Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Expression pattern of microRNA may be useful in differentiating between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease, with the annual deaths nearly equaling the incidence of 33,000 in the United States, according to background information in the article.

2 May 2007

Study provides better understanding of how to treat individuals affected by copper imbalances

Copper is an essential part of our lives. From copper pipes and wires - to important copper-containing proteins in the body, copper is necessary for healthy growth and neurological development.

2 May 2007

Variants of two genes involved in the inflammatory system linked to cognitive decline after heart surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers believe their findings could help physicians identify patients at risk of suffering mental decline after heart surgery and raises the possibility that these patients could be treated with drugs that are known to dampen the inflammatory response.

2 May 2007

Biomarker discovery bodes well for better cancer diagnostics

While new findings from Ohio State University scientists suggest a genetic marker that could help distinguish between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer and gauge who will do well with cancer treatment, a pharmacologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia sees the discovery as much more.

2 May 2007

Revolutionary treatment for blindness

The first clinical trial to test a revolutionary treatment for blindness in children has been announced by researchers at UCL (University College London).

2 May 2007

Unstable leukemia stem cells may predispose patients to drug resistance

The BCR-ABL gene in chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells has a tendency to quickly mutate, and this may help explain why patients are predisposed to resistance to drugs like imatinib that target that gene, according to a study in the May 2 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 May 2007

Methods for marking molecules to identify gene alterations and metabolic shifts

Physical alterations of DNA in chromosomes can cause serious diseases such as Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, or cancer.

2 May 2007

Gene therapy used to try and cure type of blindness

A team of doctors from Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London (UCL) have carried out world's first eye operations using gene therapy to try to cure a serious eye disorder.

2 May 2007

Mechanisms of glucose homeostasis and early diabetes

Glucose homeostasis, the appropriate balancing of blood sugar levels, is impaired early in patients who become diabetic, causing life-threatening complications such as kidney failure and heart attacks.

1 May 2007

Simvastatin may help sufferers with Alzheimer's

Treatment with Simvastatin, one of the statin drugs widely used for lowering cholesterol in humans, significantly improved spatial memory - how to navigate a water maze - in mice genetically bred to have an Alzheimer's like disease.

1 May 2007

Zorro-LNA stops genetic disorders in their tracks

A study to appear in the June 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal describes a new agent, called "Zorro-LNA," which has the potential to stop genetic disorders in their tracks.

1 May 2007

RNA analysis can identify rejection in lung transplant patients

Recent data from the Lung Allograft Rejection Gene expression Observational (LARGO) study provides compelling evidence that profiling gene expression in peripheral blood can detect organ rejection in lung transplant patients.

1 May 2007

House approves bill that bans discrimination based on genetics

The House on Wednesday voted 420-3 to approve a bill (HR 493), sponsored by Rep.

30 Apr 2007

Major new cancer research study

The American Cancer Society is launching a major new cancer research study that may be the ,last best chance, to do large-scale population research in the United States to discover the genetic and environmental factors that cause and prevent cancer.

30 Apr 2007

Vaccine to cope with viral diversity in HIV

The ability of HIV-1 to develop high levels of genetic diversity and acquire mutations to escape immune pressures contributes to our difficulties in producing a vaccine.

30 Apr 2007

Identifying cardiorespiratory neurocircuitry involved in central command during exercise in humans

For almost one hundred years the brain's ,central command, system , whose charge includes controlling the body's cardiorespiratory response to exercise , has been pursued. Animal experiments and functional imaging studies have provided clues to the location of this system, but the underlying electrophysiological activity has never been measured.

30 Apr 2007