Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

microRNAs can function as tumor suppressors

University of Virginia researchers have discovered that microRNAs, a form of genetic material, can function as tumor suppressors in laboratory studies.

26 Apr 2007

Study of planarians offers insight into germ cell development

The planarian is not as well known as other, more widely used subjects of scientific study , model creatures such as the fruit fly, nematode or mouse.

25 Apr 2007

Scientists discover important step in cortisol production

When a person's under stress or injured, the adrenal gland releases cortisol to help restore the body's functions to normal.

25 Apr 2007

New biotech company develops UD-patented technologies for repairing genes

OrphageniX Inc., a new biotechnology company founded by University of Delaware researchers, has been established in Wilmington to develop and commercialize UD-patented technologies for repairing genes that cause rare, hereditary diseases such as sickle cell anemia and spinal muscular atrophy.

25 Apr 2007

Moonlighting enzyme linked to Friedreich's ataxia

Friedreich's ataxia is one of those diseases few have heard of unless you know someone with the condition.

25 Apr 2007

Luminex Corporation licenses cystic fibrosis gene patent from John Hopkins

Luminex Corporation has announced that it has acquired a non-exclusive license from The Johns Hopkins University for the rights to use the university's patented cystic fibrosis genetic markers in the company's molecular diagnostic products sold in the United States.

From Luminex 25 Apr 2007

Underlying causes of hot flashes

Many women in the menopausal transition experience hot flashes: unpredictable, sometimes disruptive, periods of intense heat in the upper torso, neck and face.

25 Apr 2007

Gene analysis explains ethnic differences in sensitivity to chemotherapy in lung cancer

Analysis of three genetic mechanisms that cause non-small cell lung cancer might explain why East Asians respond better than other ethnic groups to a certain type of chemotherapy, a team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has found.

25 Apr 2007

Researchers identify key function of a molecule - wound healing in the skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It protects against environmental influences and pathogens, regulates body temperature, and protects the body against dehydration.

24 Apr 2007

Novel two-step mechanism ensures that all cilia beat in unison

Cilia, tiny hair-like structures that propel mucus out of airways, have to agree on the direction of the fluid flow to get things moving. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered a novel two-step mechanism that ensures that all cilia beat in unison.

24 Apr 2007

Muscle restoration in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Using a new type of drug that targets a specific genetic defect, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, along with colleagues at PTC Therapeutics Inc. and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, have for the first time demonstrated restoration of muscle function in a mouse model of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD).

24 Apr 2007

Miscue of body's genetic repair system may cause Huntington's disease

Mayo Clinic researchers, along with collaborators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and University of Oslo, Norway, have discovered that a miscue of the body's genetic repair system may cause Huntington's disease, a fatal condition that affects 30,000 Americans annually by destroying their nervous system.

24 Apr 2007

Chitin compound causes allergic inflammation

The beetle's back and the crab's shell owe their toughness to a common compound called chitin that now appears to trigger airway inflammation and possibly asthma, UCSF scientists have found.

24 Apr 2007

Discovery of new genes associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood

Researchers have localized two new genes that are associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood, according to a study published in the April 24, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Apr 2007

Junk DNA plays a role in controlling when genes turn on and off

Large swaths of garbled human DNA once dismissed as junk appear to contain some valuable sections, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-Santa Cruz.

24 Apr 2007

New methods for treating lung cancer cells that have become resistant to new anti-cancer agents

Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center have developed methods for treating lung cancer cells that have become resistant to new anti-cancer agents.

24 Apr 2007

Cortex area thinner in youth with Alzheimer's-related gene

A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer's disease is thinner in youth with a risk gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

24 Apr 2007

Klotho proteins important players in future therapies for diabetes, obesity and kidney disease

A relative of the anti-aging gene Klotho helps activate a hormone that can lower blood glucose levels in fat cells of mice, making it a novel target for developing drugs to treat human obesity and diabetes, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

24 Apr 2007

Study links Helicobacter pylori to asthma prevention

The stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach cancer and peptic ulcers, may not be all bad.

24 Apr 2007

New drug offers hope to muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis sufferers

Scientists in the United States say an experimental drug may be able to compensate for the genetic error responsible for some cases of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and cystic fibrosis.

23 Apr 2007