Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Novel genome-analysis strategy to speed search for gene-disease links

University of Washington (UW) researchers have successfully developed a novel genome-analysis strategy for more rapid, lower cost discovery of possible gene-disease links. By saving time and lowering expenses, the approach makes it feasible for scientists to search for disease-causing genes in people with the same inherited disorder but without any family ties to each other.

18 Aug 2009

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc. today announced that a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy increased the time women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS), compared to chemotherapy alone.

18 Aug 2009

Discovery of the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian

Researchers in China have discovered the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian - a 60 amino acid neurotoxin found in the skin of a Chinese tree frog. This finding may help shed more light into both the evolution of amphibians and the evolution of poison.

17 Aug 2009

Protein Huwe1 may be an important factor in the development of brain cancer

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that activates brain stem cells to make new neurons - but that may be hijacked later in life to cause brain cancer in humans. The protein called Huwe1 normally functions to eliminate other unnecessary proteins and was found to act as a tumor suppressor in brain cancer.

17 Aug 2009

Sugar "feeds" tumors

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have uncovered new information on the notion that sugar "feeds" tumors. The findings may also have implications for other diseases such as diabetes. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

17 Aug 2009

Nematode worm provides model of invasive cancer

A single cell in a 1-millimeter nematode worm is providing valuable new clues into cancer's deadliest behavior -- its ability to put down roots in new tissues after spreading throughout the body.

17 Aug 2009

Discovery of inherited gene variants that account for 37 percent of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified inherited variations in two genes that account for 37 percent of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), including a gene that may help predict drug response.

16 Aug 2009

New target for Alzheimer's disease

For close to a decade, pharmaceutical researchers have been in hot pursuit of compounds to activate a key nicotine receptor that plays a role in cognitive processes. Triggering it, they hope, might prevent or even reverse the devastation wrought by Alzheimer’s disease.

16 Aug 2009

New biomarker predicts response to hepatitis C treatment

Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. Duke University Medical Center scientists says the biomarker not only predicts who is most likely to respond to treatment and who isn't, but also may explain why there are such different rates of response among racial and ethnic groups, a phenomenon that has puzzled physicians for years.

16 Aug 2009

Doctors overiding end of life counseling see benefit in current controversy

The paragraphs, buried deep in the 1,000-page House health reform bill, appear innocuous, but they have ignited a firestorm among critics predicting government-sponsored euthanasia.

14 Aug 2009

New study suggests possible genetic link between environmental toxins and myeloma

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) today said newly published data may provide a possible genetic link between environmental toxins and bone disease in multiple myeloma. Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is a cancer of cells in the bone marrow that affect production of blood cells and can damage bone.

14 Aug 2009

Scientists create new method to detect genetic causes of complex diseases

Computational biologists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an analytical technique to detect the multiple genetic variations that contribute to complex disease syndromes such as diabetes, asthma and cancer, which are characterized by multiple clinical and molecular traits.

14 Aug 2009

Interleukin Genetics reports Q2 2009 financials

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (NYSE Amex: ILI) today announced financial and operational results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009.

13 Aug 2009

Discovery of possible genetic link between environmental toxins and bone disease in multiple myeloma

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) - supporting research and providing education, advocacy and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers and physicians - today said newly published data may provide a possible genetic link between environmental toxins and bone disease in multiple myeloma.

13 Aug 2009

Protein plays unexpected role protecting chromosome tips

A protein specialist that opens the genomic door for DNA repair and gene expression also turns out to be a multi-tasking workhorse that protects the tips of chromosomes and dabbles in a protein-destruction complex, a team lead by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Aug. 13 edition of Molecular Cell.

13 Aug 2009

Discovery of first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep

Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and mental health.

13 Aug 2009

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics reports 2009 half year financials

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in the field of human gene therapy, today reported its results for the first half year of 2009.

13 Aug 2009

Remarkable vision improvements after gene therapy for inherited blindness

One year after a trio of young adults received gene therapy for an inherited form of blindness, researchers have documented that the patients are still experiencing the same level of remarkable vision improvements previously measured within weeks.

13 Aug 2009

Promising new treatment target for Kennedy's disease

New research with transgenic mice reveals that a therapy directed at the muscle significantly improves disease symptoms of a genetic disorder characterized by destruction of the neurons that control movement. The study, published by Cell Press in the August 13th issue of the journal Neuron, highlights a promising new treatment for this currently incurable and nontreatable neurodegenerative disorder.

12 Aug 2009

New understanding of role hyaluronic acid in skeletal growth

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of Connecticut Health Center (U.C.H.C.) have gained new understanding of the role hyaluronic acid (HA) plays in skeletal growth, chondrocyte maturation and joint formation in developing limbs.

12 Aug 2009