http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In a pioneering effort that generated massive amounts of DNA sequence data from 12 people, a team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has demonstrated the feasibility and value of a new strategy for identifying relatively rare genetic variants that may cause or contribute to disease. The proof-of-concept findings were published online today in the journal Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news169650321.html Medicine & Health Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:06:43 EST news169650321 Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a novel genetic mechanism that may govern an individual's risk of developing prostate cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news169475094.html Medicine & Health Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:50:01 EST news169475094 New research reveals that a simple laboratory assay detects a genetic variation in host response to bacterial infection that is associated with an increased susceptibility for inflammatory disease. The study, published by Cell Press online on August 6th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, also provides fascinating insight into the link between evolution and the ability to ward off pathogens. http://www.physorg.com/news168792564.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:50:01 EST news168792564 Many experimental studies have found that physical exercise can improve cholesterol levels and subsequently decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease; however, few of these studies have included enough participant diversity to provide ethnic breakdowns. Now, a long-term study of over 8,700 middle-aged men and women provides race- and gender- specific data on the cholesterol effects of physical activity, with the interesting result that women, particularly African-American women, experience greater benefits as a result of exercise than men. http://www.physorg.com/news168095222.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:20:01 EST news168095222 (AP) -- Federal health officials say the new swine flu isn't yet mutating to become more dangerous, but they're closely tracking that as the virus continues to circle the globe. http://www.physorg.com/news167564852.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:00:04 EST news167564852 From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others. Recent studies have begun to unravel the cause of this phenomenon, and new research suggests that African Americans with the disease have a unique survival advantage if they have both a low white blood cell count (known as leukopenia) and a genetic variation that is found mainly in persons of African ancestry. This study was prepublished online on July 20, 2009, in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. http://www.physorg.com/news167327532.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:30:01 EST news167327532 usually mere sugar pills designed to represent "no treatment" in a clinical treatment study. The effectiveness of the actual medication is compared with the placebo to determine if the medication works. http://www.physorg.com/news167331550.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:00:03 EST news167331550 A team led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health today reported the discovery of five genetic variants related to blood pressure in African-Americans, findings that may provide new clues to treating and preventing hypertension. The effort marks the first time that a relatively new research approach, called a genome-wide association study, has focused on blood pressure and hypertension in an African-American population. http://www.physorg.com/news167026183.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:10:31 EST news167026183 When people learn they are predisposed to Alzheimer's disease, any depression or anxiety is not long lasting, a new study indicates. http://www.physorg.com/news166899736.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:58:42 EST news166899736 A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses. http://www.physorg.com/news165764078.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:09 EST news165764078 A multi-national group of investigators, including a scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has discovered that nearly a third of the genetic basis of schizophrenia may be attributed to the cumulative actions of thousands of common genetic variants. The effects of each of these genetic changes, innocuous on its own, add up to a significant risk for developing both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news165674543.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:42:44 EST news165674543 A new study at the University of Leicester aims to investigate the DNA of sleep. http://www.physorg.com/news165055510.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:45:39 EST news165055510 Medical scientists at the University of Leicester are investigating how a species of fish from the Pacific Ocean could help provide answers to tackling chronic conditions such as hereditary high blood pressure and kidney disease. http://www.physorg.com/news164888782.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:27:52 EST news164888782 Contrary to a previous report, an analysis of 14 previous studies does not find an association between a serotonin transporter gene variation, stressful life events, and an increased risk of major depression, according to an article in the June 17 issue of JAMA. The authors did find that the number of stressful life events is associated with depression. http://www.physorg.com/news164423585.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:20:03 EST news164423585 In a multi-center trial led by a Saint Louis University researcher, investigators found that a new combination therapy of daily consensus interferon and ribavirin helps some hepatitis C patients who have not responded to previous treatment. The findings, published in the June issue of Hepatology, offer a new option for hepatitis C patients, and may be effective even for those patients with factors that make their condition difficult to treat. http://www.physorg.com/news164360551.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:10:01 EST news164360551 A genetic analysis of data from three studies suggests that genetically elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) are associated with an increased risk of heart attack, according to a study in the June 10 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news163823424.