Feature Channels: Genetics

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Released: 2-Jul-2012 3:20 PM EDT
BESC Researchers Tap Into Genetic Reservoir of Heat-Loving Bacteria
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The identification of key proteins in a group of heat-loving bacteria by researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center could help light a fire under next-generation biofuel production.

Released: 2-Jul-2012 2:15 PM EDT
Moffitt Cancer Center Study Validates Activity of Rare Genetic Variant in Glioma
Moffitt Cancer Center

High risk and better outcome for glioma wrapped up in rare gene variant.

Released: 2-Jul-2012 12:15 PM EDT
Genes May Play Role in Educational Achievement
American Psychological Association (APA)

Researchers have identified genetic markers that may influence whether a person finishes high school and goes on to college, according to a national longitudinal study of thousands of young Americans. The study is in the July issue of Developmental Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association.

29-Jun-2012 5:40 PM EDT
Secrets of Lung Cancer Drug Resistance Revealed at UCSF
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

People with lung cancer who are treated with the drug Tarceva face a daunting uncertainty: although their tumors may initially shrink, it's not a question of whether their cancer will return—it's a question of when. And for far too many, it happens far too soon.

26-Jun-2012 12:20 PM EDT
Beyond Base-Pairs: Mapping the Functional Genome
UC San Diego Health

In a paper published in the July 1, 2012 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine open the book further, mapping for the first time a significant portion of the functional sequences of the mouse genome, the most widely used mammalian model organism in biomedical research.

Released: 29-Jun-2012 1:45 PM EDT
Study Finds New Gene Mutations That Lead to Enlarged Brain Size, Cancer, Autism, Epilepsy
Seattle Children's Hospital

Researchers shed light on molecular cause of childhood’s worst conditions as first step toward developing more effective treatments

Released: 28-Jun-2012 1:50 PM EDT
Forty’s a Crowd
Stowers Institute for Medical Research

“Paper of the week” shows that a master regulator protein brings plethora of coactivators to gene expression sites.

Released: 27-Jun-2012 12:15 PM EDT
Team Identifies Parkinson’s Disease Gene with Help of Saskatchewan Mennonite Families
University of Saskatchewan

An international team including scientists from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon Health Region and University of British Columbia, with the help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families, has identified an abnormal gene which leads to Parkinson’s disease.

24-Jun-2012 4:00 PM EDT
Genetic Variant Is Linked to Obesity and Insulin Resistance
Endocrine Society

A large study in people at risk of diabetes has found a direct association between the presence of a small genetic alteration in a hormone receptor and increased body fat and insulin resistance. The results, to be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston, suggest an adverse role for a previously described genetic variant, the BclI polymorphism.

24-Jun-2012 4:10 PM EDT
BPA Exposure In Pregnant Mice Changes Gene Expression of Female Offspring
Endocrine Society

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical found in many common plastic household items, can cause numerous genes in the uterus to respond differently to estrogen in adulthood, according to a study using a mouse model. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

21-Jun-2012 3:25 PM EDT
Gene Mutations Cause Massive Brain Asymmetry
UC San Diego Health

In a paper published in the June 24, 2012 online issue of Nature Genetics, a team of doctors and scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, say de novo somatic mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation are likely culprits for causing hemimegalencephaly, though perhaps not the only ones.

Released: 22-Jun-2012 11:30 AM EDT
Study Shows Most Commonly Mutated Gene in Cancer may have a Role in Stroke
Stony Brook Medicine

The gene p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. p53 is dubbed the “guardian of the genome” because it blocks cells with damaged DNA from propagating and eventually becoming cancerous. However, new research led by Ute M. Moll, M.D., Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and colleagues, uncovers a novel role for p53 beyond cancer in the development of ischemic stroke. The research team identified an unexpected critical function of p53 in activating necrosis, an irreversible form of tissue death, triggered during oxidative stress and ischemia. The findings are detailed online in Cell.

