Feature Channels: Genetics

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The Genetics Society of America is extending the deadline for submissions for its Excellence in Research Journalism Award from March 1, 2010 to March 8, 2010. This award is designed to honor those journalists who provide outstanding coverage of basic genetic research studies of model organisms such as fruit flies (Drosophila), roundworms (C. elegans), mice, yeast, fungi or other organisms and which may link to human biology.

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Twenty billion pieces of DNA in 100 small fish have opened the eyes of biologists studying evolution. After combining new technologies, researchers now know many of the genomic regions that allowed an ocean-dwelling fish to adapt to fresh water in several independently evolved populations.

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In reports of two new studies, researchers led by Johns Hopkins say they have identified the mechanisms rooted in two anatomical brain abnormalities that may explain the onset of schizophrenia and the reason symptoms don’t develop until young adulthood. Both types of anatomical glitches are influenced by a gene known as DISC1, whose mutant form was first identified in a Scottish family with a strong history of schizophrenia and related mental disorders. The findings could lead to new ways to treat, prevent or modify the disorder or its symptoms.

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Researchers have identified new genetic data that could be used in the future to predict who will develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The findings could also advance the use of genetic screening for those at high risk of developing kidney failure, which might enable preventative early treatment in at risk individuals.

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Novel method speeds analysis for individualized medicine.

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Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have used data from the whole genome sequencing of cancer patients to develop individualized blood tests they believe can help physicians tailor patients’ treatments. The genome-based blood tests, believed to be the first of their kind, may be used to monitor tumor levels after therapy and determine cancer recurrence.

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A UCLA study reveals how human genes interact with their environment to boost disease risk. The new findings shed light on why the search for specific gene variants linked to human diseases can only partly explain common disorders.

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Large-scale study reveals DNA segments missing or duplicated in tumors, uncovers novel cancer genes and genetic abnormalities shared across cancers.

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Creation of a genetic risk score comprised of multiple genetic markers associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) was not associated with significant improvement in CVD risk prediction in a study that included more than 19,000 women, according to a study in the February 17 issue of JAMA.

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A few minor variations in one gene may make a difference in athletic endurance, according to a new study from Physiological Genomics.

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An international team of investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences and other organizations have discovered that TKS4, a protein implicated in cancer metastasis, also plays a significant role in Frank-Ter Haar syndrome (FTHS), a rare fatal disorder.

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In a study that could lead to new therapeutic targets for patients with the cystic fibrosis, a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to disease severity.

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Biologist Samuel Hazen is one of 100 researchers who published in Nature the genome of a grass seen as a promising feedstock for clean biofuels. Hazen’s lab is one of 10 developing Brachypodium to reduce use of imported oil and cut GHG. It’s the first of its family to have its DNA fully sequenced.

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Specific chemical modifications to proteins called histones, which are found in the nucleus of cells and act as spools around which DNA is wound, can be used to predict prognosis and response to treatment in subsets patients with pancreatic cancer, a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

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An analysis of genetic and clinical data for nearly 800 patients with non-small cell lung cancer has identified differences in genetic characteristics that are associated with age and sex specific patterns of increased or decreased recurrence-free survival, according to a study in the February 10 issue of JAMA.

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It is widely known that genetic mutations cause disease. What are largely unknown are the mechanisms by which these mutations wreak havoc at the molecular level, giving rise to clinically observable symptoms in patients. Now a new study using bioinformatics, reports the ability to predict the molecular cause of many inherited genetic diseases. These predictions have led to the creation of a web-based tool available to academic researchers who study disease.

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The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) commends the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) for its thoughtful, deliberative exploration into the challenges of gene patents .

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Researchers from 14 institutions has peered into the human genome and has found a way to predict who will benefit the most from exercise.

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The ethics commentary, called “Gene Doping and Sports,” appears in the February issue of the journal Science. Lead author Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of the Gene Therapy Program at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

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Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell’s nucleus. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, however, have shown that some of the pores’ constituent proteins, called nucleoporins, pull double duty as transcription factors regulating the activity of genes active during early development.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are tapping into the DNA of a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to see if it can help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide.

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The Genetics Society of America has launched an awards program to honor journalists who provide outstanding coverage of basic genetics research that uses model organisms (fruit flies, roundworms, yeast, fungi, mice, and other organisms) and which contributes to public understanding of the need for and importance of basic research.

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University of Michigan researchers have shown that tension on DNA molecules can affect gene expression---the process at the heart of biological function that tells a cell what to do.

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Together with colleagues in Barcelona, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have generated a complete map of the areas of the genome that control which genes are “turned on” or “off.” The discovery, made in pancreatic islet cells, opens new avenues for understanding the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes and other common illnesses.

