Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Autophagy promotes pancreatitis

To survive tough times, cells sometimes resort to a form of self-cannibalism called autophagy. But as Hashimoto et al. reveal, autophagy can have a down side, destroying the pancreas by prematurely activating a digestive enzyme.

30 Jun 2008

NIAID announces grants to stimulate food allergy research

Twelve investigators have received grants totaling $5 million over two years to lead high-impact, innovative studies of food allergy, a significant public health concern.

30 Jun 2008

A global DNA barcode database

The idea of barcoding is familiar to many: in almost every supermarket the checkout operator shows the ticket labelled with a series of black bars to a laser scanner which responds with a beep; a computer analyses the code, identifies the product and the price is sent to the till.

30 Jun 2008

Novel approach for treating mitochondrial disorders wins Kaye prize

A novel concept for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders using directed enzyme replacement therapy (DERT) has won for a Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral candidate one of this year's Kaye Innovation Awards. The awards were presented at this year's 71st meeting of the Hebrew University Board of Governors.

30 Jun 2008

Protein Ronin shown to be an alternate control for embryonic stem cells

Like the masterless samurai for whom it is named, the protein Ronin chooses an independent path, maintaining embryonic stem cells in their undifferentiated state and playing essential roles in genesis of embryos and their development, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers who reported on this novel cellular regulator in the current issue of the journal Cell.

27 Jun 2008

Scientists discover how an injured embryo can regenerate itself

More than 80 years have passed since the German scientist Hans Spemann conducted his famous experiment that laid the foundations for the field of embryonic development. After dividing a salamander embryo in half, Spemann noticed that one half - specifically, the half that gives rise to the salamander's 'belly' (ventral) starts to wither away.

27 Jun 2008

Faulty DNA repair could be a risk factor for lung cancer in nonsmokers

People who have never smoked but whose cells cannot efficiently repair environmental insults to DNA are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those with effective genomic repair capability, according to researchers from the Department of Epidemiology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

26 Jun 2008

Clinical Data secures European patent for key multi-drug resistance gene

Clinical Data, Inc. has announced that the European Patent Office has granted Patent No. 1232260 to Bernried, Germany-based Epidauros Biotechnologie AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clinical Data, relating to the use of a genetic variant, or biomarker, of the gene MDR1 (also known as ABCB1), which encodes P-glycoprotein (PGP).

26 Jun 2008

Aventix Pharma takes over key patents for innovative screening tool for treatments for cystic fibrosis

The rights to key patents for an innovative screening tool for treatments for cystic fibrosis were transferred today to Swiss biotech company Axentis Pharma AG.

26 Jun 2008

Genetic profiling for breast cancer on the horizon

Cancer Research UK scientists have shown that it may soon be possible to offer women a genetic test to assess their risk of breast cancer which could aid early diagnosis for those at high risk of the disease. Their findings are revealed in the New England Journal of Medicine today (Wednesday).

26 Jun 2008

Insect's eye shown to change traditional functions during metamorphosis

Researchers at New York University's Center for Developmental Genetics report that the photoreceptors in an insect's eye can change their traditional functions during metamorphosis. The study appears in the most recent issue of the journal Nature.

26 Jun 2008

A safe and efficient gene delivery method that doesn't involve viruses

The potential of gene therapy has long been hampered by the risks associated with using viruses as vectors to deliver healthy genes, but a new University of Georgia study helps bring scientists closer to a safe and efficient gene delivery method that doesn't involve viruses.

26 Jun 2008

Discovery of second genetic risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have discovered the second, strong genetic risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, according to a new report in the June 27th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

25 Jun 2008

Losartan shows promise in treating Marfan syndrome

A small study in 18 pattients assessing the effectiveness of the drug losartan for treating Marfan syndrome in children has yielded encouraging results.

25 Jun 2008

Breakthrough in plant medicine production

A research team of scientists from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands has succeeded in further unravelling and manipulating the glycosylation of proteins in plants.

25 Jun 2008

NIAID creates HIV vaccine discovery branch

To accelerate the translation of basic discoveries about HIV into advances in vaccine design and evaluation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has formed a new Vaccine Discovery Branch within the Vaccine Research Program in the Division of AIDS (DAIDS).

25 Jun 2008

Prostate cancer deaths double in men with BRCA2

Men with prostate cancer caused by a faulty BRCA2 gene are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than those carrying the faulty BRCA1 gene - reveals a study published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Tuesday).

25 Jun 2008

Technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs wins Barenholz Prize for Hebrew University student

A unique technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs developed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral student has led to the discovery of a new mechanism by which viruses evade the human immune system. This discovery has important implications for human intervention in the battle between viruses and humans.

25 Jun 2008

tRNA import occurs in humans - could lead to targeted therapies

Scientists have determined that human cells are able to shift important gene products into their own mitochondria, considered the power plants of cells. The finding could eventually lead to therapies for dozens of diseases.

24 Jun 2008

Epigenetic changes occur over a person's lifetime

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that epigenetic marks on DNA-chemical marks other than the DNA sequence-do indeed change over a person's lifetime, and that the degree of change is similar among family members.

24 Jun 2008