Released: 21-Jun-2012 4:15 PM EDT
Zebrafish Research Highlighted at International Conference
Genetics Society of America

Amazingly, the small, black-and-white striped zebrafish has biological similarities to humans, and is increasingly a popular model organism for studying vertebrate development, genetics, physiology, and mechanisms of disease as featured at the ongoing 2012 International Zebrafish Development and Genetics Conference in Madison, Wisconsin

Released: 21-Jun-2012 2:40 PM EDT
Research Suggests New Cause to Blame for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
University of North Carolina Health Care System

UNC scientists have discovered that a commonly held assumption is wrong and that a separate role of the SMN gene – still not completely elucidated -- is likely responsible for the disease’s manifestations.

19-Jun-2012 1:40 PM EDT
Study Uncovers New Tools for Targeting Genes Linked to Autism
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

UCLA researchers have combined two tools – gene expression and the use of peripheral blood -- to expand scientists’ arsenal of methods for pinpointing genes that play a role in autism. The findings could help scientists zero in on genes that offer future therapeutic targets for the disorder.

20-Jun-2012 10:55 AM EDT
Researchers Discover the Cause of an Inherited Form of Epilepsy
McGill University

Double-cortex syndrome primarily affects females and arises from mutations on a gene located on the X chromosome. Drs. Susanne Bechstedt and Gary Brouhard have used a highly advanced microscope to discover how these mutations cause a malformation of the human brain.

Released: 20-Jun-2012 2:20 PM EDT
Structure of RNAi Complex Now Crystal Clear
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Whitehead Institute researchers have determined and analyzed the crystal structure of a yeast Argonaute protein bound to RNA, which plays a key role in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway that silences genes.

18-Jun-2012 2:55 PM EDT
Gene Sequencing Project Identifies Potential Drug Targets in Common Childhood Brain Tumor
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project lifts lid on the most aggressive subtype of medulloblastoma and finds genes that cooperate in tumor development.

18-Jun-2012 11:40 AM EDT
Proposed Drug May Reverse Huntington’s Disease Symptoms
UC San Diego Health

With a single drug treatment, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine can silence the mutated gene responsible for Huntington’s disease, slowing and partially reversing progression of the fatal neurodegenerative disorder in animal models.

Released: 19-Jun-2012 10:10 AM EDT
Fishing for Answers to Autism Puzzle
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Fish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia, or other human brain disorders. However, a team of Whitehead Institute and MIT scientists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute to such disorders.

13-Jun-2012 11:00 PM EDT
Utah Chemists Use Nanopores to Detect DNA Damage
University of Utah

Scientists are racing to sequence DNA faster and cheaper than ever by passing strands of the genetic material through molecule-sized pores. Now, University of Utah scientists have adapted this “nanopore” method to find DNA damage that can lead to mutations and disease.

Released: 18-Jun-2012 11:25 AM EDT
Genetics Meeting Surveys the Cancer Genome Landscape
Genetics Society of America

Genetics Society of America’s Model Organism to Human Biology: Cancer Genetics meeting, occurring now in Washington, D.C., focuses on cancer research commonalities among species.

Released: 15-Jun-2012 2:50 PM EDT
Fish Shed Light on Human Melanoma
Genetics Society of America

Zebrafish, a transparent member of the minnow family, are providing insight into human melanoma – a form of skin cancer – that may lead to new or repurposed drug treatments, for skin and other cancers. This will be reported at the Genetics Society of America’s “Model Organisms to Human Biology: Cancer Genetics” Meeting, June 17-20, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

11-Jun-2012 12:05 PM EDT
Mutations in JAK3 Gene Identified in Subtype of Lymphoma Provide Potential Drug Target
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

• JAK3 mutations detected in 35 percent of NK/T-cell lymphoma patients tested. • Mutations increased growth of cultured NK/T-cell lymphoma cell lines. • JAK inhibitor increased cell death, suggesting a new therapeutic approach.

Released: 14-Jun-2012 12:15 PM EDT
Quirky Fruit Fly Gene Could Point Way to New Cancer Drugs
Loyola Medicine

Loyola University Chicago researchers are taking advantage of a quirk in the evolution of fruit fly genes to help develop new weapons against cancer.

