Genetics News And Research - September 2011 Archives

Are genes our destiny? (9/30/2011)

A 'hidden' code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. ...> Full Article

Twin study reveals epigenetic alterations of psychiatric disorders (9/30/2011)

In the first study to systematically investigate genome-wide epigenetic differences in a large number of psychosis discordant twin-pairs, research at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London provides further evidence that epigenetic processes play an important role in neuropsychiatric disease. Published in Human Molecular Genetics, the findings may offer potential new avenues for treatment. ...> Full Article

Researchers sequence dark matter of life (9/29/2011)

Researchers have developed a new method to sequence and analyze the dark matter of life -- the genomes of thousands of bacteria species previously beyond scientists' reach, from microorganisms that produce antibiotics and biofuels to microbes living in the human body. Scientists from UC San Diego, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina Inc., published their findings in the Sept. 18 online issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology. ...> Full Article

Novel technique reveals both gene number and protein expression simultaneously (9/28/2011)

Researchers have discovered a method to simultaneously measure gene number and protein expression in individual cells. The fluorescence microscopy technique could permit a detailed analysis of the relationship between gene status and expression of the corresponding protein in cells and tissues, and bring a clearer understanding of cancer and other complex diseases. ...> Full Article

Children with autism and gastrointestinal symptoms have altered digestive genes (9/28/2011)

Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and at the Harvard Medical School report that children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances have altered expression of genes involved in digestion. These variations may contribute to changes in the types of bacteria in their intestines ...> Full Article

Effort to identify genes supporting life in extreme conditions (9/27/2011)

The Atlantic killifish has a rich history as a useful model for research on how organisms respond to changes in the environment. A collaborative team is studying how these fish tolerate polluted or warm ocean water, which can inform us on man's impact on the earth and global warming. ...> Full Article

Of mice and men (9/27/2011)

Scientists have sequenced the genomes (genetic codes) of 17 strains of common lab mice -- an achievement that lays the groundwork for the identification of genes responsible for important traits, including diseases that afflict both mice and humans. ...> Full Article

Exome sequencing: Defining hereditary deafness (9/26/2011)

New research published in Genome Biology regarding hereditary deafness has identified six critical genetic mutations in Israeli Jewish and Palestinian Arab families. This genomic analysis will allow the prediction of how a child's hearing loss will progress. ...> Full Article

Large international study discovers common genetic contributions to mental illness (9/26/2011)

This study of more than 50,000 adults ages 18 and older provides new molecular evidence that 11 DNA regions in the human genome have strong association with these diseases, including six regions not previously observed. ...> Full Article

Bionic bacteria may help fight disease and global warming (9/26/2011)

A strain of genetically enhanced bacteria developed by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may pave the way for new synthetic drugs and new ways of manufacturing medicines and biofuels, according to a paper published September 18 in Nature Chemical Biology. ...> Full Article

All-access genome: New study explores packaging of DNA (9/25/2011)

Biophysicists Marcia Levitus and Kaushik Gurunathan at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University along with their colleagues Hannah S. Tims, and Jonathan Widom of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., have been preoccupied with tiny, spool-like entities known as nucleosomes. Their latest insights into how these structures wrap and unwrap, permitting regulatory proteins to access, bind with and act on regions of DNA, recently appeared in the Journal of Molecular Biology. ...> Full Article

'Synthetic biology' could replace oil for chemical industry (9/25/2011)

Vats of blue-green algae could one day replace oil wells in producing raw materials for the chemical industry, a UC Davis chemist predicts. ...> Full Article

Researchers study Terahertz radiation's impact on cellular function and gene expression (9/24/2011)

Relatively little is known about the effect of Terahertz radiation on biological systems. So a team of researchers, led by Los Alamos National Laboratory, evaluated the cellular response of mouse stem cells exposed to THz radiation. Described in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, they reported that temperature increases were minimal, and that heat shock protein expression was unaffected, while the expression of certain other genes showed clear effects of the THz irradiation. ...> Full Article

Team finds stable RNA nano-scaffold within virus core (9/23/2011)

With the discovery of a RNA nano-scaffold that remains unusually stable in the body, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have overcome another barrier to the development of therapeutic RNA nanotechnology. The nanoparticle, constructed from a three-way junction (3WJ) motif of packaging RNA (pRNA) molecules, can serve as a platform for building larger, multifunctional nanoparticles -- which can then be injected into the body to deliver therapeutics to targeted cells. ...> Full Article

Temperature controls the genetic message (9/23/2011)

Alternative splicing, the mechanism enabling a gen to encode different proteins, according to the cell's needs, still holds many secrets. It has transformed the initial theory of one gen, one protein, but how it is controlled remains poorly understood. ...> Full Article

Shake hands with the invisible man (9/23/2011)

Adermatoglypia, which leaves some individuals without fingerprints, is an exceedingly rare condition. Now professor Eli Sprecher of Tel Aviv University has traced the cause of the condition to a genetic mutation that affects only four documented families in the world. Despite the mutation's scarcity, his research provides unique insights into the most complex biological phenomena, such as the consequences of lacking a single protein. ...> Full Article

