Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Gene-based therapy successful in Parkinson's disease

Brain scans have revealed that the first gene-based therapy for Parkinson's disease was effective.

20 Nov 2007

Cannabis compound may stop breast cancer spreading

American researchers have found that a compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body.

20 Nov 2007

Dyslexia expert Dr. Bruce McCandliss awarded Presidential honor

Dr. Bruce McCandliss, a psychologist at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has received a commendation by the President of the United States in the form of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

20 Nov 2007

Hormone norepinephrine may hasten the progression of certain blood cancers

Researchers here have shown that in cell cultures, the stress hormone norepinephrine appears to promote the biochemical signals that stimulate certain tumor cells to grow and spread.

20 Nov 2007

Protein in mice known as RGS13 suppresses allergic reactions

A protein in mice known as RGS13 suppresses allergic reactions, including the severe, life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

20 Nov 2007

Variant of CDC2 gene may be potential risk marker for Alzheimer's

A variant of the gene CDC2 could possibly be used as a risk marker for Alzheimer’s disease.

20 Nov 2007

PET scans show gene therapy normalizes brain function in Parkinson's patients

Brain scans used to track changes in a dozen patients who received an experimental gene therapy show that the treatment normalizes brain function - and the effects are still present a year later.

20 Nov 2007

Cannabis compound may stop the spread of breast cancer cells

A compound found in cannabis may prove to be effective at helping stop the spread of breast cancer cells throughout the body.

19 Nov 2007

Gene-transfer technique trial for childhood blindness under way

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

19 Nov 2007

New device for screening potential new drug compounds

A new device invented by researchers at the University of Virginia could save pharmaceutical companies significant time and money in screening potential new drug compounds.

19 Nov 2007

Gene chips provide new technique to evaluate organ rejection in kidney transplants

A new article appearing in American Journal of Transplantation describes a revolutionary technique for more clearly identifying the possibility of organ rejection in kidney transplants.

19 Nov 2007

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell opens new section of general surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery

Opening the doors to one of the first academic medical program dedicated to surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has created a new section of General Surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery.

19 Nov 2007

MIT researchers devised novel way to create tiny colonies of living human liver cells that model full-sized organs

Liver toxicity is one of the main reasons pharmaceutical companies pull drugs off the market. These dangerous drugs slip through approval processes due in part to the shortcomings of liver toxicity tests. Existing tests rely on liver cells from rats, which do not always respond to toxins the way human cells do. Or they rely on dying human cells that survive for only a few days in the lab.

19 Nov 2007

Avastin (bevacizumab) shows promise in phase II study of glioblastoma multiforme

Genentech, Inc. has announced that both study arms of a randomized, multi-center Phase II clinical study of Avastin (bevacizumab) administered alone or in combination with irinotecan chemotherapy demonstrated encouraging six-month progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate in patients with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer.

19 Nov 2007

New insight into how cystatin C may lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease

For unknown reasons a protein called amyloid beta aggregates into toxic plaques in the brain, killing neurons.

19 Nov 2007

Researchers identify compound that eliminates myotonia - a symptom of muscular dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have identified a compound that eliminates myotonia - a symptom of muscular dystrophy - in mice. The research was published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

16 Nov 2007

Poxvirus' ability to hide from the immune system may aid vaccine design

The cowpox virus, a much milder cousin of the deadly smallpox virus, can keep infected host cells from warning the immune system that they have been compromised, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

16 Nov 2007

More women opting to have both breasts removed when cancer has been found in only one breast

Researchers are reporting a 150 percent increase between 1998 and 2003 in American women opting to have both breasts removed when cancer has been found in only one breast—a procedure called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM).

16 Nov 2007

From successful aging to severe dementia

A recently published special issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease contains the contributions from experts in the field of aging, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, who attended the "Fourth Annual Meeting on Brain aging and Dementia - From successful aging to severe dementia”, Held in Perugia in October 2006 under the auspices of the Italian Psychogeriatric Association, a member of the International Psychogeriatric Association, the meeting celebrates the centenary of Alzheimer's first description of the disease.

16 Nov 2007

FDA to improve advisory committee processes

The Food and Drug Administration is announcing several steps to strengthen its advisory committee processes in ways consistent with recommendations of the Institute of Medicine.

16 Nov 2007