Released: 14-Jun-2012 10:30 AM EDT
Fragile X Gene’s Prevalence Suggests Broader Health Risk
University of Wisconsin–Madison

The first U.S. population prevalence study of mutations in the gene that causes fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability, suggests the mutation in the gene – and its associated health risks – may be more common than previously believed.

8-Jun-2012 4:30 PM EDT
New Discovery Closes in on Genetic Link Between Alzheimer’s and Diabetes
Genetics Society of America

Research published in the Genetics Society of America’s June 2012 issue of the journal GENETICS suggests a gene related to Alzheimer’s disease is also involved in the insulin pathway, which may explain the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

12-Jun-2012 3:30 PM EDT
Clarity Begins at Exome
UC San Diego Health

In the June 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine, an international team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that the new technology of exome sequencing is not only a promising method for identifying disease-causing genes, but may also improve diagnoses and guide individual patient care.

Released: 13-Jun-2012 12:35 PM EDT
Informatics, Biology Team Demonstrates Role of Foreign DNA Strands in Life-Supporting Bacteria
Indiana University

An Indiana University team of researchers has conducted the most in-depth and diverse genetic analysis of the defense systems that trillions of micro-organisms in the human body use to fend off viruses. The work is among a collection of 16 research papers released today by the Human Microbiome Project Consortium, a National Institutes of Health-led effort to map the normal microbial make-up of healthy humans.

Released: 12-Jun-2012 2:30 PM EDT
Model Organisms Help Researchers Learn About Human Cancers
Genetics Society of America

Many of the top scientists in the model organism and human cancer fields will be meeting to discuss their research at the Genetics Society of America’s (GSA’s) Model Organisms to Human Biology (MOHB): Cancer Genetics Meeting on June 17-20, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Released: 11-Jun-2012 5:15 PM EDT
Scientists Find New Genetic Path to Deadly Diarrheal Disease
Ohio University Office of Research Communications

Scientists have found new genetic information that shows how harmful bacteria cause the acute diarrheal disease shigellosis, which kills more than a million people worldwide each year.

Released: 11-Jun-2012 1:45 PM EDT
Study Identifies Genes Linked to Resistance to Breast Cancer Chemotherapy
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

A study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators has identified a gene expression pattern that may explain why chemotherapy prior to surgery isn’t effective against some tumors and suggests new therapy options for patients with specific subtypes of breast cancer.

6-Jun-2012 3:50 PM EDT
Decoding DNA Finds Breast Tumor Signatures That Predict Treatment Response
Washington University in St. Louis

Decoding the DNA of patients with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to identify distinct cancer “signatures” that could help predict which women are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, while sparing others from unnecessary treatment.

1-Jun-2012 1:50 PM EDT
Study Challenges Previously Held Beliefs About the Role of Genetic Mutations in Colon Cancer Development
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

In exploring the genetics of mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell – researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have stumbled upon a finding that challenges previously held beliefs about the role of mutations in cancer development. For the first time, researchers have found that the number of new mutations are significantly lower in cancers than in normal cells.

6-Jun-2012 4:00 PM EDT
Mapping Genes: Mayo Clinic Finds New Risk Factors for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mayo Clinic

Using a new and powerful approach to understand the origins of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida are building the case that these diseases are primarily caused by genes that are too active or not active enough, rather than by harmful gene mutations.

6-Jun-2012 9:05 AM EDT
Manipulating Chromatin Loops to Regulate Genes May Offer Future Treatments for Blood Diseases
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

In exploring how proteins interact with crucial DNA sequences to regulate gene activity, researchers have shed light on chromatin looping, key biological events that may eventually be manipulated to provide new disease treatments.

Released: 6-Jun-2012 3:15 PM EDT
Variations in Sex Steroid Gene Expression Can Predict Aggressive Behaviors
Indiana University

An Indiana University biologist has shown that natural variation in measures of the brain's ability to process steroid hormones predicts functional variation in aggressive behavior.

