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Brain Disease "Resistance Gene" Could Offer Insights Into CJD
A community in Papua New Guinea that suffered a major epidemic of a CJD-like fatal brain disease called kuru has developed strong genetic resistance to the disease, according to new research by Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists. Kuru is a fatal prion disease, similar to CJD in humans and BSE in animals, and is geographically unique to an area in Papua New Guinea. ...more
21 Nov 2009
Linkage Biosciences Unveils LinkSeqTM -- A Revolutionary New Tool For Immunogenetic Testing
Linkage Biosciences, Inc., a privately held molecular diagnostics company, recently unveiled LinkSeq™ -- a new one-step method for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) testing -- at the annual meeting of the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) in San Francisco. Much faster than other HLA testing methods currently available, LinkSeq™ is a proprietary sequence-specific priming (SSP) chemistry that can be analyzed utilizing real-time PCR platforms. ...more
20 Nov 2009
Exome-Sequencing Might Help Identify Genetic Cause Of Thousands Of Disorders
For the first time, scientists have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a mendelian disorder. Mendelian disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease, are the result of one or more mutations in a single gene, typically a gene that makes a protein. All of the regions that code for proteins taken together are called the exome. ...more
20 Nov 2009
WaferGen To Introduce New Service For Gene-Expression Profiling Using The SmartChip(TM) Real-Time PCR System
WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WGBS), a leading developer of state-of-the-art genetic analysis systems, announced a new, innovative service for gene-expression profiling of thousands of genes using the SmartChip(TM) Real-Time PCR System. By taking advantage of the SmartChip Real-Time PCR system, WaferGen will offer universities, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies a service that utilizes pathway-specific gene panels to discover and validate new biomarkers. ...more
20 Nov 2009
Study Examines Challenges Of Diagnosing Neurofibromatosis Type 1-like Syndrome
An analysis of patients with a syndrome similar to the genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1, indicates that diagnosis may be difficult because of shared clinical findings, such as certain pigmentary characteristics, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. ...more
20 Nov 2009
GEN Reports On Enhancing The Applications Of QPCR
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology is experiencing a surge of interest and rapid expansion as a result of advances such as instrumentation that pushes capacity to 1,536 wells and optimization-free multiplexing, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The technique's ability to both detect and simultaneously quantify specific DNA sequences is increasing its use in basic research and diagnostics, according to the November 15 issue of GEN. ...more
20 Nov 2009
New Toxicity Testing Approach Could Make Chemo Drugs Safer
For cancer patients on chemotherapy, the "cure" can be as deadly as the disease itself. Adverse drug reactions are one of the leading causes of death among patients receiving cancer treatment. Jackson Laboratory Professor Gary Churchill wants to change that. With a new two-year, $1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, Churchill is launching a radical new approach to testing three chemotherapeutic drugs for potential toxic effects. ...more
20 Nov 2009
The Protein Srebp2 Drives Cholesterol Formation In Prion-Infected Neuronal Cells Which May Promote Prion-Dependent Diseases
Prions are causing fatal and infectious diseases of the nervous system, such as the mad cow disease (BSE), scrapie in sheep or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München have now succeeded in elucidating another disease mechanism of prion diseases: The prion-infected cell changes its gene expression and produces increased quantities of cholesterol. Prions need this for their propagation. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Women At Risk From Vitamin A Deficiency
Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found. The team, led by Dr Georg Lietz, has shown that almost 50 per cent of women have a genetic variation which reduces their ability to produce sufficient amounts of vitamin A from beta-carotene. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Cognitive Dysfunction Reversed In Mouse Model Of Down's Syndrome
A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Nutrigenomics Researchers Replicate Gene Interaction With Saturated Fat
Tufts University researchers have identified a gene-diet interaction that appears to influence body weight and have replicated their findings in three independent studies. Men and women carrying the CC genotype demonstrated higher body mass index (BMI) scores and a higher incidence of obesity, but only if they consumed a diet high in saturated fat. These associations were seen in the apolipoprotein A-II gene (APOA2) promoter. ...more
19 Nov 2009
NC State Researchers Advance Understanding Of Stem Cells
Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. ...more
19 Nov 2009
New Neuroimaging Analysis Technique Identifies Impact Of Alzheimer's Disease Gene In Healthy Brains
Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even those who are healthy, but carry some risk for AD. The results of this study are published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Projects Designed To Advance Understanding Of Molecular Networks
NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held life sciences company marketing a molecular barcoding detection system, has announced that it is collaborating with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to investigate molecular networks involved in immune response and other important biological processes. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Acetaminophen-Related Liver Damage May Be Prevented By Common Herbal Medicine
A well-known Eastern medicine supplement may help avoid the most common cause of liver transplantation, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding came as a surprise to the scientists, who used a number of advanced genetic and genomic techniques in mice to identify a molecular pathway that counters acetaminophen toxicity, which leads to liver failure. ...more
18 Nov 2009
Smoking May Now Be Considered An Established Risk Factor For ALS, Also Known As Lou Gehrig's Disease
While previous studies have indicated a "probable" connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that smoking may now be considered an "established" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings come from Baystate Medical Center neurologist Dr. ...more
18 Nov 2009
New Combination Therapy Could Deliver Powerful Punch To Breast Cancer
A powerful new breast cancer treatment could result from packaging one of the newer drugs that inhibits cancer's hallmark wild growth with another that blocks a primordial survival technique in which the cancer cell eats part of itself, researchers say. ...more
18 Nov 2009
Nanoparticles Used In Common Household Items Caused Genetic Damage In Mice
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The TiO2 nanoparticles induced single- and double-strand DNA breaks and also caused chromosomal damage as well as inflammation, all of which increase the risk for cancer. ...more
18 Nov 2009
Petascale Computing Tools Could Provide Deeper Insight Into Genomic Evolution
Technological advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing have opened up the possibility of determining how living things are related by analyzing the ways in which their genes have been rearranged on chromosomes. However, inferring such evolutionary relationships from rearrangement events is computationally intensive on even the most advanced computing systems available today. ...more
18 Nov 2009
$3 Million In Federal Stimulus Grants To Improve Human Health
Arizona State University has been awarded nearly $3 million in federal stimulus funds from the National Institutes of Health. ASU professors Stuart Lindsay and Paul Westerhoff will lead a pair of two-year, innovative projects designed to tackle challenges in the fields of rapid DNA sequencing and the potential health risks of nanotechnology. ...more
18 Nov 2009

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