Genetics news

New research could advance research field critical to personalized medicine

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

It's the ultimate goal in the treatment of cancer: tailoring a person's therapy based on his or her genetic makeup. While a lofty goal, scientists are steadily moving forward, rapidly exploiting new technologies. Researchers ...

Newly Discovered Gene Mutation Linked to Nerve Diseases

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 28, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have identified mutations in the gene for TRPV4 that cause two related degenerative motor nerve disorders, scapuloperoneal spinal muscular ...

Genetic causes identified for disturbances in lipid metabolism

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 28, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (2) | 0

Some of these common human gene variants are already known to be risk factors for diabetes mellitus. The pathomechanisms of diabetes have intrigued physicians and been the subject of much debate for many decades. These new ...

Genetic study clarifies African and African-American ancestry

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 21, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (11) | 0

People who identify as African-American may be as little as 1 percent West African or as much as 99 percent, just one finding of a large-scale, genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released ...

Microcephaly genes associated with human brain size

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 21, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 1

A group of Norwegian and American researchers have shown that common variations in genes associated with microcephaly - a neuro-developmental disorder in which brain size is dramatically reduced - may explain differences ...

Genomes of identical twins reveal epigenetic changes that may play role in lupus

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 21, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Identical twins look the same and are nearly genetically identical, but environmental factors and the resulting cellular changes could cause disease in one sibling and not the other. In a study published online in Genome Re ...

Protein that represses genes may play role in cell growth

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 21, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell study shows the protein not only activates some genes involved in the regulation of cell growth and signaling, but also may play a role in preventing cancers by inhibiting cell proliferation.

The use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana can be traced to a common set of genes

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 18, 2009 | 2 / 5 (4) | 0

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Roughly eight to 12 percent of marijuana users are considered "dependent" and, just like alcohol, the severity of symptoms increases with heavier use. ...

Mutation leads to new and severe form of bacterial disease

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 18, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Everybody gets sick, but how sick you get is in your genes. New research now reveals a mutation on a gene that makes children susceptible to a severe form of mycobacterial disease. The work not only supports ...

New gene linked to congenital heart defects

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 17, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the UC San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues have identified a new gene, ETS-1, that is linked to human congenital heart defects. The landmark study, recently published online in the ...

Gene linked to a rare form of progressive hearing loss in males is identified

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 17, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males has been identified by an international team of researchers funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The gene, PRPS1, ...

Leprosy susceptibility genes reported

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

In the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of leprosy and the largest GWAS on an infectious disease, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and 26 institutes in China identified seven genes that increase ...

Gene identified as cause of some forms of intellectual disability

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 15, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A gene involved in some forms of intellectual disability has been identified by scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), as published this month in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The gene i ...

Genetic link to heart failure

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 15, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A team of researchers, at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, has identified a group of 12 genetic variants in the HSPB7 gene that is associated with heart failure in humans.

Scientists suggest certain genes boost chances for distributing variety of traits, drive evolution

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 14, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Genes that don't themselves directly affect the inherited characteristics of an organism but leave them increasingly open to variation may be a significant driving force of evolution, say two Johns Hopkins scientists.

Master gene Math1 controls framework for perceiving external and internal body parts

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 14, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

Waking and walking to the bathroom in the pitch black of night requires brain activity that is both conscious and unconscious and requires a single master gene known as Math1 or Atoh1, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers ...

Study unveils potential genetic links to lung disease risk

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 14, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A new study involving data from more than 20,000 individuals has uncovered several DNA sequences linked to impaired pulmonary function. The research, an analysis that combined the results of several smaller studies, provides ...

New genes for lung disease discovered

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Dec 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia ...