Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Genetic switch that causes excessive mucus in the lungs identified

Scientists have identified the main genetic switch that causes excessive mucus in the lungs, a discovery that one day could ease suffering for people with chronic lung diseases like asthma and cystic fibrosis, or just those fighting the common cold.

15 Sep 2009

Breast and ovarian cancer awareness campaign launched by Myriad Genetics

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN) announced today that it has launched a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer Public Awareness Campaign in five Midwest states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio. The initiative is a comprehensive effort designed to reach women with a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancers and the healthcare providers that treat them.

15 Sep 2009

HFSA's 13th Annual Scientific Meeting focuses on causes and treatment of heart failure

The Heart Failure Society of America's (HFSA) 13th Annual Scientific Meeting convened Sunday, September 13, 2009 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. This three-day meeting -- a forum for heart failure specialists to present research findings and advances in treatment -- will address emerging trends in research and new developments in the approach to treating patients with this condition.

15 Sep 2009

Engineering researchers receive funds to design liver mimics

Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers will use more than $1 million in grant funding to study engineered tissues that mimic the liver, one of the human body's most complex organs.

15 Sep 2009

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act helps breast cancer patients recuperate easily

The Breast Cancer Survivor Coalition for Advancement, Reform and Equity (Because we Care) today praised a House of Representatives committee for adopting an amendment to the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” (H.R. 3200) that would remove barriers to care for breast cancer survivors.

15 Sep 2009

Diabetes drug and chemotherapy kill cancer stem cells in mice

In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone by targeting cancer stem cells, Harvard Medical School researchers reported in the September 14 online first edition of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Sep 2009

Sunlight Research's report analyzes Amgen EPO US patent portfolio

Sunlight Research((TM)) - The Source for Patent Analysis today announced the release of its report analyzing Amgen, Inc.'s Erythropoietin (EPO) US patent portfolio.

14 Sep 2009

U.S. Department of Justice awards grant to Project Lifesaver International

Project Lifesaver International, a non-profit organization that helps rescue citizens who are prone to wander due to Alzheimer's disease, autism, and other cognitive disorders, received notification of federal assistance yesterday.

14 Sep 2009

Clinical data emphasizing on efficacy and potency of torezolid to be presented

Trius Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that 13 posters will be presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) supporting the potency, efficacy and safety of torezolid as a potential new antibiotic for the treatment of severe skin infections caused by gram positive bacteria including MRSA.

14 Sep 2009

Newly discovered molecular circuit helps maintain proper body metabolism

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a molecular circuit involving heme that helps maintain proper metabolism in the body, providing new insights into metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes.

14 Sep 2009

Master gene could lead to new ways of cancer treatments

The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

14 Sep 2009

Researchers discover two proteins controlling the stem cell switch to skin cells

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, in collaboration with colleagues at the Centro de Investigaciones Energ-ticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT) in Madrid, have discovered two proteins that control when and how these stem cells switch to being skin cells.

14 Sep 2009

Monoamine oxidases responsible for personality and behaviour

Antisocial and aggressive behaviours represent a widespread and expensive social problem. Recent research has convincingly shown that there is a strong interaction between genetic inheritance and environment for development of personality and behaviour.

14 Sep 2009

Wisconsin researchers identify the genetic region responsible for cardiovascular collapse during anesthesia

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have identified the genetic region in rats responsible for cardiovascular collapse during anesthesia. While it is well known that people have different cardiovascular sensitivity to anesthesia causing some to collapse even when low doses are administered, the mechanism responsible for this susceptibility is not clear.

11 Sep 2009

Merck update on the status of telcagepant clinical development programs

Merck & Co., Inc. today updated the status of the clinical development programs for telcagepant (MK-0974) and MK-3207, the Company's investigational oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists for the intermittent treatment of acute migraine.

11 Sep 2009

Study investigating the effect of FTO obesity gene in relation to food habits

The risk of becoming obese is 2.5 times higher for those who have double copies of the best known risk gene for overweight and obesity. However, this is only true if the fat consumption is high. A low fat diet neutralizes the harmful effects of the gene.

11 Sep 2009

HHS, Ad Council and Warner Bros unite to address childhood obesity

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Ad Council today launched a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to address childhood overweight and obesity.

11 Sep 2009

Fau and MELK genes may help improve breast cancer diagnosis and treatment

Researchers at Keele University have identified two genes which may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients.

11 Sep 2009

TrKA and CCM2 combination results in pediatric tumour regression

Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and his team of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Chemistry Department seem to have unexpectedly found part of the answer. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.

10 Sep 2009

UCSB researchers use lasers to deliver drugs into cancer cells

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a new way to deliver drugs into cancer cells by exposing them briefly to a non-harmful laser. Their results are published in a recent article in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

10 Sep 2009