Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New avenue for the pursuit of therapies for Alzheimer's disease

The genes responsible for an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease play a direct role within cells that has largely been overlooked, according to a report in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

Closing in on lethal arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in young athletes

Johns Hopkins experts on the genetics of a potentially lethal heart rhythm defect that runs in families and targets young athletes report they have greatly narrowed the hunt for the specific genetic mutations that contribute to the problem.

7 Sep 2006

FDA releases draft guidelines regulating complex diagnostic tests

FDA on Tuesday released draft guidelines that assert the agency's authority for regulating gene- and protein-based diagnostic tests for conditions such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

FDA drafts new guidance to industry for group of medical tests

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued draft regulatory guidance for industry and clinical laboratories for a new type of medical test.

5 Sep 2006

Researchers study cells whose membranes have been opened by ultrasound

Researchers have shown how ultrasound energy can briefly "open a door" in the protective outer membranes of living cells to allow entry of drugs and other therapeutic molecules – and how the cells themselves can then quickly close the door.

5 Sep 2006

Discovery of a new gene that stimulates the growth of natural bypasses

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Researchers from the Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research (MPI) in Bad Nauheim, Germany, have identified a gene, whose therapeutic use may be beneficial for patients suffering from obstructive arterial diseases.

5 Sep 2006

New map for human genome expression

ExonHit Therapeutics has announced the completion of a new messenger RNA (transcripts) map coming from human genome expression.

5 Sep 2006

Researchers identify genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

A discovery at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes has identified a genetic risk for type 1 diabetes three to four times higher than previously thought possible.

4 Sep 2006

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Sep 2006

Mature muscle fibers can revert to become cancerous

Mature muscle fibers, rather than their less-developed neighbors, are the tissues that turn malignant in a soft-tissue cancer that strikes children and teens, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas have found.

4 Sep 2006

New method of gene therapy alters immune cells for treatment of advanced melanoma

A team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has demonstrated sustained regression of advanced melanoma in a study of 17 patients by genetically engineering patients' own white blood cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

4 Sep 2006

MRSA - surveillance, rapid screening and hospital hygiene

The origins and future perspectives about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are outlined in a Review in this week's issue of The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Scientists create tumour zapping T cells which knock out cancer

Scientists in the United States have genetically engineered normal immune cells to become specialized fighters and used them to attack cancerous tumours.

31 Aug 2006

Largest review of Loeys-Dietz syndrome to date

At least three severe, potentially fatal genetic diseases leave patients with aortas so flimsy that they can rupture in pregnancy and labor or even lesser activities, often without warning.

31 Aug 2006

New cell-based targets for treating autoimmune inflammatory diseases

Patients with systemic autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often suffer loss of kidney function.

31 Aug 2006

Variation in 3 genes influences risk of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers in Boston have discovered a new common, noncoding variant in the Complement Factor H (CFH) gene that is associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness among persons aged 60 and older.

30 Aug 2006

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated

High-tech laboratory tools, like computers, are often updated publicly as their analytical capabilities expand. In the September issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, NIH grantees report they have developed a second generation "lab on a silicon chip" called the MitoChip v2.0 that for the first time rapidly and reliably sequences all mitochondrial DNA.

30 Aug 2006