Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

European scientists expect to begin human trials using pharmaceuticals grown in GM plants

The European Union has awarded €12 million to a network of scientists in 11 European countries and South Africa and the aim is to use plants to produce vaccines and treatments against major diseases including AIDS, rabies, diabetes and TB.

23 Jul 2004

New DNA microarray to speed bone disease research

Velcura Therapeutics has announced the development of a custom Affymetrix GeneChip(R) array that aids the development of bone disease therapies by enabling researchers to follow global changes in gene expression during human bone formation.

23 Jul 2004

Preliminary tests of the new method, which can detect cancer in a sample with as few as 50 cells

Finding cancer in a tiny drop of body fluid containing relatively few cells now may be possible with a new method of analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA, the cellular building blocks of our genetic code.

23 Jul 2004

Effects of Huntington's disease mutation more complex than originally thought

Competing theories about why brain cells die in Huntington's disease may not be competitors after all, according to a report published July 21, 2004, in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology.

22 Jul 2004

Researchers discover a mechanism that blocks replication of a retrovirus

A team of scientists led by University of Georgia researchers has discovered a naturally occurring mechanism that blocks a critical step late in retrovirus replication.

21 Jul 2004

Chemotherapy aimed at both cancer cells and their genetically normal cellular 'microenvironment' might improve the success of breast cancer treatment

In the first comprehensive survey of gene activity in each cell type composing normal and malignant breast tissue, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified genes in non-cancerous supporting cells that can spur the growth of breast cancer cells.

20 Jul 2004

U.S. scientists have found the genetic basis for one form of sudden infant death syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome, also known as cot death and crib death, is defined as the death of an infant between the ages of one month and one year which remains unexplained after a thorough postmortem, investigation of the death scene and review of the clinical history.

20 Jul 2004

Russian scientists incorporate HIV antigen into a tomato

Russian scientists are currently creating a pleasant and harmless vaccine, and edible one at that. So far, they managed to incorporate the protein gene – HIV antigen in tomatoes. The research is supported by International Science and Technology Center.

19 Jul 2004

Market research 'World RNAi Markets: Current and Future Outlook'

Gene silencing by RNAi has now been identified as a crucial technology for target validation and therapeutics. By targeting and interfering with messenger RNA (mRNA), RNAi technology blocks the expression of the proteins implicated in disease progression.

19 Jul 2004

New compound that is designed to overcome Gleevec resistance

One of the truly spectacular success stories in modern oncology is the development and implementation of Gleevec, a drug that virtually halts the progress of chronic myeloid leukemia. Yet for some patients who harbor particularly stubborn genetic mutations, Gleevec fails miserably.

17 Jul 2004

Should the results of genetic tests be considered personal

Should the results of genetic tests be considered personal, or should health professionals be able to use them in providing health care to the whole family, ask researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Jul 2004

DNA left overs, new mechanism for evolution

A team of researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has discovered that transposons, small DNA sequences that travel through the genomes, can silence the genes adjacent to them by inducing a molecule called antisense RNA.

16 Jul 2004

8.5 million Euros to address a fundamental question on mitosis: How is cell division regulated?

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) join forces with top scientists from eleven research institutes in Austria, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom for “MitoCheck” – the largest integrated research project on cell cycle control within the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme (FP6).

15 Jul 2004

Effective treatment for soft tissue sarcoma (rhabdomyosarcoma)

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a highly malignant aggressive form of soft tissue cancer in children, the causes of which are currently unknown. Although the fibrous growths can be found all over the body they commonly develop around the head, neck, bladder and testes in young boys.

15 Jul 2004

Novel tool that can be used to visualize single neurons in living brain tissue

Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientist Alison Barth has developed the first tool to identify and study individual neurons activated in a living animal.

15 Jul 2004

Latest findings on HIV pathogenesis at AIDS Conference in Bangkok

At the XVth International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR), will present his laboratory’s latest findings on how aberrant immune activation underlies HIV pathogenesis.

15 Jul 2004