Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

One in five people in the developed world will die of the diseases we call cancer

What they die of is not one disease, but a bewildering array of cancers, each of which behaves differently, grows differently and - crucially - responds to treatment differently.

29 Sep 2004

Scientists embark on a five-year study of the effects of soy isoflavones found in dietary supplements on various body tissues

A multidisciplinary team of scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is embarking on a comprehensive five-year study of the effects of soy isoflavones found in dietary supplements on various body tissues.

29 Sep 2004

Scientists discover a record number of proteins for the highly infectious and stealthy human cytomegalovirus

Scientists have discovered a record number of proteins for one of the largest and most complex viruses, the highly infectious and stealthy human cytomegalovirus, a team from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon Health & Science University reported today in the October Journal of Virology.

29 Sep 2004

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

An experimental cancer vaccine using defanged listeria bacteria is showing great promise in animal studies, successfully treating new cancers that have spread into the lungs of mice.

29 Sep 2004

Two types of thyroid cancer can be readily identified by differences in only a few genes

Two types of thyroid cancer that are closely related and sometimes difficult to distinguish can be readily identified by differences in only a few genes, new research shows.

29 Sep 2004

Genetic abnormalities have a major impact on obesity

Abnormalities in the gene that regulates body weight have a "major" impact on the tendency to obesity, bumping up the body mass index (BMI) score, reveals research in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

29 Sep 2004

Cutting levels of household allergens is unlikely to have much impact on childhood asthma

Cutting levels of household allergens, such as cat dander and dust mite, is unlikely to have much impact on the subsequent development of childhood asthma and respiratory allergies, suggests research in Thorax.

29 Sep 2004

Clusters of genes within human aortas appear to predict risk for atherosclerosis

Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified specific clusters of genes within human aortas that appear to predict with great specificity which patients may be at highest risk for developing atherosclerosis, as well as the severity of the disease.

28 Sep 2004

Phase II trials of the first second-generation antisense cancer drug to be used in patients soon to be underway

Phase II trials of the first second-generation antisense cancer drug to be used in patients are soon to be underway in the wake of a successful Phase I study, which has demonstrated that the new drug blocks its target gene in exactly the way it is designed to do.

28 Sep 2004

Trial shows which brain cancer patients benefit from temozolomide

An international team of scientists and cancer specialists has identified which patients with the deadly form of brain tumours called glioblastomas are likely to live longer if they are treated with temozolomide, and which patients are likely to get only marginal, if any, benefit.

28 Sep 2004

Researchers reveal potential new role for Glivec/Imatinib

Imatinib – or Glivec as it also known – looks as if it may become an effective treatment for yet another type of cancer.

28 Sep 2004

Arsenic trioxide - invented as a treatment for a rare type of leukaemia

Arsenic trioxide – a highly poisonous substance best known as an effective weed killer or pesticide and notorious for being a favourite ‘weapon’ of choice in murder mystery novels, is being re-invented as a treatment for a rare type of leukaemia.

28 Sep 2004

Master gene that controls the first breath a newborn infant

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have identified a master gene that controls the first breath a newborn infant takes. The findings could have implications for treating premature babies and children and adults with lung disease or lung injury.

28 Sep 2004

Duplication of the alpha-synuclein gene causes Parkinson's disease in a French family

In affected individuals, age of onset, symptoms and symptom progression are similar to that observed in people with sporadic or unexplained cases of Parkinson's disease.

27 Sep 2004

Bionomics licences childhood epilepsy test

Bionomics has announced that it has granted a licence to Massachusetts-based Athena Diagnostics to market Bionomics’ childhood epilepsy diagnostic to neurologists in North America and Japan.

27 Sep 2004

Functions of the c-myb gene which leukemia cells depend on for proliferation

Today the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publishes a paper by Temple University researchers that details one of the functions of the c-myb gene (which leukemia cells depend on for proliferation), the formation of white blood cells.

27 Sep 2004

Marijuana use may increase the risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies

It is not known whether drugs that block or, in the case of marijuana, over-stimulate the CB1 receptor can cause ectopic pregnancy in humans. However, "our results raise caution for women of reproductive ages regarding the chronic use of marijuana for recreation or pain alleviation," the researchers concluded.

27 Sep 2004

Discovery of key molecular step which allows cancer cells to move to different parts of the body

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have figured out a key molecular step by which a cancer cell can unhook itself from the mesh weave of other cancer cells in a tumor, and move away to a different part of the body - the process, known as metastasis, that makes cancer so dangerous.

27 Sep 2004

New type of regulatory T cell that reduces asthma and airway inflammation

The team's research not only provides a detailed profile of these newfound cells but also sheds light on how such cells are related to other T cells and suggests that there exists a spectrum of regulatory T cells, known as Tregs, to be identified and studied.

26 Sep 2004

Study is the first to show that lowering the levels of lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission

Yale researchers demonstrate the crucial role of a membrane lipid called phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns (4,5)P2) in the communication of information between synapses in the brain, according to a study published this week in Nature.

26 Sep 2004

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

One in five people in the developed world will die of the diseases we call cancer

Scientists embark on a five-year study of the effects of soy isoflavones found in dietary supplements on various body tissues

Scientists discover a record number of proteins for the highly infectious and stealthy human cytomegalovirus

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

Two types of thyroid cancer can be readily identified by differences in only a few genes

Genetic abnormalities have a major impact on obesity

Cutting levels of household allergens is unlikely to have much impact on childhood asthma

Clusters of genes within human aortas appear to predict risk for atherosclerosis

Phase II trials of the first second-generation antisense cancer drug to be used in patients soon to be underway

Trial shows which brain cancer patients benefit from temozolomide

Researchers reveal potential new role for Glivec/Imatinib

Arsenic trioxide - invented as a treatment for a rare type of leukaemia

Master gene that controls the first breath a newborn infant

Duplication of the alpha-synuclein gene causes Parkinson's disease in a French family

Bionomics licences childhood epilepsy test

Functions of the c-myb gene which leukemia cells depend on for proliferation

Marijuana use may increase the risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies

Discovery of key molecular step which allows cancer cells to move to different parts of the body

New type of regulatory T cell that reduces asthma and airway inflammation

Study is the first to show that lowering the levels of lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission

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