Genetics News And Research - July 2010 Archives

'Linc-ing' a noncoding RNA to a central cellular pathway (7/30/2010)

The recent discovery of more than a thousand genes known as large intergenic noncoding RNAs (or "lincRNAs") opened up a new approach to understanding the function and organization of the genome. That surprising breakthrough is now made even more compelling with the finding that dozens of these lincRNAs are induced by p53, the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. ...> Full Article

Nanoblasts from laser-activated nanoparticles move molecules, proteins and DNA into cells (7/29/2010)

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells. ...> Full Article

First step toward electronic DNA sequencing: Translocation through graphene nanopores (7/28/2010)

Penn researchers have developed a new, carbon-based nanoscale platform to electrically detect single DNA molecules. Using electric fields, the tiny DNA strands are pushed through nanoscale-sized thin pores in a graphene nanopore platform that ultimately may be important for fast electronic sequencing of the four chemical bases of DNA based on their unique electrical signature. ...> Full Article

RNA offers a safer way to reprogram cells (7/26/2010)

For the first time, MIT researchers have shown that they can deliver those same reprogramming genes using RNA, the genetic material that normally ferries instructions from DNA to the cell's protein-making machinery. This method could prove much safer than DNA-based reprogramming, say the researchers, Associate Professor of Electrical and Biological Engineering Mehmet Fatih Yanik and electrical engineering graduate student Matthew Angel. ...> Full Article

Wood's 'noble rot' fungus genetically decoded (7/24/2010)

An international team including Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has sequenced the genome of the common split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, a widely distributed fungus which grows on and decomposes wood. It is this ability which Schwarze, together with other colleagues, has exploited to improve the tonal qualities of wood used to make violins. ...> Full Article

Team helps prevent rogue use of synthetic biology (7/23/2010)

A team of students is using bioinformatics to implement federal guidance on synthetic genomics. The students' work will help gene synthesis companies and their customers better detect the possible use of manufactured DNA as harmful agents for bioterrorism. ...> Full Article

Scientists develop new genomics-based approach to understand origin of cancer subgroups (7/22/2010)

An international team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has developed a new approach that uses genomic information from different species to understand the biology that drives the formation of these different cancer subtypes. ...> Full Article

Redundant genetic instructions in 'junk DNA' support healthy development (7/21/2010)

New findings from a Princeton-led team of researchers suggest that repeated instructional regions in the flies' DNA may contribute to normal development under less-than-ideal growth conditions by making sure that genes are turned on and off at the appropriate times. If similar regions are found in humans, they may hold important clues to understanding developmental disorders. ...> Full Article

Largest study of genomes and cancer treatments releases first results (7/20/2010)

The largest study to correlate genetics with response to cancer drugs releases its first results today. The researchers behind the study, based at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, describe in this initial dataset the responses of 350 cancer samples to 18 anticancer therapeutics. These first results, made freely available on the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity website will help cancer researchers around the world to seek better understanding of cancer genetics and could help to improve treatment regimens. ...> Full Article

Eurofins MWG Operon and Genomatix developed most complete human exome array (7/19/2010)

Between 17 percent and 23 percent of human coding sequences are not targeted by current exome capturing systems, missing out several medically important genes. The jointly offered Eurofins service is filling this gap with an exome array designed by Genomatix and based on Roche NimbleGen sequence capture technology. ...> Full Article

Scientists demonstrate role of RNA polymerase in gene transcription (7/18/2010)

University of Maryland biophysicists provide new insight into the mechanisms of gene transcription in research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They developed a computer model to simulate how the transcription of RNA from DNA is initiated and demonstrate the active role that RNA polymerase plays. Understanding the mechanisms of gene transcription is an important step in deciphering the role of genetics in disease. ...> Full Article

Enhancer of prostate cancer risk located in gene desert (7/17/2010)

A genetic variant implicated in several cancers by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has been found to drive increased expression of a known oncogene in the prostate. The study, published July 13 in Genome Research, showcases a new protocol for studying the activity of cancer-risk variants suggested by GWAS studies. ...> Full Article

The first malaria-proof mosquito (7/16/2010)

For years, researchers worldwide have attempted to create genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot infect humans with malaria. Those efforts fell short because the mosquitoes still were capable of transmitting the disease-causing pathogen, only in lower numbers. Now for the first time, University of Arizona entomologists have succeeded in genetically altering mosquitoes in a way that renders them completely immune to the parasite. ...> Full Article

Double-teaming a whole-genome hunt (7/16/2010)

By inspecting the sequence of all 3 billion "letters" that make up the genome of a single person affected with a rare, inherited disorder, a Johns Hopkins and Duke University team ferreted out the single genetic mutation that accounts for the disease. ...> Full Article

DNA through graphene nanopores (7/15/2010)

A team of researchers from Delft University of Technology announces a new type of nanopore devices that may significantly impact the way we screen DNA molecules, for example to read off their sequence. In a paper entitled "DNA Translocation through Graphene Nanopores" (published online in Nano Letters), they report a novel technique to fabricate tiny holes in a layer of graphene (a carbon layer with a thickness of only 1 atom). ...> Full Article

Gene therapy breakthrough heralds treatment for beta-thalassemia (7/15/2010)

