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. The genome of the cucumber has been sequenced by an international consortium lead by Chinese and U.S. institutions. The annotated genome is published online Nov. 1 by the journal Nature Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news176391030.html Biology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:40:03 EST news176391030 Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team headed by EPFL professor Stewart Cole has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in doing so has made a public health study essential for combating the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news176387763.html Biology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:10:05 EST news176387763 A rare form of testicular tumour has provided scientists with new insights into how genetic changes (mutations) arise in our children. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish Cancer Society, could explain why certain diseases are more common in the children of older fathers. http://www.physorg.com/news175702626.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:17:49 EST news175702626 An international team of researchers led by geneticist Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has identified a mutation on human chromosome 16 that substantially increases risk for schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news175701803.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:05:48 EST news175701803 Researchers identified a new chromosomal abnormality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that appears to work in concert with another mutation to give rise to cancer. This latest anomaly is particularly common in children with Down syndrome. http://www.physorg.com/news175092371.html Medicine & Health Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:46:46 EST news175092371 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the October issue of Nature Genetics demonstrates that loss of the tumor-suppressor protein p53, coupled with elimination of the DNA-maintenance protein ATR, severely disrupts tissue maintenance in mice. As a result, tissues deteriorate rapidly, which is generally fatal in these animals. In addition, the study provides supportive evidence for the use of inhibitors of ATR in cancer therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news174843234.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:20:01 EST news174843234 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international research team including researchers at UQ's Diamantina Institute and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research has identified a new variant of a gene that helps to regulate iron and haemoglobin levels. http://www.physorg.com/news174650930.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:30:10 EST news174650930 (PhysOrg.com) -- A gene with a significant effect on regulating hemoglobin in the body has been identified as part of a genome-wide association study, which looked at the link between genes and hemoglobin level in 16,000 people. The research was carried out by scientists from Imperial College London and published in Nature Genetics today. It shows a strong association between a gene known as TMPRSS6 and the regulation of hemoglobin. http://www.physorg.com/news174490051.html Medicine & Health Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:28:41 EST news174490051 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new genome-wide association study published today in Nature Genetics begins to uncover the basis of genetic variations in eight blood measurements and the impact those variants can have on common human diseases. Blood measurements, including the number and volume of cells in the blood, are routinely used to diagnose a wide range of disorders, including anaemia, infection and blood cell cancers. http://www.physorg.com/news174489658.html Medicine & Health Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:21:40 EST news174489658 Duke University Medical Center and National Cancer Institute scientists have discovered that a novel genetic alteration - a second copy of an entire gene - is a cause of familial chordoma, an uncommon form of cancer arising in bones and frequently affecting the nervous system. http://www.physorg.com/news173881901.html Medicine & Health Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:20:03 EST news173881901 Scientists have identified a genetic variation in people with type 2 diabetes that affects how the body's muscle cells respond to the hormone insulin, in a new study published today in Nature Genetics. The researchers, from Imperial College London and other international institutions, say the findings highlight a new target for scientists developing treatments for diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news171461893.html Medicine & Health Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:18:59 EST news171461893 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nevermind facial masks and exfoliating scrubs, skin takes care of itself. Stem cells located within the skin actively generate differentiating cells that can ultimately form either the body surface or the hairs that emanate from it. In addition, these stem cells are able to replenish themselves, continually rejuvenating skin and hair. Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have identified two proteins that enable these skin stem cells to undertake this continuous process of self-renewal. http://www.physorg.com/news171221180.html Biology Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:30:03 EST news171221180 In the new print issue of Nature Genetics, scientists in Singapore and Germany report that mutations in the PYCR1 gene cause the rare genetic condition that results in premature skin aging and that is known as "wrinkly skin syndrome." http://www.physorg.com/news170951199.