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. Researchers have discovered a new explanation for differences in the severity of mental illness in males. The more excess copies of a certain gene, the more serious the handicap. The genetic defect is situated on the X-chromosome; and it is suspected that it is the amount of copies of the GDI1 gene that is responsible. The results are being published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, and are the result of work by the group of Guy Froyen connected to VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium at the University of Leuven, in close collaboration with Hilde Van Esch of the Center for Human Genetics (University Hospital Leuven) and colleagues in Germany and Spain. http://www.physorg.com/news179673953.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:31:58 EST news179673953 (PhysOrg.com) -- It is widely believed that women live long post-reproductive lives to help care for their grandchildren. According to the "Grandmother Hypothesis," post-menopausal women can increase their genetic contribution to future generations by increasing the survivorship of their grandchildren. http://www.physorg.com/news176054402.html Biology Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:01:00 EST news176054402 Cornell researchers have discovered a genetic mechanism in fruit flies that prevents two closely related species from reproducing, a finding that offers clues to how species evolve. http://www.physorg.com/news175808117.html Biology Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:20:02 EST news175808117 The heritable Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome is a common neurodegenerative disease. It is assumed to result from a relative lack of the protein Pur-alpha. A new study by a German team under the leadership of Dr. Dierk Niessing of the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the Gene Center at Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich provides important insights into the structure and function of this protein, which may lead to the development of a therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news175516941.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:43:14 EST news175516941 University of Maryland biologists have genetically mapped the sex chromosomes of several species of cichlid (pronounced "sick-lid") fish from Lake Malawi, East Africa, and identified a mechanism by which new sex chromosomes may evolve. http://www.physorg.com/news173626987.html Biology Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:30:14 EST news173626987 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the week that the University of Leicester celebrates the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting (Thursday September 10) new findings from the world-renowned University of Leicester Department of Genetics reveal for the first time that the male and female do truly communicate -- at least at the fundamental genetic level. http://www.physorg.com/news171707200.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:00:01 EST news171707200 As we approache the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting (September 10), University of Leicester geneticists interested in a particular type of DNA are receiving some help from an unusual band of assistants. http://www.physorg.com/news171518204.html Biology Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:57:24 EST news171518204 A specific gene is particularly frequently involved in the development of short stature. Researchers in Heidelberg have now discovered that sequences of genetic material on the X and Y chromosome that regulate this gene are also crucial for growth in children. These gene regulators determine how frequently a gene is copied, thus how effective it is. In many cases, the mutation of one regulatory sequence of the SHOX gene is sufficient to give rise to the full-blown syndrome. http://www.physorg.com/news170420580.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:06 EST news170420580 Early in development, mammalian female cells counteract their double dose of X chromosomes by coating one of them with a large RNA named XIST. The RNA binds to the same X chromosome from which it is transcribed and initiates a series of events leading to the chromosome's permanent silencing. In the August 24, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Hall et al. exploit the fact that XIST temporarily dissociates from the X chromosome during mitosis and find that Aurora B kinase helps regulate the RNA's chromatin binding. http://www.physorg.com/news170332628.html Biology Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:10:01 EST news170332628 The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news167488280.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:31:52 EST news167488280 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Glasgow have made a significant discovery in the study of a rare form of diabetes which predominantly affects men. http://www.physorg.com/news167325016.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:10:01 EST news167325016 Scientists have long suspected that the sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear entirely within a few million years, but until now, no one has understood the evolutionary processes that control this chromosome's demise. http://www.physorg.com/news167026463.html Biology Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:15:21 EST news167026463 Because females carry two copies of the X chromosome to males' one X and one Y, they harbor a potentially toxic double dose of the over 1000 genes that reside on the X chromosome. http://www.physorg.com/news165675004.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:40:02 EST news165675004 Dutch researchers have found the first evidence that a process of inactivating the X chromosome during embryo development and implantation, which was known to occur in mice but unknown in humans, does, in fact, take place in human female embryos prior to implantation in the womb. http://www.physorg.com/news165489911.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:30:02 EST news165489911 Whether baby lizards will turn out to be male or female is a more complicated question than scientists would have ever guessed, according to a new report published online on June 4th in Current Biology. The study shows that for at least one lizard species, egg size matters. http://www.physorg.com/news163342512.html Biology Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:56:04 EST news163342512 Researchers report today in the journal Science that they have sequenced the bovine genome, for the first time revealing the genetic features that distinguish cattle from humans and other mammals. http://www.physorg.com/news159715395.html Biology Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:23:57 EST news159715395 (PhysOrg.com) -- A collaboration between more than 70 researchers across the globe has uncovered nine new genes on the X chromosome that, when knocked-out, lead to learning disabilities. The international team studied almost all X chromosome genes in 208 families with learning disabilities - the largest screen of this type ever reported. http://www.physorg.com/news159371223.html Medicine & Health Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:47:53 EST news159371223 (PhysOrg.com) -- Move over, Y chromosome - it's time X got some attention. In the first evolutionary study of the chromosome associated with being female, University of California, Berkeley, biologist Doris Bachtrog and her colleagues show that the history of the X chromosome is every bit as interesting as the much-studied, male-determining Y chromosome, and offers important clues to the origins and benefits of sexual reproduction. http://www.physorg.com/news159105336.html Biology Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:56:19 EST news159105336 University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception. http://www.physorg.com/news158502651.html Biology Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:31:21 EST news158502651 In an international human genetic study, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a gene linked to the autoimmune disease lupus, and its location on the X chromosome might help explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease than males. http://www.physorg.com/news157612593.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:17:01 EST news157612593 Researchers have identified a new cancer gene - one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes. The new example - a gene on the X chromosome called UTX - is found in 10% of cases of multiple myeloma and 8% of esophageal cancers. http://www.physorg.com/news157559436.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:31:14 EST news157559436 A paper published online today in Nature Neuroscience reveals the presence of methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in glia. MeCP2 is a protein associated with a variety of neurological disorders, including Rett Syndrome, the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders. The researchers show that MeCP2-deficient astrocytes (a subset of glia) stunt the growth of neighboring neurons. Remarkably, these neurons can recover when exposed to normal glia in culture. http://www.physorg.com/news154610775.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:48:25 EST news154610775 Inbreeding can unexpectedly extend male lifespan. Insect experiments described in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have shown that, in seed beetles, inbreeding causes males to live longer, while shortening female lifespan. http://www.physorg.com/news153147399.html Biology Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:57:37 EST news153147399 Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered the first gender-linked susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. http://www.physorg.com/news150905504.html Medicine & Health Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:11:44 EST news150905504