Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

New map for human genome expression

ExonHit Therapeutics has announced the completion of a new messenger RNA (transcripts) map coming from human genome expression.

5 Sep 2006

Researchers identify genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

A discovery at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes has identified a genetic risk for type 1 diabetes three to four times higher than previously thought possible.

4 Sep 2006

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism

Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Sep 2006

Link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores

University of Florida researchers have discovered a link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores, cognitive delays and brain lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease patients, a new study shows.

4 Sep 2006

Mature muscle fibers can revert to become cancerous

Mature muscle fibers, rather than their less-developed neighbors, are the tissues that turn malignant in a soft-tissue cancer that strikes children and teens, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas have found.

4 Sep 2006

Eastern Europe, Middle East has highest rates of cardiovascular disease deaths

Eastern European and Middle Eastern patients with diseased blood vessels have the highest rates of heart attacks and strokes, and the highest rates of death from those conditions, compared with similar patients in other regions of the world.

4 Sep 2006

New method of gene therapy alters immune cells for treatment of advanced melanoma

A team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has demonstrated sustained regression of advanced melanoma in a study of 17 patients by genetically engineering patients' own white blood cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

4 Sep 2006

MRSA - surveillance, rapid screening and hospital hygiene

The origins and future perspectives about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are outlined in a Review in this week's issue of The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Scientists create tumour zapping T cells which knock out cancer

Scientists in the United States have genetically engineered normal immune cells to become specialized fighters and used them to attack cancerous tumours.

31 Aug 2006

Largest review of Loeys-Dietz syndrome to date

At least three severe, potentially fatal genetic diseases leave patients with aortas so flimsy that they can rupture in pregnancy and labor or even lesser activities, often without warning.

31 Aug 2006

Hopkins develops online tool to aid research on certain "orphan diseases"

Many people are afflicted with rare illnesses of unknown cause, and finding a common link to such under-studied or "orphaned" diseases as Bardet-Biedl, Alstrom and Meckel-Gruber syndromes can significantly advance the search for causes and treatment.

31 Aug 2006

New cell-based targets for treating autoimmune inflammatory diseases

Patients with systemic autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often suffer loss of kidney function.

31 Aug 2006

Variation in 3 genes influences risk of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers in Boston have discovered a new common, noncoding variant in the Complement Factor H (CFH) gene that is associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness among persons aged 60 and older.

30 Aug 2006

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated

High-tech laboratory tools, like computers, are often updated publicly as their analytical capabilities expand. In the September issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, NIH grantees report they have developed a second generation "lab on a silicon chip" called the MitoChip v2.0 that for the first time rapidly and reliably sequences all mitochondrial DNA.

30 Aug 2006

Older twins hold the key to ageing well

Around 300 sets of twins who are 65 or older will take part in one of the largest studies of brain ageing ever undertaken in Australia.

30 Aug 2006

Plants can be used to unlock secrets useful for human stem cell research

Plants share many similar stem cell traits to humans and can be used to unlock secrets useful for human stem cell research, according to University of Melbourne biology experts.

30 Aug 2006

Disabling carbohydrate trigger reduces obesity and appetite

Until about 15 years ago, insulin was believed primarily responsible for turning carbohydrates into fat. But then it became apparent that diet alone could stimulate glucose metabolism and fat synthesis, even when insulin levels were low or absent.

30 Aug 2006

FluChip can spot bird flu in under 12 hours

Scientists in the United States have developed a new technology that reduces the time it takes to achieve a detailed diagnosis of avian flu, from one week or more down to less than 12 hours.

30 Aug 2006

New microchip enables quick diagnosis of flu strains

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that may allow more labs to diagnose influenza infections and learn more about the viruses causing illness.

30 Aug 2006

New England Journal of Medicine examines West Virginia's new Medicaid program

Two perspective pieces from the New England Journal of Medicine examine West Virginia's new Medicaid program, which will allow 160,000 Medicaid beneficiaries -- many of whom are parents of children enrolled in the program -- to sign a "personal responsibility contract."

28 Aug 2006