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:20:01 EST news170951199 Drawing on the power of DNA sequencing, National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a new group of genetic mutations involved in the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. This discovery is particularly encouraging because some of the mutations, which were found in nearly one-fifth of melanoma cases, reside in a gene already targeted by a drug approved for certain types of breast cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news170945921.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:59:07 EST news170945921 A new mathematical tool from Dr. Eran Halperin of TAU's Blavatnik School of Computer Science aims to protect genetic privacy while giving genomic data to researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news170937537.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:39:30 EST news170937537 (PhysOrg.com) -- A newly designed computational method has proven its usefulness in counting copies of duplicated genome sequences and in doing initial assessments of their contents, according to a study to be published Aug. 30 in Nature Genetics. The number of copies of particular DNA segments can differ from one person to the next. http://www.physorg.com/news170860501.html Medicine & Health Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:16:37 EST news170860501 A specific genetic region that has been increasingly identified as the strongest genetic link to psoriasis has an even more significant role in the chronic skin disease than has been suspected, University of Utah medical researchers show in a new study. http://www.physorg.com/news170599496.html Medicine & Health Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:46:40 EST news170599496 (PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have substantially improved the odds of successfully reprogramming differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by blocking the activity of the gene that instructs the cells to stop dividing. http://www.physorg.com/news169136061.html Biology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:00:01 EST news169136061 A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and sometimes autism, providing a new mechanism and potentially improving treatment for the disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news169052103.html Medicine & Health Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:56:31 EST news169052103 An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have discovered a connection between mutations in the INPP5E gene and ciliopathies. Their findings, which may lead to new therapies for these diseases, will appear in the online edition of Nature Genetics on August 9. http://www.physorg.com/news169051342.html Medicine & Health Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:42:58 EST news169051342 Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. http://www.physorg.com/news168439858.html Medicine & Health Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:52:13 EST news168439858 Common genetic variations spread across five genes raise a person's risk of developing the most frequent type of brain tumor, an international research team reports online in Nature Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news166020413.html Medicine & Health Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:47:35 EST news166020413 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 triplicating genes or just shuffling or deleting part of the code within them, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent report in the journal Nature Genetics. The report further elucidated the effect of the fork stalling and template switching mechanism involved in some forms of copy number variation. http://www.physorg.com/news164809504.html Medicine & Health Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:26:26 EST news164809504 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have uncovered variation around two genes that are associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men, and its incidence among non-Hispanic Caucasian men has doubled in the last 40 years -- it now affects seven out of 100,000 white men in the United States each year. The discovery, published in the May 31, 2009 online issue of Nature Genetics, is the first step toward understanding which men are at high risk of disease. http://www.physorg.com/news162995399.html Medicine & Health Sun, 31 May 2009 13:30:32 EST news162995399 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 Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, along with collaborators from research institutions across Europe and the United States, have for the first time identified two genes that are involved in determining when girls begin menstruation. The work will be published in Nature Genetics this weekend. http://www.physorg.com/news161786861.html Medicine & Health Sun, 17 May 2009 13:48:15 EST news161786861 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, along with an international team of collaborators, have identified common genetic changes associated with blood pressure and hypertension. The study, reporting online next week in Nature Genetics, breaks new ground in understanding blood pressure regulation and may lead to advances in hypertension therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news161182734.html Medicine & Health Sun, 10 May 2009 14:01:16 EST news161182734 The mystery of genetic disease is only partially solved with the identification of a mutated gene. Often, the pattern of disease - the features or disorders associated with it - vary in type and severity among those who are affected. Scientists, physicians and patients all ask why. http://www.physorg.com/news161182673.html Medicine & Health Sun, 10 May 2009 13:58:21 EST news161182673 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 The latest electronic edition of the journal Nature Genetics reports the discovery of a new gene responsible for congenital sideroblastic anemia, a rare disease, mainly characterized by the presence of ringed sideroblasts in the patients' bone marrow. http://www.physorg.com/news161026863.html Medicine & Health Fri, 08 May 2009 18:41:27 EST news161026863