Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Gene technique that alters CCR5-producing gene increases resistance to HIV in mice

Altering the gene that produces CCR5 protein on the surface of immune cells using a harmless virus was found to significantly increase resistance to HIV in mice, according to a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Press Trust of India reports (Press Trust of India, 7/1).

4 Jul 2008

New target for the potential treatment of tuberculosis

Scientists have uncovered a new target for the potential treatment of tuberculosis (TB), finally resolving a long-running debate about how the bacterial cell wall is built.

3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol mimics the beneficial effects of eating fewer calories

Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

3 Jul 2008

Scientists shed new light into early mechanisms governing cardiovascular specification

The mature heart is composed by different cell types, including contractile cardiac cells, vascular cells, smooth muscle cells as well as pacemaker cells.

3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol improves health, but not longevity in aging mice

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

3 Jul 2008

New computational tool to study complex clusters of genes

Two Texas A&M University researchers have developed a computational tool that will help scientists more accurately study complex units of clustered genes, called operons, in bacteria.

3 Jul 2008

New understanding of how herpes simplex virus 1 hides during inactive phase

Now that Duke University Medical Center scientists have figured out how the virus that causes cold sores hides out, they may have a way to wake it up and kill it.

3 Jul 2008

Genetic link between Crohn's and asthma discovered

Research into the genetic causes of Crohn's disease has revealed that the gene ORMDL3, known to be a risk factor for childhood asthma, is also associated with Crohn's disease, and in the process links between the condition and other diseases have been found.

2 Jul 2008

Mouse embryonic stem cells used to build heart parts

Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells.

2 Jul 2008

Body's own 'marijuana' is good for the skin

Scientists from Hungary, Germany and the U.K. have discovered that our own body not only makes chemical compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana (THC), but these play an important part in maintaining healthy skin

2 Jul 2008

ETH Zurich and IBM improve diagnosis of osteoporosis

With the goal of developing an accurate, powerful and fast method to automate the ana-lysis of bone strength, scientists of the ETH Zurich Departments of Mechanical and Pro-cess Engineering and Computer Science teamed up with supercomputing experts at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory. The breakthrough method developed by the team combines density measurements with a large-scale mechanical analysis of the inner-bone microstructure.

2 Jul 2008

GILZ protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat

A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

1 Jul 2008

Designer diet for prostate cancer

Eating one or more portions of broccoli every week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and the risk of localised cancer becoming more aggressive.

1 Jul 2008

Discovery of gene mechanism could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), induces a bystander effect that kills cancer cells not directly receiving mda-7/IL-24 without harming healthy ones, a discovery that could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease.

1 Jul 2008

UVB does more damage to DNA than UVA

As bombs burst in air this July 4, chances are that sunburn will be the red glare that most folks see - and feel. But unfortunately, even when there is no burn, the effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can have deadly consequences.

1 Jul 2008

New discovery a step towards better diabetes treatment

In the July 2nd issue of the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism Uppsala scientists are presenting new findings that shed light on the processes that determine the release of the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin.

1 Jul 2008

New clues to the biological basis of migraines

Fifteen percent to 20 percent of people worldwide suffer from migraines - excruciating headaches often presaged by dramatic sensations, or "auras." By studying a rare, inherited form of migraine, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found clues to the biological basis of the painful, debilitating disorder.

1 Jul 2008

Cancer cells revert to normal at specific signal threshold

Cancer starts when key cellular signals run amok, driving uncontrolled cell growth. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that lowering levels of one cancer signal under a specific threshold reverses this process in mice, returning tumor cells to their normal, healthy state. The finding could help target cancer chemotherapy to tumors while minimizing side effects for the body's healthy cells.

1 Jul 2008

Electrostatic-based RNA assays technique could revolutionize medical diagnostics

The dream of personalized medicine - in which diagnostics, risk predictions and treatment decisions are based on a patient's genetic profile - may be on the verge of being expanded beyond the wealthiest of nations with state-of-the-art clinics.

30 Jun 2008

Zinc finger technology brings personalized HIV therapy a step closer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and collaborators are using minute, naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers to engineer T cells to one day treat AIDS in humans.

30 Jun 2008