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:31:13 EST news163823424 Two scientists at the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife are part of an international team of investigators that has identified genes that influence the start of menstruation, a milestone of female reproductive health that has lifelong influences on overall health. The breakthrough was published online in Nature Genetics, one of the world's leading scientific journals. http://www.physorg.com/news162885042.html Medicine & Health Sat, 30 May 2009 06:51:15 EST news162885042 Vienna, Austria: For the first time, scientists have been able to identify genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women. Ms Lisette Stolk, a researcher from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today ( Monday 25 May) that a greater understanding of the factors influencing age at menopause might eventually help to improve the clinical treatment of infertile women. http://www.physorg.com/news162472037.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 May 2009 12:07:52 EST news162472037 Individuals with heart disease are twice as likely to suffer from depression as the general population, an association the medical community has largely been unable to explain. Now, a new study by researchers at The Miriam Hospital, in conjunction with The Montréal Heart Institute, University of Montréal and McGill University, reveals there may be genetic variations that contribute to depression in heart disease patients. http://www.physorg.com/news161951023.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 May 2009 11:23:58 EST news161951023 A new tool will help researchers identify the minute changes in DNA patterns that lead to cancer, Huntington's disease and a host of other genetic disorders. The tool was developed at North Carolina State University and translates DNA sequences into graphic images, which allows researchers to distinguish genetic patterns more quickly and efficiently than was historically possible using computers. http://www.physorg.com/news161935232.html Biology Tue, 19 May 2009 07:01:07 EST news161935232 A family-based prevention program designed to help adolescents avoid substance use and other risky behavior proved especially effective for a group of young teens with a genetic risk factor contributing toward such behavior, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), components of the National Institutes of Health, supported the study, which appears in the May/June issue of Child Development. http://www.physorg.com/news161614455.html Medicine & Health Fri, 15 May 2009 13:55:06 EST news161614455 Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Bristol, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and the Exeter Family Study of Childhood Health, have identified a common genetic variant that explains why some women may find it more difficult to quit smoking during pregnancy. http://www.physorg.com/news161604372.html Medicine & Health Fri, 15 May 2009 11:06:47 EST news161604372 (PhysOrg.com) -- Through sophisticated statistical analyses and advanced computer simulations, researchers are learning more about the genomic patterns of human population structure around the world. http://www.physorg.com/news161528365.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 14:00:01 EST news161528365 Using a new technique for cDNA preparation combined with the latest sequencing methods, researchers have uncovered the larval transcriptome of a reef-building coral (Acropora millepora). Their study, described in the open access journal BMC Genomics, features the most extensive database of genes and genetic markers currently available for any coral. http://www.physorg.com/news161315733.html Biology Tue, 12 May 2009 02:56:01 EST news161315733 (AP) -- The detailed new look yet at the genetics of Mexicans is showing significant diversity, a finding that could help point the way to customized drugs and identification of people prone to certain diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news161281404.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 May 2009 17:23:50 EST news161281404 A team of researchers from the United States, the Netherlands and Iceland has identified three genes containing common mutations that are associated with altered kidney disease risk. One of the discovered genes, the UMOD gene, produces Tamm-Horsfall protein, the most common protein in the urine of healthy individuals. Although the Tamm-Horsfall protein has been known for almost 60 years, its functions are not well understood and its relationship to chronic kidney disease risk was not known previously. The findings are published in the May 10 issue of Nature Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news161182324.html Medicine & Health Sun, 10 May 2009 13:54:37 EST news161182324 Of dozens of candidates potentially involved in increasing a person's risk for the most common type of Alzheimer's disease that affects more than 5 million Americans over the age of 65, one gene that keeps grabbing Johns Hopkins researchers' attention makes a protein called neuroglobin. http://www.physorg.com/news160845820.html Medicine & Health Wed, 06 May 2009 16:24:15 EST news160845820 A study on schizophrenia has implicated machinery that maintains the flow of potassium in cells and revealed a potential molecular target for new treatments. Expression of a previously unknown form of a key such potassium channel was found to be 2.5 fold higher than normal in the brain memory hub of people with the chronic mental illness and linked to a hotspot of genetic variation. http://www.physorg.com/news160820661.html Medicine & Health Wed, 06 May 2009 09:24:56 EST news160820661 For some time now it has been known that certain hereditary factors enhance the risk of schizophrenia or a manic-depressive disorder. However, just how this occurs had remained obscure. Researchers at the Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit in Mannheim, Heidelberg University and Bonn University are now able to answer this question, at least for one common genetic variant: this impairs the interoperation of certain regions of the brain. The study is to appear on 1st May in the prestigious scientific journal Science. It will also be suited to provide fresh stimuli for the search for cures. http://www.physorg.com/news160322616.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:04:19 EST news160322616 The genetic predisposition of cows has an effect on the fat and protein content of their milk. Researchers at Wageningen University have spent the past few years examining the scope and significance of genetic variation between cows for the differences in quality characteristics of milk. They have discovered a number of genes that contribute to this genetic variation. http://www.physorg.com/news160215986.html Biology Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:27:30 EST news160215986