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Mutation of a gene that helps protect the body from genetic instability leads to cellular and molecular changes in the pregnant uterus that trigger premature birth, according to a study appearing online Feb. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The research by scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center sheds new light on the still poorly understood genetic and physiological reasons for preterm births.

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New research for the first time links genes to our ability to orient ourselves to the world around us an then navigate through it.

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Single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Johns Hopkins scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have analyzed rust fungi from more than 160 sugarcane samples from 25 countries to provide a valuable resource for plant breeders and pathologists who are searching for genetic resistance to the deadly orange and brown rusts.

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Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have performed the first complete genomic sequencing of a brain cancer cell line, a discovery that may lead to personalized treatments based on the unique biological signature of an individual’s cancer and a finding that may unveil new molecular targets for which more effective and less toxic drugs can be developed.

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The Association for Molecular Pathology releases a position statement on the oversight of laboratory developed tests to foster discussion among stakeholders and meets wit the Food & Drug Administration.

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Researchers have developed a new tool to deliver DNA in gene therapy. DNA delivered to the retina with a peptide called PEG-POD was expressed 215 times more efficiently than delivery of DNA alone. The finding highlights PEG-POD as a tool for non-viral gene therapy treatments for eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

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Dr. Harry Ostrer, professor of pediatrics, pathology and medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center will be conducting genetic screening at four college campuses in Boston on February 1st and 2nd. Individuals interested in being screened must sign-up online at www.med.nyu.edu/genetics.

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The same evolutionary genetic advantages that have helped increase human lifespans also make us uniquely susceptible to diseases of aging such as cancer, heart disease and dementia, reveals a study to be published in a special PNAS collection on "Evolution in Health and Medicine."

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In the decade since the Human Genome Project produced the first map of DNA sequences in the human genome, scientists have combed through genome data to identify genes and gene variants that cause human disease. A new study suggests that researchers may need to search farther afield to pinpoint rare but powerful disease-causing mutations.

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A new genome study has provided the first precise explanation of the biological events contributing to deadly epidemics of severe infection. This method can be used to track and help prevent devastating epidemics in the future.

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Based on a true story, the film "Extraordinary Measures" highlights a condition called Pompe disease. Shawn Lipinski, a certified genetic counselor at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, works with Pompe disease patients and is available to discuss this condition.

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, today announced an unprecedented effort to identify the genetic changes that give rise to some of the world’s deadliest childhood cancers. The team has joined forces to decode the genomes of more than 600 childhood cancer patients treated at St. Jude, who have contributed tumor samples for this historic effort.

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have discovered a gene activity signature that predicts a high risk of cancer recurrence in certain breast tumors that have been treated with commonly used chemotherapy drugs. The findings could lead to a genetic test that directs the best initial treatment.

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Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time, identified specific genetic variations that predict clinical outcomes in patients with gastric (stomach) cancer.

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Crop genetics play key role in understanding the impact of environmental stress.

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What produces the pink tomatoes so popular in the Far East? Using metabolomics, Weizmann Institute researchers found that a number of traits unique to pink tomatoes can be traced to a mutation on a single gene.

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Sequencing the genome of the wasp Nasonia -- published in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Science -- is providing new insights into the methods that the bacterial parasite Wolbachia uses to manipulate the sex lives of its hosts.

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The sequencing of the soybean genome will be announced in a paper forthcoming in the January 14 issue of the journal Nature. Authored by Jeremy Schmutz of the Joint Genome Institute and the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center and 43 other researchers from 18 institutions, the paper details results pointing to key evolutionary events that may be responsible for the plant’s unusual capabilities.

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A genetic mutation can significantly increases a woman’s risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. But experts from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center warn that genetic testing is not appropriate for all women.

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New research shows that migraine and depression may share a strong genetic component. The research is published in the January 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have identified a link between specific modifications of the dystrophin gene and the age of cardiac disease onset in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). This information could help clinicians provide early cardiac intervention for BMD patients based on genetic testing results performed on a blood sample.

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The first comprehensive comparison of Y chromosomes from two species sheds new light on Y chromosome evolution. Contrary to a widely held scientific theory that the mammalian Y chromosome is slowly decaying or stagnating, new evidence suggests that in fact the Y is continuously reinventing itself.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are part of a team that has sequenced the majority of the soybean genome, providing an unprecedented look into how this important legume crop converts four critical ingredients--sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen--into protein and oil, the basic building blocks for many consumer products. The research team from 18 federal, state, public and private organizations published their research today in the journal Nature.

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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that a “longevity gene” helps to slow age-related decline in brain function in older adults. Drugs that mimic the gene’s effect are now under development, the researchers note, and could help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.