Italian scientists pioneering a new gene transfer treatment for the blood disorder beta-thalassemia have successfully completed preclinical trials, claiming they can correct the lack of beta-globin in patients' blood cells which causes the disease. The research, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, reveals how gene therapy may represent a safe alternative to current cures that are limited to a minority of patients. ...> Full Article

Study shows new PGS method can predict chromosomal abnormalities (7/14/2010)

The efficacy of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) has been one of the most hotly disputed subjects in assisted reproduction over the past few years. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology PGS Task Force has now shown, in its groundbreaking proof of principle study, that screening of polar bodies (small cells that are the by-product of egg development), is a reliable method to analyze the chromosomal status of an egg. ...> Full Article

Genome signatures enable tracking of algal complexity (7/13/2010)

In the July 9 issue of Science, researchers led by the DOE Joint Genome Institute and the Salk Institute present the 138 million nucleotide genome of the multicellular alga Volvox carteri. The DOE is supporting research into the complex mechanisms present in photosynthetic organisms to better understand how they convert sunlight to energy and how photosynthetic cells control their metabolic processes so that this information can inform the production of renewable biofuels. ...> Full Article

DNA discovery opens new door to develop tools, therapies for hereditary cancers (7/12/2010)

McMaster University researchers have revealed new avenues to develop assessment tools and alternative treatments for people living with hereditary colorectal cancers. ...> Full Article

Gene knockout makes female mice masculine (7/11/2010)

The mammalian fucose mutarotase enzyme is known to be involved in incorporating the sugar fucose into protein. Female mice that lack the fucose mutarotase (FucM) gene refuse to let males mount them, and will attempt copulation with other female mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open-access journal BMC Genetics created the FucM mouse mutants in order to investigate the role of this enzyme in vivo. ...> Full Article

Mount Sinai researchers discover new way diseases develop (7/10/2010)

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown mechanism by which cells direct gene expression, the process by which information from a gene is used to direct the physical and behavioral development of individuals. The research, which may help scientists gain insight into how muscle and heart diseases develop, is published in the July 8 issue of Nature. ...> Full Article

New technology reduces storage needs and costs for genomic data (7/9/2010)

A new computer data compression technique called Genomic SQueeZ, developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, will allow genetic researchers and others to store, analyze and share massive volumes of data in less space and at lower cost. ...> Full Article

Scientists design new delivery device for gene therapy (7/8/2010)

Scientists have designed a nanoparticle that appears to effectively deliver genetic material into cells with minimal toxic effects. In lab experiments, the researchers have found that this device, a vector, is able to deliver DNA deeply enough into a cell to allow genetic material to be activated -- a critical step in gene therapy. This vector is between two and a half and 10 times more effective than other experimental materials, according to the research. ...> Full Article

Genetic regulator opens new avenues to AIDS, immune system research (7/8/2010)

Researchers have discovered a genetic regulator that plays a key role in the formation of "T cells," a type of white blood cell. The discovery suggests that some types of immune function might be influenced by manipulation of this genetic regulator. This could be a target for drug development, and could open the door to new immune system-based therapies for everything from diseases of T cells, such as HIV/AIDS, to autoimmune disorders and allergies. ...> Full Article

Scientists find direct line from development to growth (7/7/2010)

It may seem intuitive that growth and development somehow go together so that plants and animals end up with the right number of cells in all the right places. But it is only now that scientists at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have gotten some of the first insights into how this critical coordination actually works in a plant. ...> Full Article

Histone H1 regulates gene activity throughout the cell cycle (7/6/2010)

A protein that helps pack DNA into the cell nucleus has an important role in regulating gene activity, scientists report. The researchers found that the protein, histone H1, also takes part in the formation of ribosomes, the cellular workbenches on which all proteins are made. ...> Full Article

Gene regulating human brain development identified (7/5/2010)

With more than 100 billion neurons and billions of other specialized cells, the human brain is a marvel of nature. It is the organ that makes people unique. ...> Full Article

Scientists uncover novel role for DNA repair protein linked to cancer (7/4/2010)

Tufts Assistant Professor of Biology Mitch McVey and his research team report that DNA polymerase theta, or PolQ, promotes an inaccurate repair process, which can ultimately cause mutations, cell death or cancer. ...> Full Article

'Copy-and-paste DNA' more common than previously thought (7/3/2010)

Researchers at the University of Leicester have demonstrated that movable sequences of DNA, which give rise to genetic variability and sometimes cause specific diseases, are far more common than previously thought. ...> Full Article

Messenger RNAs are regulated in far more ways than previously appreciated (7/2/2010)

One way of regulating protein levels in cells is to shorten the lifespan of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), intermediary molecules that get translated into proteins. CSHL researchers have now discovered that mRNAs can be targeted for destruction by several modes and molecules, highlighting a previously unanticipated complexity in the control and regulation of the cell's genetic messages. Their findings are detailed in a paper that appears in Molecular Cell on June 25. ...> Full Article

Study uses genetic approach to manipulate microbes in gut (7/1/2010)

We are what we eat, but who are "we?" New, high-powered genomic analytical techniques have established that as many as 1,000 different single-celled species coexist in relative harmony in every healthy human gut. ...> Full Article