Genetics News And Research - January 2008 Archives

Scientists explore factors contributing to DNA mutations (1/31/2008)

A team of Penn State researchers is the first to conduct a genome-wide study to compare the relative importance of factors that contribute to DNA mutations, which are implicated in cancer and more than 40 neurological disorders. Led by assistant professor of biology Kateryna Makova, the group investigated the simultaneous effects of numerous factors that are thought to increase the susceptibility to mutations of microsatellites -- variable-length sequences of recurring DNA subunits. Microsatellites are common throughout the genomes of plants and animals. The work is described in the January issue of the journal Genome Research. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover new muscular dystrophy gene (1/31/2008)

Discovery may lead to better diagnosis and treatment ...> Full Article

Gene Discovery Made Easier with Powerful New Networking Technique (1/30/2008)

The identification of disease-causing genes will be much easier and faster using a powerful new gene-networking model developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. ...> Full Article

A group of researchers discover a new code in the genome (1/29/2008)

The finding have been possible thanks to the calculation capacity of the MareNostrum supercomputer ...> Full Article

Genome-wide Study Shed Lights On Factors That Contribute To DNA Mutations (1/29/2008)

A team of Penn State University researchers is the first to conduct a genome-wide study to compare the relative importance of factors that contribute to DNA mutations, which are implicated in cancer and over 40 neurological disorders. Led by assistant professor of biology Kateryna Makova, the group investigated the simultaneous effects of numerous factors that are thought to increase the susceptibility to mutations of microsatellites -- variable-length sequences of recurring DNA subunits. Microsatellites are common throughout the genomes of plants and animals. ...> Full Article

Genetic Difference Predicts Antidepressant Response (1/28/2008)

Researchers have identified subtle genetic variations that predict the efficacy of two widely used antidepressant drugs ...> Full Article

Novel genes 'notch' glucose into place (1/27/2008)

A novel gene called rumi regulates Notch signaling by adding a glucose molecule to the part of the Notch protein that extends outside a cell ...> Full Article

Search For The 'On' Switches May Reveal Genetic Role In Development And Disease (1/26/2008)

A new resource that identifies regions of the human genome that regulate gene expression may help scientists learn about and develop treatments for a number of human diseases, according to researchers at Duke's Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP). ...> Full Article

'Telepathic' genes recognise similarities in each other (1/25/2008)

Genes have the ability to recognise similarities in each other from a distance, without any proteins or other biological molecules aiding the process, according to new research published this week in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. This discovery could explain how similar genes find each other and group together in order to perform key processes involved in the evolution of species. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover New Gene Linked to Fragile X Syndrome (1/24/2008)

Discovery Suggests Potential Targets for Autism and Other Neurological Disorders ...> Full Article

Benefits outweigh risks from genetically modified plants (1/24/2008)

New study urges public not to ban commercial production of genetically modified plants and animal as the risks are alarmist and exaggerated ...> Full Article

Knome Commences Whole-Genome Sequencing Process for First Clients (1/23/2008)

First individuals in history to have genome sequenced by a personal genomics firm ...> Full Article

In diatom, scientists find genes that may level engineering hurdle (1/23/2008)

Denizens of oceans, lakes and even wet soil, diatoms are unicellular algae that encase themselves in intricately patterned, glass-like shells. Curiously, these tiny phytoplankton could be harboring the next big breakthrough in computer chips. ...> Full Article

International consortium announces the 1000 Genomes Project (1/23/2008)

An international research consortium today announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort to sequence the genomes of at least 1000 people to create the most detailed and medically useful catalogue to date of human genetic variation. ...> Full Article

Major European Project to Create New Knowledge Base of Gene-Disease Relationships (1/23/2008)

12M Euro project will provide improved access to information connecting genes with diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer ...> Full Article

'Tree Of Life' Has Lost A Branch, According To Largest Genetic Comparison Of Higher Life Forms Ever (1/22/2008)

Norwegian and Swiss biologists have made a startling discovery about the relationship between organisms that most people have never heard of. The Tree of Life must be re-drawn, textbooks need to be changed, and the discovery may also have significant impact on the development of medicines. ...> Full Article