Released: 6-Jun-2012 7:00 AM EDT
Key to Controlling Toxicity of Huntington’s Disease Protein May Be Cell Contents
Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications

New research proposes novel therapeutic targets for treating Huntington’s disease. A new study found the toxic effects of the huntingtin protein on cells may not be driven exclusively by the length of the protein’s expansion, but also by which other proteins are present in the cell.

Released: 4-Jun-2012 4:55 PM EDT
Mayo Clinic Experts Available to Comment on How Genetic Variation, Gender Play Out in Olympics
Mayo Clinic

With the 2012 Summer Olympics fast approaching, two Mayo Clinic researchers have penned a timely and thought-provoking editorial in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings that explores genetic variation and how it plays out in professional athletic competition.

Released: 4-Jun-2012 12:40 PM EDT
Researchers ID Cluster of Genes in Blood that Predict Parkinson's
American Technion Society

Technion researchers have identified a biomarker shown to predict Parkinson's disease with high accuracy. It could ID at-risk individuals before symptoms develop, when prevention treatment efforts might have the greatest impact to slow disease progression.

Released: 29-May-2012 11:55 AM EDT
Mutations Impair Childhood Development by Disrupting Chromosome Organization
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Researchers studying rare genetic disorders have uncovered insights into those diseases in biological structures that regulate chromosomes when cells divide.

25-May-2012 1:00 PM EDT
World’s Largest Release of Comprehensive Human Cancer Genome Data Helps Researchers Everywhere Speed Discoveries
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project today announced the largest-ever release of comprehensive human cancer genome data for free access by the global scientific community.

25-May-2012 10:00 AM EDT
Scientists Trace Mutation for Disease That Stunts Infants’ Growth to Same Gene That Makes Children Grow Too Fast
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

UCLA geneticists have identified the mutation responsible for IMAGe syndrome, a rare disorder that stunts infants’ growth. The twist? The mutation occurs on the same gene for a disease that makes cells grow too fast, leading to extra-large children.

Released: 25-May-2012 4:45 PM EDT
It's in the Genes: Research Pinpoints How Plants Know When to Flower
University of Washington

Scientists believe they've pinpointed the last crucial piece of the 80-year-old puzzle of how plants "know" when to flower.

Released: 24-May-2012 6:30 PM EDT
“Personality Genes” May Help Account for Longevity
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University have found that personality traits like being extroverted, enjoying laughter and staying engaged may also be part of the longevity genes mix that allows some people to reach age 100 and beyond. The findings published online May 21 in the journal Aging.

Released: 24-May-2012 12:10 PM EDT
Newly Modified Nanoparticle Opens Window on Future Gene Editing Technologies
Iowa State University

Iowa State University researchers are using nanoparticles originally developed by the late Victor Lin to simultaneously deliver proteins and DNA into plant cells. The technology could allow more sophisticated and targeted editing of plant genomes.

Released: 24-May-2012 12:05 PM EDT
Key Gene Found Responsible for Chronic Inflammation, Accelerated Aging and Cancer
NYU Langone Health

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer.

Released: 22-May-2012 1:00 PM EDT
AMP Developing a CPT® Coding Proposal for Next Generation Sequencing
Association for Molecular Pathology

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) today announced that it is close to finalizing a framework proposal for CPT coding of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) assays.

Released: 22-May-2012 11:20 AM EDT
Out-of-Sequence Experience: Deciphering DNA with ‘omics’
Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Clinicians and researchers gathered at Ohio State’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) Third Annual Scientific Meeting to showcase how they are deciphering the Human Genome Projects code using genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and other ‘omics’ to make predictive, preventative and precision medicine a reality in the 21st century.

16-May-2012 7:00 PM EDT
'Orphan Drug' Used to Treat Sleep Disorders May Be a Potent Cancer-Fighting Agent for Many Malignancies
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

An inexpensive “orphan drug” used to treat sleep disorders appears to be a potent inhibitor of cancer cells, according to a new study led by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Their novel approach, using groundbreaking technology that allows rapid analysis of the genome, has broad implications for the development of safer, more-effective cancer therapies.



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