Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Scientists gain greater understanding of how embryos differentiate left from right

Researchers at the Forsyth Institute have discovered a new mechanism responsible for early left/right patterning, the process by which organs locate themselves on the left or right side of the body.

19 Apr 2006

New guidelines for treating severely injured patients

If someone is injured in an automobile collision or is severely burned, emergency room physicians across the country would probably take similar steps to stabilize each condition. But subsequent treatment in the intensive care unit or operating room is less well established and may vary significantly.

19 Apr 2006

Calcium supplements may be little help for healthy kids

There's little question that most kids get too little calcium, but a new review of evidence casts doubt on the value of supplements and calcium-fortified foods to build stronger bones.

19 Apr 2006

Promising treatment for Huntington's disease soon to be tested clinically

At the Institut Curie, CNRS and Inserm researchers have shown that cysteamine, which is already used to treat a rare disease called cystinosis, prevents the death of neurons in Huntington's disease. Like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, is characterized by the abnormal death of neurons.

19 Apr 2006

New London based centre for clinical genetic research

The London Genetics Centre will provide access to knowledge and expertise in clinical genetics across London's biomedical institutions, and help position London as the leading European centre for genetic medicine.

19 Apr 2006

St. Jude develop strategy to speed future development of more effective and less toxic treatments for medulloblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have developed a strategy to speed future development of more effective and less toxic treatments for medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Medulloblastomas arise in the back of the brain and account for about 20 percent of childhood brain tumors.

18 Apr 2006

Calcium supplementation for improving bone mineral density in children

There's little question that most kids get too little calcium, but a new review of evidence casts doubt on the value of supplements and calcium-fortified foods to build stronger bones.

18 Apr 2006

Microarray analysis could lead to better understanding of mechanisms underlying the genetic propensity toward excessive drinking

The meta analysis, which examined more than 4.5 million data points on more than 100 microarrays from mouse models, also identified more than 1,300 functional groups, including signaling and transcription pathways, which may also play an important role in establishing a capacity for a "high level of alcohol consumption."

18 Apr 2006

Fast tracking the healing process for common ear infections

The research will aim to understand why some eardrums heal by themselves (and why some do not heal at all) by identifying which genes are responsible for the wound-healing process of an infected human ear drum.

18 Apr 2006

miR 155 overexpression can lead to cancer

Scientists in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center say that just one, single, malfunctioning microRNA is sufficient to cause cancer in mice.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers develop system for observing nuclear motion

The cell is understood to be highly organized, with specialized areas for different functions and molecular motors shuttling components around.

18 Apr 2006

Genetic switch that links animal growth and cancer

Laboratory discoveries by scientists at two universities may lead to new directions in cancer therapy drugs. The researchers have discovered that a genetic switch involved in growth and development of an animal is the same one used to prevent normal cells from becoming cancerous.

18 Apr 2006

Important new global mechanism for gene repression

Most of the time in most cells of the body, the great majority of genes are silenced, locked away within the compacted but orderly material that makes up chromosomes.

18 Apr 2006

Common gene variation associated with an increased risk for obesity

A pioneering statistical technique developed at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has helped identify a common gene variation associated with an increased risk for obesity.

18 Apr 2006

Johns Hopkins researchers discover gene that reduces retinal degeneration in fruit flies

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a gene in fruit flies that helps certain specialized neurons respond more quickly to bright light.

18 Apr 2006

Chimpanzees and humans have gene variant, for different reasons

Gene variants determine which humans and which chimpanzees can taste bitter substances. For humans, this taste sensitivity may influence nutritional choices and ultimately their health, as well as behaviors, such as smoking.

18 Apr 2006

217 new targets for anti-cancer drugs

By identifying novel genes critical to cancer progression, biologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have expanded the number of drug targets researchers have available for study to find ways to stop tumors in their tracks.

18 Apr 2006