Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Autistic children found to have abnormal metabolic profile

Autism, a neurodevelopment disorder which has increased tenfold over the last 15 years, now affects 30 of every 10,000 children in the United States.

4 Apr 2005

Potential therapeutic role for the ataxin-3 protein for Machado-Joseph disease

The repetition of three little "letters" within the gene that codes for the ataxin-3 protein is both the cause of and perhaps a solution to Machado-Joseph disease and an entire family of similar genetic disorders, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Apr 2005

Researchers show role of Epstein-Barr virus in cancer

Researchers at the University of Toronto have mapped the molecular details that show how a viral protein coded in the Epstein-Barr virus immortalizes cells and causes them to continuously grow, thereby predisposing people to certain types of cancer.

3 Apr 2005

Location on chromosome 2 that may contain one or more genes that contribute to dyslexia

Researchers trying to tease out the genetic basis of dyslexia have discovered a location on chromosome 2 that may contain one or more genes that contribute to the reading disorder and make it difficult for people to rapidly pronounce pseudowords.

3 Apr 2005

Exposure to organochlorine compounds increases the risk of suffering colorectal cancer

A team of researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, The Catalan Institute of Oncology and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) have published a study indicating that exposure to organochlorine compounds, which we ingest in our diets, increases the risk of suffering colorectal cancer.

3 Apr 2005

New miniature sensors for analysing DNA

The sensors have the same size and thickness as a fingernail and reduce the time needed to identify DNA chains to several minutes or a few hours, depending on each chain.

3 Apr 2005

Dozens of new genes identified in X chromosome

By intensely and systematically comparing the human X chromosome to genetic information from chimpanzees, rats and mice, a team of scientists from the United States and India has uncovered dozens of new genes, many of which are located in regions of the chromosome already tied to disease.

3 Apr 2005

Adding growth factor to baby formula could reduce necrotizing enterocolitis

Could it be that the most widespread and devastating gastrointestinal disease affecting premature babies could be conquered simply by adding a common polypeptide, epidermal growth factor (EGF), to infant formula? And if so, exactly how does it work, and why?

3 Apr 2005

SERPINE2 identified as novel candidate gene for COPD susceptibility

Using a combination of genetic linkage, microarray gene expression and genetic association studies, a group of Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School researchers have identified a serine protease inhibitor clade E, member 2, or SERPINE2, “as a novel candidate susceptibility gene for COPD,” according to Sorachai Srisuma

3 Apr 2005

Children with autism have a severely abnormal metabolic profile

Chronic biochemical imbalance is often a primary factor in the development of many complex diseases but a possible metabolic basis for autism has not been well explored. Now Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute researchers report for the first time that children with autism have a severely abnormal metabolic profile indicating increased vulnerability to oxidative stress.

3 Apr 2005

Discovery of missing enzyme for tuberculosis iron scavenging pathway

Scientists have discovered that a protein that was originally believed to be involved in tuberculosis antibiotic resistance is actually a "missing enzyme" from the biosynthetic pathway for an agent used by the bacteria to scavenge iron.

30 Mar 2005

Urine actually helps a particular yeast stick to cells along the urinary tract

The finding might offer a new way to prevent or treat certain yeast and fungal infections, and the researchers' work also provides an unexpected new role for some proteins already known to help hungry yeast live longer.

30 Mar 2005

A circadian rhythm gene discovered

A few rare people who consistently nod off early, then wake up wide-eyed much before dawn, can blame a newly-found mutant gene for their sleep troubles, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers announced today.

30 Mar 2005

Vical Incorporated issued two Canadian patents

Vical Incorporated announced today the issuance of two Canadian patents on the company's core technology, which involves direct administration of polynucleotide genetic material such as DNA or RNA.

29 Mar 2005

Pcsk9 gene - new target for cholesterol-lowering drugs

Mice lacking a key protein involved in cholesterol regulation have low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, levels more than 50 percent lower than normal mice, and researchers suggest that inhibiting the same protein in humans could lead to new cholesterol-lowering drugs.

29 Mar 2005

Scientists out cancer cells in permanent coma

Scientists funded by Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Association for International Cancer Research have made an unexpected discovery that could point the way to a completely new approach to treating cancer.

29 Mar 2005

Hair follicle stem cells may provide an accessible source of stem cells for therapeutic applications

Hair grows quickly and is continually replenished which makes it an attractive source to harvest the amount of stem cells needed for treatments, but this, along with controversy surrounding the ethics of harvesting cells from embryos, has been a major stumbling block of stem cell research.

28 Mar 2005

Researchers discover nicotine demethylase gene

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) announced today that scientists at its GenApps Inc. laboratories in Winchester, Kentucky, led by Drs. Mark Nielsen and Dongmei Xu, succeeded in discovering a key tobacco gene encoding nicotine demethylase.

28 Mar 2005

Discovery of gene STAT6(B) may lead to new treatments for inflammatory diseases

In a paper featured in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), researchers from Boston University School of Dental Medicine report the discovery of a new gene, STAT6(B), that helps regulate production of the potentially deadly tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) cytokine.

28 Mar 2005

KCP protein protects kidneys from damage caused by chronic renal disease and injury

University of Michigan scientists have identified a new and unusual protein that reduces, in laboratory mice, kidney damage caused by chronic renal disease and acute toxic injuries.

28 Mar 2005