Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Cells lining milk ducts hold key to spread of ductal carcinoma in situ

When a form of cancer that begins in the milk ducts of the breast invades neighboring tissue to spread to other parts of the body, the cause lies not in the tumor cells themselves but in a group of abnormal surrounding cells that cause the walls of the duct to deteriorate like a rusty pipe, according to a new study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers.

5 May 2008

Secret to long life in lifestyle not genes

A research on the bone health of one of the oldest persons in the world, who recently died at the age of 114, reveals that there were no genetic modifications which could have contributed to this longevity.

5 May 2008

It's official - there's a rogue fat gene!

Scientists from Oxford and Cambridge say in their second discovery they have found new genetic variants that influence fat mass, weight and risk of obesity and increase the chances of being fat, which may explain why some people are always battling with their weight.

5 May 2008

Variations of the adiponectin gene may predict risk of breast cancer in women

According to a recent study, led by Virginia Kaklamani, MD, an oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, variations of the adiponectin gene, which regulates a number of metabolic processes, may increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.

2 May 2008

Researchers report the cloning of a key group of human genes, the protein kinases

Although the human genome has been sequenced, research into mechanism of action of genes has been hampered by the fact that most human genes have not been isolated.

2 May 2008

Study identifies new mechanism linking activation of key heart enzyme and oxidative stress

A study, led by University of Iowa researchers, reveals a new dimension for a key heart enzyme and sheds light on an important biological pathway involved in cell death in heart disease.

1 May 2008

Harmful blood glucose levels linked to genetic mutation

A genetic mutation that can raise the amount of glucose in a person's blood to harmful levels is identified today in a study in the journal Science.

1 May 2008

Phase of clock gene expression in human leukocytes correlates with habitual sleep timing

The phase of clock gene expression in leukocytes, assessed in the absence of the masking effects of light-dark and sleep-wake cycles, correlates with habitual sleep timing, according to a study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

1 May 2008

New study raises questions about prostate cancer therapies targeting insulin-like growth factor receptor

Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor gene - p53 - is already compromised, according to new research by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

1 May 2008

Small molecule nutlin-3a activates an important cancer suppressor gene

By activating a cancer suppressor gene, a small molecule called nutlin-3a can block cancer cell division, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

1 May 2008

Biomarker predicts malignancy potential of HG-PIN lesions in the prostate

Men whose prostate cancer screenings show high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN) may find themselves in limbo, "stuck" between diagnoses - they are told prostate cancer has not yet developed, but it might, and they are advised to undergo repeated needle biopsies as a precaution.

1 May 2008

Study raises questions about prostate cancer therapies targeting IGF-1

1 May 2008

New cancer drug opportunities

An international study released this week in the prestigious journal Nature could revolutionise the way in which cancers are treated and potentially put an end to aggressive DNA damaging chemotherapies and radiotherapy treatments.

30 Apr 2008

Alzheimer's disease risk differs between the sexes

The risks of developing Alzheimer's disease differ between the sexes, with stroke in men, and depression in women, critical factors, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

30 Apr 2008

New model for embryonic limb development

A study led by a researcher at the University of Southern California has found a new model to explain how signals between cells in the embryo control limb development.

30 Apr 2008

First sequence-based map of large-scale structural variation across the human genome

A nationwide team of researchers, funded in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has produced the first sequence-based map of large-scale structural variation across the human genome. The work, published today in the journal Nature, provides a starting point to examine how such DNA variation contributes to human health and disease.

30 Apr 2008

Study describes mechanism linking acohol with risk of breast cancer

The known association of alcohol consumption with an increased risk of breast cancer has been linked by researchers at the University at Buffalo to a process that causes genes that promote normal cell growth to produce proteins that precipitate unregulated cell growth, an action known as hypermethylation

30 Apr 2008