Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers identify clockwork that drives a powerful virus nanomotor

Peering at structures only atoms across, researchers have identified the clockwork that drives a powerful virus nanomotor.

30 Dec 2008

Researchers identify common gene variant linked to high blood pressure

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a common gene variant that appears to influence people's risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the results of a study being published online Dec. 29, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

30 Dec 2008

New technique for creating authentic embryonic stem cells from rats

Stem Cell Sciences plc has announced that pioneering research describing a technique for creating authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats has been published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal, Cell.

30 Dec 2008

Scientists isolate genes that made 1918 flu lethal

By mixing and matching a contemporary flu virus with the "Spanish flu" - a virus that killed between 20 and 50 million people 90 years ago in history's most devastating outbreak of infectious disease - researchers have identified a set of three genes that helped underpin the extraordinary virulence of the 1918 virus.

30 Dec 2008

Long-term gene therapy used to reverse heart damage in heart failure

Long-term gene therapy resulted in improved cardiac function and reversed deterioration of the heart in rats with heart failure, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Center for Translational Medicine.

30 Dec 2008

Barcode chip enables cheaper, faster blood testing

A new barcode chip developed by a multi-institutional team of investigators promises to revolutionize diagnostic medical testing. In less than 10 minutes and using just a pinprick's worth of blood, the chip can measure the concentrations of dozens of proteins, including those that herald the presence of diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

29 Dec 2008

Targeted nanoparticles deliver therapeutic DNA to cancer cells

Given that cancer is a disease caused by gene mutations, cancer researchers have been striving to develop gene therapies aimed at correcting these mutations. However, these efforts have been hobbled by the difficulty in safely and efficiently delivering anticancer genes to tumors. Nanoparticles, however, may solve these delivery issues, and two recently published studies, using two different types of nanoparticles, lend credence to that hypothesis.

29 Dec 2008

Baby girl due soon will be minus breast cancer causing gene

A baby girl about to be born in Britain will be the first to have been screened for a breast cancer causing gene.

22 Dec 2008

Scientists find gene that is a powerful predictor of colon cancer metastasis

Cancer researchers have identified a gene which enables them to predict for the first time with high probability if colon cancer is going to metastasize.

22 Dec 2008

Hexokinase-1 gene variation associated with widely used marker of blood glucose concentration

Scientists have found that genetic variation at the hexokinase-1 gene is linked to variation in the blood concentration of glycated hemoglobin, an index of long-term blood glucose concentration widely used in the follow-up of diabetes patients.

22 Dec 2008

Drinkers with the ADH1C gene at greater risk of colorectal cancer

Chronic drinking is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, possibly through the effects of acetaldehyde, which is created by the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme.

21 Dec 2008

World-first technique used to repair an injured donor lung

For the first time in the world, transplant surgeons at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network used a new technique to repair an injured donor lung that was unsuitable for transplant, and then successfully transplanted it into a patient.

21 Dec 2008

Researchers identify gene linked to inherited form of fatal lung disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that a mutation in a gene known for its role in defending the lungs against invading pathogens is responsible for some inherited cases of a lethal lung disease affecting older adults. The same mutation may also be associated with lung cancer, the researchers said.

21 Dec 2008

Sulfurous ping-pong in the urinary tract

Transfer of information is a basic property of biological systems. Common examples include transfer of genetic information or nerve impulses.

18 Dec 2008

Stem cells may 'ignite' bowel cancer development

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered for the first time that stem cells could be the root cause of bowel cancer, according to a study published in Nature.

18 Dec 2008

Blocking mechanism found for antibiotic resistance in bacteria

It's as simple as A, T, G, C. Northwestern University scientists have exploited the Watson-Crick base pairing of DNA to provide a defensive tool that could be used to fight the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria -- one of the world's most pressing public health problems.

18 Dec 2008

Why extra-virgin olive oil is so good for you

Good quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, 'phytochemicals', that can trigger cancer cell death.

18 Dec 2008

Levels of two proteins impact survival in ovarian cancer

Levels of two proteins in a woman's ovarian cancer are strongly associated with her likelihood of survival, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Dec. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Dec 2008

Researchers create 'suped up' gene that forces cancer cells to self destruct

Researchers at the University of Rochester have designed a gene that produces a thousand times more protein in cancer cells than in healthy cells.

17 Dec 2008

Attitudes towards assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

According to an international survey by the BBVA Foundation conducted this year, citizens in advanced societies view assisted reproduction techniques in general and in vitro fertilization in particular as firmly acceptable alternatives for people with fertility problems (over 7 points on an acceptance scale from 0 to 10 in twelve of the fifteen survey countries).

17 Dec 2008