Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Patent for determining gene function quickly with Hellsgate

A CSIRO innovation for determining gene function quickly and with virtually 100 per cent efficiency has been granted a US patent clarifying its leadership position in the international gene silencing arena.

6 Sep 2005

Double whammy of vitamin D and anti-inflammatory zaps prostate cancer cells

Scientists from Stanford University say they have discovered that vitamin D, known as the "sunshine vitamin,"can limit the growth of prostate cancer cells when combined with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

6 Sep 2005

Gene B-myb essential in preventing tumors

A new study has confirmed that research done with zebrafish may be able to play a critical role in learning about the genetic basis of cancer and the mutations that can lead to it - and identified one gene in particular, B-myb, whose function is essential to preventing tumors.

5 Sep 2005

Single molecular anchor holds the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis

By blocking the molecule's anchoring ability, researchers may be able to find a way to stave off the most common serious infection of the central nervous system and a major cause of childhood death and disability. The researchers' findings appear in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

5 Sep 2005

Genome of mammals is much more complex than previously thought

More than 100 scientists from Australia, Asia, Europe and the US have been probing the genome of the mouse in a joint study lasting several years.

5 Sep 2005

New recommendations for screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations

The United States Preventive Services Task Force issues new recommendations for screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations in the Sept. 6, 2005, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

5 Sep 2005

Human embryonic stem cell lines accumulate changes in their genetic material over time

The findings do not limit the utility of the cells for some types of research or for some future clinical applications, the researchers say, but draw attention to the need to closely monitor stem cell lines for genetic changes and to study how these alterations affect the cells' behavior.

5 Sep 2005

Researchers discover one of the reasons why melanoma is so ruthless

About 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, says the American Cancer Society, and 10,000 of those cases will be fatal. If not caught in the early stages, melanoma can be a particularly virulent form of cancer, spreading through the body with an efficiency that few tumors possess.

5 Sep 2005

Significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids

Scientists from the University of Delaware have made a significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids (RNAs), discovering 10 times more small RNAs in the plant Arabidopsis than previously had been identified. The advance is reported in the Sept. 2 issue of Science magazine.

5 Sep 2005

New understanding of how our genome works to produce a complex organism like a human being

A series of discoveries by an international consortium of scientists, including a team from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), will transform our understanding of how our genome works to produce a complex organism like a human being.

4 Sep 2005

Rett Syndrome gene discovery

Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the "Rett Syndrome protein", MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2

4 Sep 2005

Overall genome landscape between chimps and humans can be attributed to large segmental duplications

A study comparing the genomes of both humans and chimpanzees has found that much of the genetic difference between the two species came about in events called segmental duplications, in which segments of genetic code are copied many times in the genome.

4 Sep 2005

New key evidence supports claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the Parc Científic de Barcelona (IRB-PCB) have now added key evidence to claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells.

4 Sep 2005

Molecular switch that turns on the production of myelin

Scientists at New York University School of Medicine report in a new study that they have identified the molecular switch that turns on the production of myelin, the fatty insulation around nerve cells that ensures swift and efficient communication in the nervous system.

1 Sep 2005

Potential new way to fight HIV

Researchers have confirmed for the first time the benefit of an innate defense system present in the few patients who remain healthy after years of infection with HIV despite receiving no treatment, according to an article published in the September edition of the Journal of Virology.

1 Sep 2005

One protein hardens enamel while the other weakens it, say USC researchers

A gene critical to tooth formation expresses a protein that is then cleaved into two proteins with seemingly opposite functions, according to a University of Southern California (USC)-led team of dental researchers.

1 Sep 2005

Study points to link to neurodegenerative disease target

A University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) study has found that a specific signaling link between neurons and muscles in the fruit fly is essential for keeping the insect's nervous system stable.

1 Sep 2005

C. elegans worm provides clues to dealing with human disease

A step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases, particularly in children -- including that which brings about premature aging and early death -- has been taken by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

1 Sep 2005

Significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids

1 Sep 2005

African-American women with mitochondrial DNA variant are at increased risk of breast cancer

African-American women who carry the 10398A mitochondrial DNA allele are 60 percent more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than African-American females without that genetic marker, according to research published in the September 1 issue of "Cancer Research."

1 Sep 2005