Genetics News And Research - March 2010 Archives

New insights into the 3-D organization of the human genome (3/30/2010)

Insights into the genomics of the human nucleolus have been revealed in a study by researchers from the University of Regensburg and the Ludwig Maximilians University in Germany and the Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe in Spain. The research, published March 26 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, sheds new light on the functional organization of human genetic material. ...> Full Article

Newly identified proteins critical to FA pathway DNA repair function (3/29/2010)

Identification of two new proteins in the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway may help explain genetic instability in people with Fanconi anemia and how otherwise healthy people are susceptible to cancer from environmentally triggered DNA damage. A study in the March 26 Molecular Cell adds another layer of complexity to the multifaceted Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway. ...> Full Article

Searching for genes behind a trait (3/28/2010)

Study of possible causal genes of plant traits, published in Nature, breaks new ground for two reasons: the authors studied natural variation of 107 different traits -- a far higher number than in previous studies; and advances in genetic analysis enabled the authors to check the genome for mutations at many more points. ...> Full Article

Team provides proof in humans of RNA interference using targeted nanoparticles (3/27/2010)

A Caltech-led team of researchers and clinicians has published the first proof that a targeted nanoparticle -- used as an experimental therapeutic and injected directly into a patient's bloodstream -- can traffic into tumors, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs, and turn off an important cancer gene using a mechanism known as RNA interference. Moreover, the team provided the first demonstration that this new type of therapy can make its way to human tumors in a dose-dependent fashion. ...> Full Article

New statistical method for genetic studies could cut computation time from years to hours (3/26/2010)

In a new study to be published in the April edition of Nature Genetics, Eleazar Eskin, associate professor of computer science at UCLA Engineering, and his research group unveil a new computational strategy for genome-wide association studies that corrects for population structure and is both faster and easier to use. ...> Full Article

GEN reports on therapeutic potential of microRNA (3/25/2010)

Researchers around the globe are working on turning microRNAs, over 5,000 of which already have been identified, into novel drugs for a wide range of applications, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. These noncoding single-stranded RNAs act through binding to complementary mRNA sequences, thus preventing their translation into protein or accelerating mRNA breakdown, according to the March 15 issue of GEN. ...> Full Article

Even oysters pay taxes (3/24/2010)

Study of oyster genes associated with growth suggests that fast-growing animals have better tuned ribosomal factories for making proteins, USC marine biologists say. ...> Full Article

Transcription factors may dictate differences between individuals (3/23/2010)

Researchers are only beginning to understand how individual variation in gene regulation can have a lasting impact on one's health and susceptibility to certain diseases. Now, an ambitious survey of the human genome has identified differences in the binding of master regulators called transcription factors to DNA that affect how genes are expressed in different people. ...> Full Article

DNA nanotechnology breakthrough offers promising applications in medicine (3/22/2010)

A team of McGill Chemistry Department researchers led by Dr. Hanadi Sleiman has achieved a major breakthrough in the development of nanotubes. ...> Full Article

Female sex chromosomes, not just hormones, help regulate blood pressure (3/21/2010)

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have determined that something in female sex chromosomes appears to trigger a rise in blood pressure after the onset of menopause. This finding challenges the current belief that sex hormones are largely responsible for regulating blood pressure. ...> Full Article

A better genetic test for autism (3/20/2010)

A large study from Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston-based Autism Consortium finds that a genetic test that samples the entire genome, known as chromosomal microarray analysis, has about three times the detection rate for genetic changes related to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) than standard tests. ...> Full Article

DOE Joint Genome Institute 5th Annual Meeting on March 24-26, 2010 (3/20/2010)

Researchers from all over the world will be at the Marriott in Walnut Creek for the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute 5th Annual Genomics of Energy and Environment Meeting, which will feature genomics research in the fields of clean energy generation and the environment. ...> Full Article

Effects of lifestyle and exposures are mirrored in blood gene expression (3/19/2010)

A study by Norwegian and French researchers hopes to provide new understanding of how blood cells adjust gene expression in response to various clinical, biochemical and pathological conditions. The Norwegian Woman and Cancer postgenome study, published March 12 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, highlights numerous blood gene sets affected by one's physical condition, lifestyle factors and exposure variables. ...> Full Article

Genetics Society of America's 51st Annual Drosophila Research Conference (3/18/2010)

Representatives of the media are invited to attend the 51st Annual Drosophila Research Conference in Washington, D.C., April 7-11, 2010, sponsored by the Genetics Society of America. More than 1600 basic research scientists who study genetic models in Drosophila (fruit flies) are expected to attend. ...> Full Article

Quantum dots spotlight DNA-repair proteins in motion, says Pitt expert (3/18/2010)

Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Essex and the University of Vermont who tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold. The findings are available today in Molecular Cell. ...> Full Article

Beyond the genome (3/18/2010)

Internationally renowned researchers will deliver cutting-edge presentations including Elaine Mardis, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis and Steven Salzberg, University of Maryland. ...> Full Article

Institute for Systems Biology uses Complete Genomics' genome sequencing service to verify gene responsible for Miller syndrome (3/17/2010)

Complete Genomics Inc., a third-generation human genome sequencing company, today announced that the Institute for Systems Biology employed Complete Genomics' human genome sequencing service to sequence a family quartet to determine the depth of genetic information possible in analyzing a full family's sequence, and to verify the gene responsible for Miller syndrome, a rare craniofacial disorder. Results from this collaboration were published online today in Science Express. ...> Full Article

Sequencing genome of entire family reveals parents give kids fewer gene mutations than was thought (3/16/2010)

Researchers at the University of Utah and other institutions have sequenced for the first time the entire genome of a family, enabling them to accurately estimate the average rate at which parents pass genetic mutations to their offspring and also identify precise locations where parental chromosomes exchange information that creates new combinations of genetic traits in their children. ...> Full Article

