Chromosome 8 (human)
hideChromosome 8 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 8 spans about 145 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) and represents between 4.5 and 5.0% of the total DNA in cells.
The chromosome has two arms, 8p and 8q. The short arm, 8p, has about 45 million base pairs, about 1.5% of the genome, and includes 484 genes and 110 pseudogenes; about 8% of its genes are involved in brain development and function, and about 16% are involved in cancer. A unique feature of 8p is a big region of about 15 megabases that appears to have a high mutation rate, and which shows an immense divergence between human and chimpanzee, suggesting that its high mutation rates have contributed to the evolution of the human brain.
Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome, the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 8 is likely to contain between 700 and 1,000 genes.
For more information about Chromosome 8 (human), read the full article at
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News tagged with chromosome 8
Two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease found
Sep 06, 2009 |
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An international team of scientists has identified two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. The findings are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics.
Cleft lip and palate: Genes more important than thought?
Mar 08, 2009 |
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Comparing 500,000 snippets of human DNA put scientists from the University of Bonn on the right track. A genetic variant on chromosome 8 occurs with significantly higher frequency in people with cleft lip and palate than ...
Team finds breast cancer gene linked to disease spread
Jan 05, 2009 |
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A team of researchers at Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has identified a long-sought gene that is fatefully switched on in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients, spreading the disease, ...
Scientists discover novel mechanism that increases colorectal cancer risk
Jun 29, 2009 |
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Finnish Academy Professors Lauri Aaltonen and Jussi Taipale have identified and described a mechanism whereby a single-base change in the human genome increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
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Genetic studies reveal new causes of severe obesity in childhood
14 hours ago |
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Scientists in Cambridge have discovered that the loss of a key segment of DNA can lead to severe childhood obesity. This is the first study to show that this kind of genetic alteration can cause obesity. The results are published ...
New gene findings will help guide treatment in infant leukemia
Dec 05, 2009 |
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Pediatric oncologists have identified specific genes, dubbed partner genes, that fuse with another gene to drive an often-fatal form of leukemia in infants. By more accurately defining specific partner genes, researchers ...
Random DNA mix-ups not so random in cancer development
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have pinpointed a mechanism that may help explain how chromosomal translocations - the supposedly random shuffling of large chunks of DNA that frequently lead to cancer - ...
Newly explored bacteria reveal some huge RNA surprises
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers have found very large RNA structures within previously unstudied bacteria that appear crucial to basic biological functions such as helping viruses infect cells ...
Down Syndrome becoming more prevalent in the U.S.
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study, aimed at estimating the prevalence of Down Syndrome in newborns, children and teenagers in 10 areas of the U.S., has found an increase in prevalence of more than 30 percent over ...
Why females live longer than males: is it due to the father's sperm?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide ...
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
Nov 22, 2009 |
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A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Ge ...
Scientists identify DNA that regulates antibody production
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When foreign invaders trip the immune system’s alarm, antibodies need to be specially sculpted to attack them head on. New research now shows that gene segments called enhancers control the reshuffling of ...
PLoS Genetics 2009 maize genome collection
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Maize is an important crop in many countries of the world. It is widely used for human consumption, animal feed, and industrial materials. It also is considered an exemplar plant species for studying domestication, molecular ...
Beyond genomics, biologists and engineers decode the next frontier
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Princeton biologists and engineers has dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and ...
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