurModics to present four scientific posters on drug delivery technologies at CRS Annual Meeting

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry, is participating at the 37th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Controlled Release Society, July 10-14, 2010 in Portland, Oregon (booth #521).

9 Jul 2010

Community-based wellness program helps reduce obesity, chronic inflammatory diseases: Study

Tackling weight loss, risk of chronic disease and overall well-being as part of a like-minded social community can dramatically influence an individual's success rate, according to a new study published in the July 2010 issue of the Center for Disease Control's Preventing Chronic Disease journal.

9 Jul 2010

New method enhances delivery of DNA payloads into cells

Chang Lu and his chemical engineering research group at Virginia Tech have discovered how to "greatly enhance" the delivery of DNA payloads into cells. The description of their work will be featured on the cover of Lab on a Chip (issue 16), the premier journal for researchers in microfluidics.

9 Jul 2010

Promising study may lead to potential new therapeutics for women facing triple-negative breast cancer

Using a small molecule decoy, investigators funded by the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation have managed to block protein interactions and induce epigenetic reprogramming in human and mouse breast cancer cells, essentially changing the gene expression of breast cancer cells to behave in a more normal manner.

9 Jul 2010

Males with faulty BRCA2 genes at risk of breast cancer

Men who carry a faulty version of the BRCA2 gene have an estimated one-in-15 chance of developing breast cancer by the time they reach 70, British scientists have found.

9 Jul 2010

Musashi 2 protein predicts progression of AML and CML, identify researchers

Researchers at Whitehead Institute and Children's Hospital Boston have identified a protein, called Musashi 2, that is predictive of prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

9 Jul 2010

Research findings may help scientists understand how muscle and heart diseases develop

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown mechanism by which cells direct gene expression, the process by which information from a gene is used to direct the physical and behavioral development of individuals. The research, which may help scientists gain insight into how muscle and heart diseases develop, is published in the July 8th issue of Nature.

9 Jul 2010

Study identifies a region in human genome that is linked to FSGS

An in-depth study of a family with multiple generations affected by kidney disease has identified a previously unknown location for a gene abnormality causing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

9 Jul 2010

Female mice that lack fucose mutarotase gene exhibit male-like sexual behavior

The mammalian fucose mutarotase enzyme is known to be involved in incorporating the sugar fucose into protein. Female mice that lack the fucose mutarotase (FucM) gene refuse to let males mount them, and will attempt copulation with other female mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics created the FucM mouse mutants in order to investigate the role of this enzyme in vivo.

9 Jul 2010

Researchers report how mature red blood cells form

We take our blood for granted, but its creation requires a complicated series of steps, starting with the formation of blood stem cells during early embryonic development, followed by progressive differentiation into the progenitors of red cells, white cells and platelets, and ultimately the full set of blood cells.

9 Jul 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers identify genetic variant associated with increased risk of AAA

Researchers discover gene mutation that causes auditory neuropathy

Binge-drinking teenagers at risk for future osteoporosis, bone fractures

Research findings could offer new approach to diabetes therapy, nutrition experts say

Study explores direct role of FTO gene on Alzheimer's and dementia risk in old age

Common SNP in sequence of human genome conferring risk of vascular diseases discovered

Drosophila fly study may aid in staving off diseases in humans using defensive bacteria

Experts use Mexican aquatic salamander to study evolution and genetics of stem cells

Subtle mutation affecting epigenome may lead to inherited form of mental retardation: Researchers

Sirtuin1 protein promotes memory, brain flexibility: MIT researchers

SurModics to present four scientific posters on drug delivery technologies at CRS Annual Meeting

Community-based wellness program helps reduce obesity, chronic inflammatory diseases: Study

New method enhances delivery of DNA payloads into cells

Promising study may lead to potential new therapeutics for women facing triple-negative breast cancer

Males with faulty BRCA2 genes at risk of breast cancer

Musashi 2 protein predicts progression of AML and CML, identify researchers

Research findings may help scientists understand how muscle and heart diseases develop

Study identifies a region in human genome that is linked to FSGS

Female mice that lack fucose mutarotase gene exhibit male-like sexual behavior

Researchers report how mature red blood cells form

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