Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

FDA go ahead for first of kind genetic lab test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of the first laboratory test system that will allow physicians to consider unique genetic information from patients in selecting medications and doses of medications for a wide variety of common conditions such as cardiac disease, psychiatric disease, and cancer.

27 Dec 2004

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found a fundamental mechanism used by embryonic stem cells to assure that genetically damaged stem cells do not divide and pass along the damage to daughter stem cells.

26 Dec 2004

Why hair turns grey

Few things about growing older are as inevitable and obvious as "going gray," yet scientists have been unable to explain the precise cause of this usually unwelcome transformation.

23 Dec 2004

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) should prove to be extremely useful in directed protein evolution

Fascinated by the efficient way the human immune system generates a rapid response to create a near-infinite variety of antibodies, researchers have "hijacked" that machinery and used it to evolve a new type of fluorescent protein.

23 Dec 2004

Researchers can now inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip

Devices the size of a pager now have greater capabilities than computers that once occupied an entire room. Similar advances are being made in the emerging field of synthetic biology at the University of Houston, now allowing researchers to inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip.

23 Dec 2004

Fluorescent colors used to separate cells visually

The latest holiday gifts being offered to the scientific community this season by scientists in the laboratory of Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roger Y. Tsien come in a dazzling variety of hues -- cherry, strawberry, tangerine, tomato, orange, banana and honeydew. The color spectrum would make Pantone proud.

22 Dec 2004

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has found the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immune system's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a million different proteins might have originated from a family of genes whose only apparent function is to jump around in genetic material.

22 Dec 2004

Turning off cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage

Researchers knew that prions, the misfolded proteins that cause mad cow disease and other brain disorders, were killing off a class of important brain cells in a transgenic mouse model. But when they found a way to rescue those cells, they were astonished to discover the mice still became sick.

21 Dec 2004

Certain leukemia oncogenes switch on genetic programs that govern self-renewal, a unique stem cell characteristic

Researchers have discovered that specific cancer-causing genes associated with leukemias can transform mature white blood cells into leukemic cells that have all the properties of stem cells.

21 Dec 2004

Mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients

A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

21 Dec 2004

ChondroGene and Pfizer osteoarthritis collaboration

ChondroGene reported today that it has entered into a new two-year research collaboration with Pfizer for the identification of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for the treatment and diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA).

21 Dec 2004

Major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reported taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer.

21 Dec 2004

Cancer drug paclitaxel may reduce the adverse effects of Alzheimer's disease

In a preclinical efficacy trial, the cancer drug paclitaxel (Paxceed)–which exerts its effects by binding to and stabilizing microtubules inside cells–reduced the adverse effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like pathology in a mouse model.

20 Dec 2004

Blocking gene's activity may control deadly skin cancer without harming normal cells

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston have discovered that malignant melanoma, the potentially lethal skin cancer, can't grow without a steady supply of a protein that normal cells can do without.

20 Dec 2004

Blocking a key molecule protects breast implants, permanent catheters, pacemakers and artificial joints from rejection and damage by the body

Blocking a key molecule protects breast implants, permanent catheters, pacemakers, artificial joints, glucose sensors for diabetics, and other biomaterials from rejection and damage by the body, according to a study published this month in The American Journal of Pathology.

20 Dec 2004

DLX5 gene may play a role in the pathology of Rett Syndrome

A research team led by Terumi Kohwi-Shigematsu of the Life Sciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has identified a gene, DLX5, that may play a role in the pathology of Rett Syndrome, a devastating neurological disorder diagnosed almost exclusively in girls.

20 Dec 2004

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

FDA go ahead for first of kind genetic lab test

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Why hair turns grey

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) should prove to be extremely useful in directed protein evolution

Researchers can now inexpensively program the chemical synthesis of entire genes on a single microchip

Fluorescent colors used to separate cells visually

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

Turning off cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage

Certain leukemia oncogenes switch on genetic programs that govern self-renewal, a unique stem cell characteristic

Mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients

ChondroGene and Pfizer osteoarthritis collaboration

Major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer

Cancer drug paclitaxel may reduce the adverse effects of Alzheimer's disease

Blocking gene's activity may control deadly skin cancer without harming normal cells

Blocking a key molecule protects breast implants, permanent catheters, pacemakers and artificial joints from rejection and damage by the body

DLX5 gene may play a role in the pathology of Rett Syndrome

Messenger RNA not only are measurable in saliva but can indicate a developing tumor

Gene expression analysis software

Gene therapy effective in helping children with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)

Permanent resistance to antibiotics cannot be prevented

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Exploring the Future of Neuroscience Drug Discovery

Genomic conservation in Thailand's mangroves