Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Temperature sensing protein implicated in mediating thermotaxis

The songwriter Noel Coward once declared that only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun. MIT biologists Mark Rosenzweig, Paul Garrity and their colleagues now have a third candidate for the lyric—fruit flies with defects in a gene called dTrpA1.

4 Dec 2004

A gallery of highly-specific, gene and protein “mug shots” of cancer types would be a powerful for oncologists

Doctors would like to diagnose malignancies rapidly by matching them with highly-specific genetic “mug shots” based on the presence of characteristic mRNAs or proteins. This kind of specificity would facilitate screening and early detection, and would potentially allow targeted treatments specific to each type of cancer

4 Dec 2004

Oral targeted therapy shows benefit in treating high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome

An oral targeted therapy gentle enough to be used by patients in their 70s or 80s is showing benefit in treating high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a pre-leukemic disorder that can progress to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)

4 Dec 2004

Herpes virus offers new hope in search for cure for cancer

In laboratory studies at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, researchers have successfully treated the most common malignant abdominal tumor of childhood: neuroblastoma tumors.

4 Dec 2004

Heart researchers have used gene therapy to bring failing rat hearts back to normal

Scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, used a virus to insert the gene for a protein called S100A1 into failing rat hearts.

4 Dec 2004

Scene-of-the-crime DNA analysis is moving a step closer

Currently DNA analysis is both time-consuming and expensive, but researchers at the Polymer Electronics Research Centre (PERC), within the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, hope to change that by inventing a system that provides direct, real-time detection of DNA.

4 Dec 2004

Low level exposure to Benzene causes lower blood cell counts

A new study found that white blood cell counts were lowered in workers exposed to less than 1 ppm of the chemical benzene (part benzene per million parts air).

3 Dec 2004

Important step in understanding why some of us can eat fatty foods and not suffer from cardiac disease

Doctors and their patients have puzzled over why certain cholesterol-lowering drugs work better in some people than others. In research results published in the December issue of the journal Nature Genetics, the common minnow helps provide an answer.

2 Dec 2004

Why our immune system worsens with age

Scientists at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have made a discovery that helps explain why our immune system worsens with age. The work was led by Janko Nikolich-Zugich, M.D., Ph.D., a senior scientist at the VGTI.

2 Dec 2004

Smoking habits during pregnancy may cause genetic instability in the foetus

The Spanish Pediatrics Association has recently awarded the Pediatrics laboratory at the University of Navarre for a research into tobacco and foetal genetic instability.

2 Dec 2004

Cancer Research Technology grants AstraZeneca an exclusive license to a key patent

Cancer Research Technology Limited has announced that AstraZeneca has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to a patent family relating to a nuclear receptor/co-activator binding motif.

1 Dec 2004

Toxic proteins explain memory loss in Alzheimer's patients

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism -- a tiny protein attacking nerve cells -- that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer's disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors.

1 Dec 2004

Viral Genetics announces effects of VGV-1 in antiretroviral non-responding HIV infections

Viral Genetics announced today that the results of a clinical trial of its investigational therapy for HIV infection, VGV-1, were recently published in a peer reviewed journal, HIV & AIDS Review.

29 Nov 2004

Stress affects molecules believed to play a key role in cellular aging

There have been many studies that have shown that your health is greatly affected by how you react to stressful events in life-setbacks or deadlines at work, conflicts and losses at home.

29 Nov 2004

Salmonella pathogen uses molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent

New research, headed by microbiologists from the University of Georgia, show for the first time that Salmonella – a widespread and often deadly bacterial pathogen – use molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent.

29 Nov 2004

Indoprofen may lead to new treatments for spinal muscular atrophy

A drug withdrawn from pharmacy shelves over 20 years ago may point the way to a new treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a muscle-wasting and often life-threatening childhood disease.

29 Nov 2004

Avastin plus Folfox4 chemotherapy significantly extends survival in second-line metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech and Roche today announced that a randomized Phase III study of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) plus the FOLFOX4 chemotherapy regimen (oxaliplatin/5-FU/leucovorin), compared to FOLFOX4 alone, in second-line metastatic colorectal cancer patients achieved its primary endpoint of improving overall survival.

29 Nov 2004

Computer program helps decode cancer

Researchers at the University of Newcastle, Australia have developed a computer program that implements a novel algorithm, which will aid in the identification of specific cancer causing genes.

29 Nov 2004

New possibilities for the use of VEGF in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

ALS is an incurable, paralyzing neurodegenerative disorder that strikes 5 persons in every 100,000. The disease commonly affects healthy people in the most active period of their lives − without warning or previous family history.

29 Nov 2004

New research may lead to treatments for atherosclerosis

Scientists are one step closer to deciphering the molecular signaling process controlling innate immunity with the discovery that a molecule called IRAK1 regulates the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Because atherosclerosis patients often have elevated IL-10 levels, IRAK1 may be a viable target for developing therapeutics for atherosclerosis.

29 Nov 2004

Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Temperature sensing protein implicated in mediating thermotaxis

A gallery of highly-specific, gene and protein “mug shots” of cancer types would be a powerful for oncologists

Oral targeted therapy shows benefit in treating high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome

Herpes virus offers new hope in search for cure for cancer

Heart researchers have used gene therapy to bring failing rat hearts back to normal

Scene-of-the-crime DNA analysis is moving a step closer

Low level exposure to Benzene causes lower blood cell counts

Important step in understanding why some of us can eat fatty foods and not suffer from cardiac disease

Why our immune system worsens with age

Smoking habits during pregnancy may cause genetic instability in the foetus

Cancer Research Technology grants AstraZeneca an exclusive license to a key patent

Toxic proteins explain memory loss in Alzheimer's patients

Viral Genetics announces effects of VGV-1 in antiretroviral non-responding HIV infections

Stress affects molecules believed to play a key role in cellular aging

Salmonella pathogen uses molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent

Indoprofen may lead to new treatments for spinal muscular atrophy

Avastin plus Folfox4 chemotherapy significantly extends survival in second-line metastatic colorectal cancer

Computer program helps decode cancer

New possibilities for the use of VEGF in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

New research may lead to treatments for atherosclerosis

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

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production