Genetics News and Research

Latest Genetics News and Research

Hedgehog protein plays a role in regulating fat and bone

A protein that guides the early development of creatures as diverse as fruit flies and humans also plays a role in regulating fat and bone formation in adult organisms, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.

10 Jan 2006

Tobacco plant-derived vaccines safeguard against Yersinia pestis

Through an innovative feat of plant biotechnology and vaccine design, researchers in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have successfully turned tobacco plants into vaccine production factories to combat the deadliest form

10 Jan 2006

Gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease

An international team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are zeroing in on a gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease. They have identified a region of chromosome 10 that appears to be involved in risk for the disease that currently affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans.

10 Jan 2006

Brain plays a major role in the ability of insulin therapy to lower blood sugar in animals with diabetes

"Our findings suggest that, in individuals with diabetes, the ability of insulin to lower blood sugar involves the brain," said senior author of the study, Michael Schwartz of the University of Washington at Seattle. "This effect is not trivial; the brain makes a substantial contribution to insulin response."

10 Jan 2006

Evidence for impaired retroviral defense genes in humans

Researchers Harmit Malik and Michael Emerman and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that a surprisingly large fraction of humans may be impaired in the function of a recently discovered arm of the body's defense against invading retroviruses such as HIV.

10 Jan 2006

Detecting MRSA outbreaks

German researchers have proposed an automated DNA sequence-based early warning system to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreaks in hospitals, which they say could replace traditional slower techniques.

10 Jan 2006

Risk for depression similar in men and women

Men and women may share more similarities than previously thought when it comes to the risk factors for major depression, according to a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

10 Jan 2006

Psychiatric patients who smoke

An editorial in the January 2006 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation packages, and asks whether they are appropriate for psychiatric patients.

10 Jan 2006

Human Genome Sciences announces license agreement with Amgen

Human Genome Sciences has announced a license agreement with Amgen under which Amgen has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize therapeutic biological products for human use based on a human gene discovered by Human Genome Sciences that may have potential applications in autoimmune diseases, immune deficiencies or suppression, and cancer.

10 Jan 2006

Slow human evolution revealed by worm genome

Humans have retained genomic characteristics of a very ancient ancestor that have been lost in simpler animals such as the fly, indicating that humans are one of the most slowly evolving species. This is the finding of an international team of scientists including Dr David Ferrier of Oxford’s Department of Zoology published in a recent edition of the journal Science.

10 Jan 2006

Genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of West Nile Virus infection

A genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of developing clinical West Nile Virus infection, according to a new study appearing online on January 9th in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

9 Jan 2006

AIDS drugs from sunflowers

Sunflowers can produce a substance which prevents the AIDS pathogen HIV from reproducing, at least in cell cultures. This is the result of research carried out by scientists at the University of Bonn in cooperation with the caesar research centre.

9 Jan 2006

Dogs able to smell early cancers

According to a new study, man's best friend, the humble dog, may be useful in detecting early cancers.

9 Jan 2006

Unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston have reason to believe their unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection, according to a study published in today's edition of Public Library of Science Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

Researchers uncover new toxic mechanism in ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease

Exactly how ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - damages motor neurons is one of medical science's lingering mysteries. At least six mishaps within cells appear to contribute to the death of the nerves that enable muscle movement, but nothing stands out as the key problem.

6 Jan 2006

DNA polymerase zeta gives cells with damaged DNA a new lease on life

Fortunately, our cells contain many enzymes devoted strictly to detecting and repairing any damage caused by these insults. In fact, failure of these enzymes to make needed repairs to genes can lead to the accumulation of mutations and, eventually, cell death or possibly cancer.

6 Jan 2006

New approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis

Medical researchers at the University of Bonn, working in collaboration with scientists from Israel, the USA and Britain, have identified a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in the process of bone loss. Their findings could open up new approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis.

6 Jan 2006

New technique points to safer, more efficient vaccination

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that has the potential to reduce the toxicity of vaccines and to make smaller doses more effective, according to a study published in PLoS Pathogens.

6 Jan 2006

New diabetes form found by Norwegian researchers

A research group in Bergen has discovered a new form of diabetes. In addition to high blood sugar levels, the disease is characterised by a decrease in pancreatic functioning and reduced fat absorption in the intestine. The discovery may have an impact on the treatment of more usual forms of diabetes.

6 Jan 2006

Scientists describe phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism

In the January issue of the journal Genome Research, two teams of scientists describe a widespread phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism (TIC), where two adjacent genes produce a single, fused RNA transcript.

6 Jan 2006