Genetics News From Medical News Today

Chromosomal Microarray Superior To Standard Prenatal Tests

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 PST

According to a study which involved more than 4,000 participants, more information about potential disorders can be obtained using chromosomal microarray (CMA) to test a developing fetus' DNA, than the standard method of prenatal tests, which is used to visually analyze the chromosomes (karyotyping)...

Diagnosing Genetic Mutations - Virtual Tool, Pyromaker, Shows Promise

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:00 PST

Cancer diagnosis and selecting the most appropriate treatment can be made easier by identifying genetic mutations through DNA sequencing...

Unveiling The Genetic Rosetta Stone

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

Scientists have developed a new community resource that may act as a Rosetta stone for revealing the genetic basis of traits and disease. A paper in the Feb. 9 issue of Nature describes the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), which provides the highest-resolution view to date, of the genome structure and variation in a population of 192 fruit flies with diverse traits...

How DNA Finds Its Match

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

It's been more than 50 years since James Watson and Francis Crick showed that DNA is a double helix of two strands that complement each other. But how does a short piece of DNA find its match, out of the millions of 'letters' in even a small genome? New work by researchers at the University of California, Davis, handling and observing single molecules of DNA, shows how it's done...

Shedding Light On The Genetics Of Rice Metabolism

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

A large-scale study analyzing metabolic compounds in rice grains conducted by researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC) and their collaborators has identified 131 rice metabolites and clarified the genetic and environmental factors that influence their production...

Similarities Between Genetic Signatures In Developing Organs And Breast Cancer Could Predict And Personalize Cancer Therapies

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Reviving a theory first proposed in the late 1800s that the development of organs in the normal embryo and the development of cancers are related, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have studied organ development in mice to unravel how breast cancers, and perhaps other cancers, develop in people...

How Early Breast Tumors Become Deadly

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Researchers have discovered a restricted pattern of molecules that differentiate early-stage breast tumors from invasive, life-threatening cancer. They also found a similar molecular signature that correlated with the aggressiveness of invasive tumors, and with the time to metastasis and overall survival. Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G...

Study Of Live Human Neurons Reveals The Genetic Origins Of Parkinson's Disease

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Parkinson's disease researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered how mutations in the parkin gene cause the disease, which afflicts at least 500,000 Americans and for which there is no cure. The results are published in the current issue of Nature Communications...

Study Reveals Molecular Path From Internal Clock To Cells Controlling Rest And Activity

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

The molecular pathway that carries time-of-day signals from the body's internal clock to ultimately guide daily behavior is like a black box, says Amita Sehgal, PhD, the John Herr Musser Professor of Neuroscience and Co-Director, Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania...

Identifying Cancer Cells For Immune System Attack With DNA Sequencing

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research, in mice, appears online in Nature. The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack...

Successful Gene Therapy For Inherited Blindness

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able to navigate obstacles in low-light situations. No adverse effects occurred...

Male Gene Linked To Coronary Artery Disease Risk

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00:00 PST

A recent study published by The Lancet suggests that males with a certain variant on their Y-chromosome are at a 50% higher risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD)...

Y Chromosome Link For Coronary Artery Disease: Presdisposition 'Passed On From Father To Son'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:00:00 PST

A common heart disease which kills thousands each year may be passed genetically from father to son, according to a study led by the University of Leicester. A paper published in medical journal The Lancet shows that the Y chromosome, a part of DNA present only in men, plays a role in the inheritance of coronary artery disease (CAD)...

Genetic Sequencing Of Patients To Guide Treatment For Tuberculosis

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

A gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection may also predict the effectiveness of drug treatment for a deadly form of tuberculosis...

Ovarian Cancer Risk Related To Inherited Inflammation Genes

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

In a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues from 11 other institutions in the Unites States and the United Kingdom, genes that are known to be involved in inflammation were found to be related to risk of ovarian cancer. Their study appeared in a recent issue of Cancer Research, published by the American Association for Cancer Research...

Increased Understanding Of Gene's Potentially Protective Role In Parkinson's

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Treatments for Parkinson's disease, estimated to affect 1 million Americans, have yet to prove effective in slowing the progression of the debilitating disease...

CD97 Gene Expression And Function Correlate With WT1 Protein Expression And Glioma Invasiveness

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center's VCU Massey Cancer Center and Harold F...

First European Clinical Practice Guidelines For Wilson's Disease Published By EASL

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

The first European Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease are published by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on the EASL website*...

Gene Therapy Proves Effective In Treating Blindness

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have conducted a recent study, published in Science Translational Medicine which focuses on gene therapy for congenital blindness. The scientists were able to improve sight in 3 adult patients who had previously been treated in one eye...

New Insight Into 2011 E. coli Outbreaks In Europe Provided By Whole-Genome Sequencing

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Germany in summer 2011 and also caused a smaller outbreak in France...

Molecular Link Established Between Genetic Defect And Heart Malformation

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

UNC researchers have discovered how the genetic defect underlying one of the most common congenital heart diseases keeps the critical organ from developing properly. According to the new research, mutations in a gene called SHP-2 distort the shape of cardiac muscle cells so they are unable to form a fully functioning heart...

Anthrax Susceptibility Varies Between Individuals

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Susceptibility to anthrax toxin is a heritable genetic trait that may vary tremendously among individuals, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Among 234 people studied, the cells of three people were virtually insensitive to the toxin, while the cells of some people were hundreds of times more sensitive than those of others...

Why Bad Immunity Genes Survive

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

University of Utah biologists found new evidence why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs - even though some of those genes make us susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases. "Major histocompatibility complex" (MHC) proteins are found on the surface of most cells in vertebrate animals...

Patient Sensitivity To Important Drug Target In Deadly Brain Cancer Predicted

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

A recent discovery by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists enables the prediction of patient sensitivity to proposed drug therapies for glioblastoma - the most common and most aggressive malignant brain tumor in humans...

Genetic Variant Increases Risk Of Common Type Stroke

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment...

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