Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Molecular evolution of influenza A viruses circulated in Fujian Province, China

Fujian Center for Disease Control & Prevention, China, reported the molecular evolution of influenza A (H3N2) viruses in Fujian Province, south of China during the period 1996 to 2004 and demonstrated some key codons responsible for antigenic drift.

2 Apr 2008

11 "snips" associated with type 2 diabetes

Mathematicians at Michigan Technological University have developed powerful new tools for winnowing out the genes behind some of humanity's most intractable diseases.

2 Apr 2008

Potential link found between bacteria found in the human digestive system and obesity

Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern because it increases a person's risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and many other serious health problems.

2 Apr 2008

From algae to parasites: new 'missing link' species found in Sydney Harbour

It's not often that brown algae is considered exciting or revolutionary, but Associate Professor Dee Carter from the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney and her former PhD student, Robert Moore, have found a new species of single-celled brown algae that is an evolutionary missing link.

2 Apr 2008

New breakthrough discovery on TB

Medical scientists from the University of Leicester, together with colleagues from St Georges, University of London, funded principally by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and The Wellcome Trust, have published details of a new breakthrough discovery on TB.

1 Apr 2008

Why synthetic estrogens wreak havoc on reproductive system

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine now have a clearer understanding of why synthetic estrogens such as those found in many widely-used plastics have a detrimental effect on a developing fetus, cause fertility problems, as well as vaginal and breast cancers.

1 Apr 2008

Racial differences in response to bowel cancer genetic risk factor

Scientists have for the first time discovered that people with the same cancer susceptibility genes respond differently depending on their race.

1 Apr 2008

Exercise delays onset of Huntington’s in mouse model

The simple act of running in an exercise wheel delays the onset of some symptoms of Huntington's disease in a mouse model of the fatal human disorder according to research published in the open-access journal BMC Neuroscience.

1 Apr 2008

New genetic clues to diabetes

An international team that included scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today reported it has identified six more genetic variants involved in type 2 diabetes, boosting to 16 the total number of genetic risk factors associated with increased risk of the disease.

1 Apr 2008

Grhelin hormone that controls hunger and appetite also linked to reduced fertility

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that in-utero exposure to the hormone grhelin, a molecule that controls appetite and hunger and nutrition, can result in decreased fertility and fewer offspring.

1 Apr 2008

Cerebral microbleeds more common than previously thought

New research shows cerebral microbleeds, which are lesions in the brain, are more common in people over 60 than previously thought.

1 Apr 2008

Discovery of novel gene responsible for Lou Gehrig's disease

A team of Canadian and French researchers has identified a novel gene responsible for a significant fraction of ALS (sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) cases.

1 Apr 2008

Replacing absent microRNAs could make tumors less invasive, more treatable

One group of small, non-coding RNA molecules could serve as a marker to improve cancer staging and may also be able to convert some advanced tumors to more treatable stages, report a University of Chicago-based research team in the April 1, 2008, issue of the journal Genes & Development.

1 Apr 2008

Researchers publish MRI images of genes in action in the living brain

Biologists have just confirmed what poets have known for centuries: eyes really are windows of the soul—or at least of the brain.

1 Apr 2008

New genetic clues to diabetes

31 Mar 2008

Gene mutations tied to immune comeback during therapy for HIV-1

A new study by U.S. scientists provides compelling evidence that two genes are linchpins in defining the course of immune restoration in HIV-positive individuals undergoing virus-suppressing therapy.

31 Mar 2008

Discovery of role of rare gene mutations in schizophrenia

Using an important new method that can be applied in the study of other psychiatric illnesses, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Washington (UW) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have identified multiple, individually rare gene mutations in people with schizophrenia that may help explain how that devastating illness is caused.

31 Mar 2008

Researchers examine human embryonic stem cell genome

Stem cell researchers from UCLA used a high resolution technique to examine the genome, or total DNA content, of a pair of human embryonic stem cell lines and found that while both lines could form neurons, the lines had differences in the numbers of certain genes that could control such things as individual traits and disease susceptibility.

31 Mar 2008

Potential new target for multiple sclerosis therapy

Researchers demonstrate both genetic and pharmaceutical evidence for the role of a protein called collagenase-2 in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), providing a potential new way to combat this debilitating disease.

31 Mar 2008

Type 2 diabetes genes linked with prostate cancer

Scientists have identified six new genes which play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and among the group is the second gene known to also play a role in prostate cancer.

31 Mar 2008