Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

ERG gene's activity points to more lethal subtype of acute myeloid leukemia

A new study shows that the activity of a particular gene can identify people who have a more lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia, singling out those patients who should receive more intense therapy.

10 Jul 2007

Gene therapy offers promising approach to tackle pancreatic cancer

A molecularly engineered therapy selectively embeds a gene in pancreatic cancer that shrinks or eradicates tumors, inhibits metastasis, and prolongs survival with virtually no toxicity, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the July 9 edition of Cancer Cell.

10 Jul 2007

Why males show a higher rate of inflammation than females in the same diseases

Production of a protein that promotes inflammation appears to be linked to the higher incidence of liver cancer in men than in women, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined in mouse studies.

9 Jul 2007

Autophagy may accelerate decompensated heart failure

Autophagy, a normal process by which cells eat their own proteins to provide needed resources to the body in times of stress, may paradoxically cause harm to hearts already weakened by disease, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

9 Jul 2007

Scientists discover first common bowel cancer gene

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have for the first time identified a common genetic variant that can increase a person's risk of developing bowel cancer. Their findings appear in two papers published online in Nature Genetics.

9 Jul 2007

New ulcerative colitis gene found

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh have identified a previously unsuspected gene found to be associated with ulcerative colitis.

9 Jul 2007

Protein CD36 may be important to future weight-loss strategies

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a protein absorbs lipids in the upper part of the intestine, and they believe its key role in this process may provide a novel approach for obesity treatment in the future.

9 Jul 2007

How the HIV virus mutates to escape the body's immune system

A pioneering collaborative study has discovered how the HIV virus evades the human body's immune system.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers discover why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria

A team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has discovered why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria, a finding that may one day help fight a disease that afflicts and kills millions of people.

9 Jul 2007

New minimally invasive method of treating cancer

A team of biomedical engineers at Virginia Tech and the University of California at Berkeley has developed a new minimally invasive method of treating cancer, and they anticipate clinical trials on individuals with prostate cancer will begin soon.

9 Jul 2007

Trastuzumab and chemo improves survival in women with operable HER-2 positive breast cancer

A recent meta-analysis of five major breast cancer trials has confirmed that combination treatment with the antibody trastuzumab and chemotherapy improves survival in women with operable HER-2 positive breast cancer.

9 Jul 2007

Amoebae control cheating by keeping it in the family

No one likes a cheater, even a single-celled one. New research from Rice University shows how cooperative single-celled amoebae rely on family ties to keep cheaters from undermining the health of their colonies.

9 Jul 2007

Genome detectives reveal gene suspect for bowel cancer

Scientists in Britain have identified a gene they say increases the risk of bowel cancer by 20%.

8 Jul 2007

Chronic fatigue: clues in the blood

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) believe that blood may hold vital insights into what is happening in the brain of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

8 Jul 2007

Gene found that protects from serious kidney disease

A combination of mice and patient studies sheds light on cause and possible new therapies of kidney diseases.

8 Jul 2007

Discovery of new gene with links to childhood asthma

New treatments for childhood asthma could be in the pipeline following the discovery of a gene associated with the condition.

5 Jul 2007

Breakthrough new asthma gene found

In a large-scale study conducted with 2,643 children, international researchers with the participation of the Department of Experimental Pneumology of Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany (Prof. Dr. Albrecht Bufe), have discovered a gene variant that contributes significantly to the risk of childhood asthma.

5 Jul 2007