Researcher In RNA Biology Makes Waves By Challenging Current Thinking (1/21/2008)

In the January 18th issue of Molecular Cell, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher Kristian E. Baker, Ph.D. challenges molecular biology's established body of evidence and widely-accepted model for nonsense-mediated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) decay. With her collaborator, Ambro van Hoof, Ph.D. of The University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Baker directly tested the "faux 3' UTR" model and proved it could not explain how cells recognize and destroy deviant mRNA. This landmark discovery will redirect mRNA research and expand opportunities for new discoveries in understanding the cells' ability to protect itself from these potential errors. ...> Full Article

Team finds an economical way to boost the vitamin A content of maize (1/21/2008)

A team of plant geneticists and crop scientists has pioneered an economical approach to the selective breeding of maize that can boost levels of provitamin A, the precursors that are converted to vitamin A upon consumption. This innovation could help to enhance the nutritional status of millions of people in the developing world. ...> Full Article

University of Leicester Plays Key Role in Creating Genetic Map of the UK (1/20/2008)

Appeal for people in Leicestershire to get involved ...> Full Article

Tiny Genetic Differences Have Huge Consequences (1/20/2008)

A study led by McGill University researchers has demonstrated that small differences between individuals at the DNA level can lead to dramatic differences in the way genes produce proteins. These, in turn, are responsible for the vast array of differences in physical characteristics between individuals. ...> Full Article

Soybean Genome Assembly Available To Scientists (1/19/2008)

A preliminary assembly and annotation of the soybean genome, Glycine max, has been made available by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), to the greater scientific community to enable bioenergy research. ...> Full Article

Probing Question: What is metagenomics? (1/18/2008)

It may sound like a diet plan or a new-age religion, but to microbiologists, metagenomics is something far more important: a new way of looking at the world. ...> Full Article

Genetically modified carrots provide more calcium (1/17/2008)

Genetically modifying carrots to express increased levels of a gene that enables the transport of calcium across membranes of plant cells can make the vegetables a better source of calcium, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M University. Their report appears today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Molecular Evolution: Mice Given Bat-like Forelimbs Through Gene Switch (1/16/2008)

A research team led by Dr. Richard Behringer at MD Anderson Cancer Center reports that they have successfully switched the mouse Prx1 gene regulatory element with the Prx1 gene regulatory region from a bat -- and although these two species are separated by millions of years of evolution -- the resulting transgenic mice displayed abnormally long forelimbs. ...> Full Article

A new piece in the autism puzzle (1/13/2008)

Genome scan finds missing DNA may play role in cognitive disorder ...> Full Article

Researchers Seek to Make Cavity-Causing Bacteria Self-Destruct (1/12/2008)

Larger Goal to Eliminate Key Enzyme's Contribution to all Strep and Staph Disease ...> Full Article

Autism Risk Higher in People with Gene Variant (1/12/2008)

Difference in Gene Appears to Pose More Risk When Inherited from Mothers ...> Full Article

Researchers report new twist in microRNA biology (1/11/2008)

Computational biology group identifies new mechanism of gene regulation ...> Full Article

Concerns Over DNA of Innocents On National Database (1/10/2008)

Government launches inquiry into way database is used ...> Full Article

Recurrent genetic deletion linked to autism (1/9/2008)

Loss of a small portion of chromosome 16, known as 16p11.2, is significantly associated with autism report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in an article, published Dec. 21, 2007, online by the journal Human Molecular Genetics. ...> Full Article

Mechanics of gene transcription (1/9/2008)

The molecular machinery behind gene transcription -- the intricate transfer of information from a segment of DNA to a corresponding strand of messenger RNA -- isn't stationed in special "transcription factories" within a cell nucleus, according to Cornell researchers. Instead, the enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and other key molecules can assemble at the site of an activated gene, regardless of the gene's position. ...> Full Article

Eureka Genomics Licenses Genome Analysis Tools From University of Houston (1/7/2008)

Pathogen detection, personalized medicine to benefit from new partnership ...> Full Article