Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

Statins don't always lower cholesterol

Persons with certain genetic variations who take statins to lower their cholesterol will not realize the same benefit as other individuals, according to a study in the June 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

15 Jun 2004

African-American women less likely to survive breast cancer than white women

A new study led by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to survive the disease than white women.

15 Jun 2004

Simple genetic code might work to wire up the body from head to foot

The study found that when a development gene named Hoxb1 worked in a mouse’s brain but not in the developing facial tissues, nerves extended outward from the brain but failed to reach the facial muscles, leaving the mouse unable to blink its eyes, flatten its ears or make other facial movements.

15 Jun 2004

Size and shape of synapses among neurons in the cerebral cortex determine long term memory capability

In a study to appear in the June 10 issue of Neuron, neuroscientists at the Picower Center for Learning and Memory at MIT show for the first time that storage of long-term memories depends on the size and shape of synapses among neurons in the outer part of the brain, the cerebral cortex.

14 Jun 2004

Biologist has identified gene patterns that characterize a biologically distinct subtype of estrogen receptor negative breast tumor

University of North Carolina molecular biologist Charles Perou has identified the pattern of genes that characterize a biologically distinct subtype of estrogen receptor negative breast tumor.

14 Jun 2004

Oxidants are responsible for sex in algae

Colonies of the multicellular green alga Volvox carteri exposed to temperatures of 111 degrees Fahrenheit (42.5 degrees Celsius) had twice the amount of free radicals, oxidants that can damage biological structures, as unheated colonies. High levels of oxidants within their cells activated the algae's sex-inducer gene, the researchers report.

11 Jun 2004

Body fat not always bad

With the threat of an obesity crisis looming, a study led by UCL researchers reveals today that fat tissue isn’t always the enemy. Reporting in the journal Science they show that a molecular signalling pathway in fat tissue is an important mediator in extending lifespan.

11 Jun 2004

U.S.$2.8 to study a virus associated with respiratory infections

The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID), based in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has been awarded a five-year, $2.8 million grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study a virus associated with respiratory infections.

11 Jun 2004

Better understanding of Tamoxifen and how breast cancer patients develop resistance

A new study by researchers at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center may have implications for the thousands of breast cancer patients who develop resistance to antiestrogen drugs such as Tamoxifen®. The work is published in the June 1 issue of Cancer Research.

11 Jun 2004

Blood test that can detect amplification of a certain gene found in cells associated with breast cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have developed a blood test that can detect amplification of a certain gene found in circulating cells associated with breast cancer.

10 Jun 2004

Improving access to mammographies offers greatest potential for reducing lives lost to breast cancer

While new technologies hold promise for increasing the accuracy of breast cancer detection, improving access to mammography and broadening the pool of medical personnel who can interpret mammograms offer the greatest potential for immediately reducing the number of lives lost to breast cancer in the United States

10 Jun 2004

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Early results from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study may determine if drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer type of non-aspirin pain medicine now widely prescribed for arthritis symptoms, may benefit men with recurrent prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004