Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Sexual selection to greatly enlarge the scope for adaptive speciation, finds new research

Darwin suggested that the action of natural selection can produce new species, but 150 years after the publication of his famous book, 'On the Origin of Species', debate still continues on the mechanisms of speciation.

27 Nov 2009

Whitehead researchers develop new type of genetic screen for human cells

Whitehead researchers have developed a new type of genetic screen for human cells to pinpoint specific genes and proteins used by pathogens, according to their paper in Science.

27 Nov 2009

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

The so-called RANK protein and the molecule that binds to it, the RANK ligand or RANKL, form a focus of the work of Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna. In 1999 his group deleted the RANKL gene from mice and showed that the RANK/RANKL system was the "master regulator" governing bone loss (Kong et al. 1999 Nature 402, 304-309).

26 Nov 2009

Researchers find link between novel gene, phosducin and blood pressure response to stress

Does stress increase blood pressure? This simple question has been the focus of intense research for many years. New Stress-related gene Modulates High Blood Pressure in Mice & Men

26 Nov 2009

Cells protect themselves against viruses and bacteria with novel non-genetic mechanism

When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them against damage, scientists have discovered.

26 Nov 2009

'Suicide gene E' reduces potent drug dosage in cancer patients

Researchers at the University of Granada have found a suicide gene, called 'gene E', which leads to the death of tumour cells derived from breast, lung and colon cancer, and prevents their growth. The importance of this new gene is that its use to fight cancer can reduce the potent drugs that are currently used, so that could mean more effective treatment for cancer.

25 Nov 2009

Researchers uncover atomic-level action of ring-shaped protein motors

The atomic-level action of a remarkable class of ring-shaped protein motors has been uncovered by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) using a state-of-the-art protein crystallography beamline at the Advanced Light Source (ALS).

25 Nov 2009

Health watch: When you eat just as vital to what you eat

When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands of genes in the liver—the body's metabolic clearinghouse—is mostly controlled by food intake and not by the body's circadian clock as conventional wisdom had it.

25 Nov 2009

Study: GSTP gene protects against bowel cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have shown that deleting a single gene can increase the average number of tumours in the bowel by 50-fold, according to research published in PNAS today.

25 Nov 2009

Worldwide collaboration leads to treatment for rare skin disorder

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute, in collaboration with a worldwide group of physicians and scientists, have discovered a remarkable treatment for a rare, yet debilitating, skin condition.

25 Nov 2009

Medical advances abound while surgeons report concerns about medical errors

The Wall Street Journal reports on "20 health-care advances to give thanks for this Thanksgiving." Among the most key: "Life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 77.9 years in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, continuing a long upward trend. (That's 75.3 years for men and 80.4 years for women.) ... Death rates dropped significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., including cancer, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, accidents, diabetes, homicides and pneumonia, from 2006 to 2007."

24 Nov 2009

Roche, Spanish Department of Health to collaborate in Medical Genome Project

Roche and the Department of Health of Junta de Andalucía, Spain have signed an agreement for a cooperation in the Medical Genome Project (MGP), a research project created to analyse the genomes of people with rare diseases and identify the defective gene or genes causing the disease and its behaviour.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 24 Nov 2009

StemCells commences patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial of HuCNS-SC in PMD

StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has commenced patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial designed to test the safety and preliminary efficacy of its HuCNS-SC® purified human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a neurological disorder that primarily afflicts children. The study is being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital, one of the leading medical centers in the United States for neonatology, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.

24 Nov 2009

Medical center leaders celebrate BRTI's 25th anniversary

Considered a highly risky and controversial medical procedure only 25 years ago, solid organ transplantation is now a life-saving mainstream operation thanks to the extraordinary men and women who gathered at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on Nov. 11.

24 Nov 2009

BioAlliance Pharma's AMEP biotherapy reduces both tumour growth and tumour angiogenesis

BioAlliance Pharma SA, a company dedicated to the treatment and supportive care of cancer and AIDS patients, has presented preclinical results on its new biotherapy, AMEP™ for advanced and metastatic melanoma at the ESGCT (European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy) in Hannover (November 21 to 25, 2009).

24 Nov 2009

Scientists determine how insulin resistant drugs alter core biochemical pathways through systems biology approach

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from insulin resistance-a primary defect in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Taking a systems biology approach, the bioengineers and medical researchers also determined how a common class of drugs for treating insulin resistance-TZDs-alter these same core pathways.

24 Nov 2009

NIGMS invests $42.3 million in "Grand Opportunities" grant

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is investing $42.3 million for grants in scientific areas it identified as "Grand Opportunities (GO)." NIH developed the GO grant program to stimulate biomedical research and the economy using funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).

24 Nov 2009

Health Heritage: New website for maintaining family's health history

A team of researchers at the University of Virginia received funding from the National Cancer Institute, an agency of the National Institutes of Health, to enhance a Web site called Health Heritage®. This site will enable family members to enter their family medical histories so that other family members and their health care professionals can use this information while dealing with medical issues.

24 Nov 2009

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."

24 Nov 2009

New initiative launched to take care of patients with sickle cell disease

The Medical College of Georgia is leading an initiative that could result in a paradigm shift in the care of patients with sickle cell disease.

23 Nov 2009

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Sexual selection to greatly enlarge the scope for adaptive speciation, finds new research

Whitehead researchers develop new type of genetic screen for human cells

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

Researchers find link between novel gene, phosducin and blood pressure response to stress

Cells protect themselves against viruses and bacteria with novel non-genetic mechanism

'Suicide gene E' reduces potent drug dosage in cancer patients

Researchers uncover atomic-level action of ring-shaped protein motors

Health watch: When you eat just as vital to what you eat

Study: GSTP gene protects against bowel cancer

Worldwide collaboration leads to treatment for rare skin disorder

Medical advances abound while surgeons report concerns about medical errors

Roche, Spanish Department of Health to collaborate in Medical Genome Project

StemCells commences patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial of HuCNS-SC in PMD

Medical center leaders celebrate BRTI's 25th anniversary

BioAlliance Pharma's AMEP biotherapy reduces both tumour growth and tumour angiogenesis

Scientists determine how insulin resistant drugs alter core biochemical pathways through systems biology approach

NIGMS invests $42.3 million in "Grand Opportunities" grant

Health Heritage: New website for maintaining family's health history

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

New initiative launched to take care of patients with sickle cell disease

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

CellVoyant's AI-Powered Vision for the Future of Cell Therapy

Scalable, Smart, and Accessible: The Future of Lab Automation

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey