Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Master switch for the production of brown fat discovered

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a long-sought "master switch" in mice for the production of brown fat, a type of adipose tissue that generates heat and counters obesity caused by overeating.

11 Jul 2007

Neural stem cells for Parkinson's disease

A University of South Florida neuroscientist reports that the cutting-edge research study of human stem cells in primates with Parkinson's disease is compelling on several fronts , particularly how the transplanted cells did their job of easing disease symptoms.

11 Jul 2007

Discovery of gallstone gene

Scientists at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from Romania, have discovered a gene variant that significantly increases the risk of developing gallstones (Hepatology No. 46, 11 July 2007, DOI 10.1002/hep.21847).

11 Jul 2007

3-D microscopic views of tiny mouse brains available online

A multi-institutional consortium including Duke University has created startlingly crisp 3-D microscopic views of tiny mouse brains - unveiled layer by layer - by extending the capabilities of conventional magnetic resonance imaging.

10 Jul 2007

Magnetic nano tweezers show how cancer drug works

The annoying bulges of an over-wound telephone cord that shorten its reach and limit a caller's motion help to explain why drugs called camptothecins are so effective in killing cancer cells, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Delft University of Technology.

10 Jul 2007

New insights into acute promyelocytic leukemia

Results from two new studies provide key mechanistic insights into the complex molecular events that cause a deadly type of leukemia.

10 Jul 2007

Rapid evolution of defense genes in plants may produce hybrid incompatibility

One of the basic tenets of evolution is speciation in which populations of the same species become so genetically and morphologically variable that they can be classified as two different species.

10 Jul 2007

Researchers discover how microRNAs control protein synthesis

While most RNAs work to create, package, and transfer proteins as determined by the cell's immediate needs, miniature pieces of RNA, called microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression.

10 Jul 2007

New gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia

Researchers have identified a new gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia, according to a study published in the July 10, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Jul 2007

Neutral genetic drift

Johns Hopkins researchers have added to the growing mound of evidence that many of the genetic bits and pieces that drive evolutionary changes do not confer any advantages or disadvantages to humans or other animals.

10 Jul 2007

Bacterial biofilms

In one of the first potential applications of synthetic biology, an emerging field that aims to design and build useful biomolecular systems, researchers from MIT and Boston University are engineering viruses to attack and destroy the surface biofilms that harbor harmful bacteria in the body and on industrial and medical devices.

10 Jul 2007

Breast cancers to be more aggressive in African-American women

A study of more than 2,200 women at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia shows that African American women have more advanced breast cancer at the time of diagnosis than Caucasian women.

10 Jul 2007

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