Genetics news

Perfect pitch study offers window into influences of nature and nurture

Medicine & Health / Genetics

2 hours ago | not rated yet | 1

Practice, practice, practice might get you to Carnegie Hall, but for aspiring musicians, there's new evidence that genes may influence one's ability to get there, as well.

Bioethicists call for federal regulation of genetic ancestry testing

Medicine & Health / Genetics

4 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- As the popularity of take-home DNA kits to trace ancestry or calculate the risk for serious medical conditions grows, there is an increasingly critical need for federal oversight of "direct-to consumer" genetic ...

Scientists reveal connection between cancer and human evolution

Medicine & Health / Genetics

7 hours ago | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer.

Pushmi-pullyu of B-cell development discovered

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 25, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

James Hagman, Ph.D., professor of immunology at National Jewish Health and his colleagues have identified two "molecular motors" that work in opposing directions to control the development of B cells in the immune system.

New gene for autism gives hope for future

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 25, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered that abnormalities in a gene important for learning and memory are a cause of autism.

More gene mutations linked to autism risk

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 25, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- More pieces in the complex autism inheritance puzzle are emerging in the latest study from a research team including geneticists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University ...

Baboons, Humans Adapted Similarly to Malaria (w/ Video)

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 24, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Evolutionarily speaking, baboons may be our more distant cousins among primates. But when it comes to our experiences with malaria over the course of time, it seems the stories of our two ...

Study Investigates DNA of Sleep

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 24, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A new study at the University of Leicester aims to investigate the DNA of sleep.

A new take on growth factor signaling in tamoxifen resistance

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 24, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Differences in growth factor (GF) signaling may cause the poor prognosis in some breast cancer cases. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics, suggests that some estrogen receptor-positive breast ...

ADHD genes found, known to play roles in neurodevelopment

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 2

Pediatric researchers have identified hundreds of gene variations that occur more frequently in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in children without ADHD. Many of those genes were already ...

DNA template could explain evolutionary shifts

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 21, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (4) | 0

Rearrangements of all sizes in genomes, genes and exons can result from a glitch in DNA copying that occurs when the process stalls at a critical point and then shifts to a different genetic template, duplicating and even ...

Researchers visualize formation of a new synapse

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 18, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

A protein called neuroligin that is implicated in some forms of autism is critical to the construction of a working synapse, locking neurons together like "molecular Velcro," a study lead by a team of UC Davis researchers ...

Much touted 'depression risk gene' may not add to risk after all

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 17, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Stressful life events are strongly associated with a person's risk for major depression, but a certain gene variation long thought to increase risk in conjunction with stressful life events actually may have no effect, according ...

Study discovers link in childhood brain disease research

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

University of Manchester scientists at the National Institute for Health Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) have discovered a new link between a rare childhood disorder and a common immune system disease.

Mean new microRNA data analysis method gives sharper results

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Our understanding of the importance of microRNAs in regulating gene expression is expanding, and with it our requirement for robust methods to measure their expression levels. Now a new method published in BioMed Central's ...

Researchers find genetic markers to help fight diabetes

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 16, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) scientists have identified five genetic biomarkers that could help lead to improved treatments, with fewer side-effects, for patients with diabetes.

New era of gene-based 'personalized medicine' dawning

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 14, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

Six years ago, scientists announced the completion of the Human Genome Project, a historic effort to decipher each of the 3 billion letters in the genetic instruction book for our species. A single anonymous male from Buffalo, ...

Father's Day Gift? Special Packaging for Genes in Sperm

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jun 14, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- It was long believed that conception does not involve a meeting of equals. The egg is a relatively large, impressive biological factory compared with the tiny sperm, which delivers to the egg one copy of ...