Hidden habits and movements of insect pests revealed by DNA barcoding (3/15/2010)

University of Minnesota researcher George Weiblen and colleagues have found a faster way to study the spread and diet of insect pests. Using a technique called DNA barcoding, which involves the identification of species from a short DNA sequence, Weiblen and an international team of researchers studied populations of numerous moth and butterfly species across Papua New Guinea. DNA barcodes showed that migratory patterns and caterpillar diets are very dynamic. ...> Full Article

Genomatix gives a hand in the analysis of Wayne State's sequencing projects (3/15/2010)

The C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development at the Wayne State University School of Medicine installed a Genomatix Mining Station and a Genomatix Genome Analyzer last year at their labs in order to support the analysis of NextGen Sequencing data. Professor Stephen Krawetz , Director of Translational Reproductive Systems is utilizing the Genomatix systems to help analyze the cis and epigenetic elements that control many reproductive events, including cell-fate. ...> Full Article

Infectious virus hidden in chromosomes during latency can be passed from parents to children (3/14/2010)

In some individuals the common herpes virus HHV-6 can integrate into structures at the end of chromosomes and be reactivated to an infectious form. The findings are reported online, March 8, 2010, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Mouse work: New insights on a fundamental DNA repair mechanism (3/13/2010)

A team of researchers from NIST and several universities has demonstrated for the first time the specific activity of the protein NEIL3, one of a group responsible for maintaining the integrity of DNA in humans and other mammals. Their work sheds new light on a potentially important source of harmful DNA mutations. ...> Full Article

2010 Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting (3/12/2010)

The Genetics Society of America is pleased to announce the 2010 Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, July 27-August 1, 2010, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. This biennial meeting brings together investigators studying various aspects of eukaryotic biology in yeast. Program highlights include presentations by three Nobel Laureates and a Canadian astronaut who is also a Member of Parliament. ...> Full Article

A fingerprint for genes (3/11/2010)

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, applied a new strategy to identify and characterize genes involved in endocytosis. From their findings the scientists also hope to derive significant information about how infections could be prevented and diseases treated in future. ...> Full Article

Researchers create atlas of transcription factor combinations (3/10/2010)

In a significant leap forward in the understanding of how specific types of tissue are determined to develop in mammals, an international team of scientists has succeeded in mapping the entire network of DNA-binding transcription factors and their interactions. This global network, indicating which factors can combine to determine cell fate, will be published in the March 5 issue of the journal Cell. ...> Full Article

Genome sequencing complete on plodding amoeba that flips into free-swimming flagellate (3/9/2010)

Scientists with the Joint Genome Institute have sequenced the genome of a weird creature that exists as an amoeba until the food runs out, then turns into a two-tailed swimmer to find new hunting grounds. The organism, Naegleria, is an early eurkaryote -- a cell with a nucleus and internal organs -- and could shed light on the origin of complex cells like those in humans, according to an analysis led by UC Berkeley biologists and bioinformaticists. ...> Full Article

Genetically engineered tobacco plant cleans up environmental toxin (3/8/2010)

Tobacco might become as well known for keeping us healthy as it is for causing illness thanks to researchers from the UK. In a new research report appearing in the March 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal scientists explain how they developed a genetically modified strain of tobacco that helps temper the damaging effects of toxic pond scum, scientifically known as microcystin-LR which makes water unsafe for drinking, swimming or fishing. ...> Full Article

After 5 years, free systems biology markup language has proven popular (3/7/2010)

A scientific paper that describes a file format used by scientists to represent models of biological processes has exceeded 500 citations. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is designed to enable the exchange of quantitative models of biochemical networks between different computer software packages, allowing the models to be shared and published in a form other researchers can use in various software environments. ...> Full Article

Researchers determine how ATP, molecule bearing 'the fuel of life,' is broken down in cells (3/6/2010)

Researchers at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center have figured out how ATP is broken down in cells, providing for the first time a clear picture of the key reaction that allows cells in all living things to function and flourish. Discovered some 80 years ago, adenosine triphosphate is said to be second in biological importance only to DNA. ...> Full Article

Genome-wide study of alcohol dependence points to chromosome 11 (3/5/2010)

Both genetic and environmental factors affect susceptibility to alcohol dependence (AD). To date, researchers have identified several genes associated with AD. Findings from a new genome-wide association study support an association between AD and a cluster of genes on chromosome 11. ...> Full Article

New genetic test for cause of intellectual disability to be launched (3/4/2010)

For the second time in as many months the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has signed a licensing agreement with US-based Athena Diagnostics Inc. to market a new genetic test. The test analyzes a small sample of blood or saliva for the CC2D2A gene mutations that cause about 10 percent of cases involving a type of intellectual disability, similar to and including Joubert's syndrome. ...> Full Article

Study finds genetic link between misery and death (3/3/2010)

UCLA researchers have discovered what they describe as a biochemical link between misery and death, and in addition found a specific genetic variation that seems to break that link. Additionally, they have developed a computer model of gene-environment interactions to more efficiently probe the "genetic haystack." ...> Full Article

DNA sequencing unlocks relationships among flowering plants (3/2/2010)

The origins of flowering plants from peas to oak trees are now in clearer focus thanks to the efforts of University of Florida researchers. ...> Full Article

Gene regulation: Can we stomach it? (3/1/2010)

A breakthrough in decoding gene regulation of Helicobacter pylori has been made by an international research team led by Jorg Vogel of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. Using a newly developed sequencing technique, the researchers discovered 60 small ribonucleic acids -- tiny RNA-particles which can regulate genes -- in the genome of this human pathogen. These findings could facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies against this widespread pathogen. ...> Full Article