Making 1 into 2 -- first German genome comprehensively resolved at its molecular level (9/22/2011)

Max Planck researchers analyze the two chromosome sets in the human genome separately for the first time. ...> Full Article

Scientists crack sparse genome of microbe linked to autoimmunity (9/21/2011)

Scientists have deciphered the genome of a bacterium implicated as a key player in regulating the immune system of mice. The genomic analysis provides the first glimpse of its unusually sparse genetic blueprint and offers hints about how it may activate a powerful immune response that protects mice from infection but also spurs harmful inflammation. ...> Full Article

For unzipping DNA mysteries -- literally -- physicists discover how a vital enzyme works (9/21/2011)

With an eye toward understanding DNA replication, Cornell researchers have learned how a helicase enzyme works to actually unzip the two strands of DNA. (Nature, online Sept. 18, 2011.) ...> Full Article

Researchers crack genetic codes for medicinal plant species (9/20/2011)

Researchers from across Canada have identified the genetic makeup for a large number of medicinal plant species and are making the codes available to scientists and the public online. ...> Full Article

Genomic catastrophe causes developmental delay, cognitive disorders (9/20/2011)

Using a diversity of DNA sequencing and human genome analytic techniques, researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine have identified some cases of developmental delay or cognitive disorders associated with a sudden chromosomal catastrophe that occurred early in development, perhaps during cell division when DNA is replicated. ...> Full Article

A call to arms for synthetic biology (9/19/2011)

Scientists have replaced all of the DNA in the arm of a yeast chromosome with computer-designed, synthetically produced DNA that is structurally distinct from its original DNA to produce a healthy yeast cell. ...> Full Article

'Synthetic' chromosome permits repid, on-demand 'evolution' of yeast (9/19/2011)

In the quest to understand genomes -- how they're built, how they're organized and what makes them work -- a team of Johns Hopkins researchers has engineered from scratch a computer-designed yeast chromosome and incorporated into their creation a new system that lets scientists intentionally rearrange the yeast's genetic material. A report of their work appears Sept. 14 as an Advance Online Publication in the journal Nature. ...> Full Article

Genome-wide hunts reveal new regulators of blood pressure (9/19/2011)

A study involving more than 200,000 people worldwide has identified 29 DNA sequence variations in locations across the human genome that influence blood pressure. These genes, whose sequence changes are associated with alterations in blood pressure and are linked to heart disease and stroke, were found with the help of decades' worth of population data that were pooled and analyzed by a large international consortium, including Johns Hopkins researchers. ...> Full Article

Researchers publish study on neuronal RNA targeting (9/18/2011)

SUNY Downstate scientist Ilham Muslimov, MD, PhD, along with senior author Henri Tiedge, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology, published a study suggesting that cellular dysregulation associated with certain neurodegenerative disorders may result from molecular competition in neuronal RNA transport pathways. The paper appeared in the Journal of Cell Biology, titled, "Spatial Code Recognition in Neuronal RNA Targeting: Role of RNA-hnRNP A2 Interactions." The article was highlighted in an accompanying editorial, "RNA Targeting Gets Competitive." ...> Full Article

Scientists create mammalian cells with single chromosome set (9/17/2011)

Researchers have created mammalian cells containing a single set of chromosomes for the first time in research funded by the Wellcome Trust and EMBO. The technique should allow scientists to better establish the relationships between genes and their function. ...> Full Article

Improvements are needed for accuracy in gene-by-environment interaction studies (9/16/2011)

A new study from McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School and the University of Colorado concludes that genetic research drawing correlations between specific genes, environmental variables and the combined impact they have on the development of some psychiatric illnesses needs additional scrutiny and replication before being accepted as true. ...> Full Article

In next-gen DNA sequence, new answers to a rare and devastating disease (9/15/2011)

In Leigh syndrome, infants are born apparently healthy only to develop movement and breathing disorders that worsen over time, often leading to death by the age of 3. The problem is that the mitochondria responsible for powering their cells can't keep up with the demand for energy in their developing brains. Now, researchers reporting in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have discovered a new genetic defect that can lead to the disease. ...> Full Article

Using a mathematical model to evaluate microsatellite genotyping from low-quality DNA (9/14/2011)

When using low quality samples, PCR-generated errors such as allelic drop-out and false alleles occur and have long perplexed researchers. In this issue of Science China, He et al. report the development of a mathematical model that treats homozygote and heterozygote separately to measure sample quality and to compute the confidence level of using multiple-tube approaches. This enables researchers to optimize experimental protocol through pilot studies and obtain reliable genetic information using non-invasive sampling methods. ...> Full Article

A chaperone for the 'guardian of the genome' (9/13/2011)

The protein p53 plays an essential role in the prevention of cancer by initiating the controlled death of a cell with damaged genes which is in danger to transform into a cancerous cell. The heat shock protein Hsp90, in turn, activates and stabilizes p53. Now scientists of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have discovered both the site where the two proteins interact and the interaction mechanism. ...> Full Article

Gene that controls chronic pain identified (9/13/2011)

A gene responsible for regulating chronic pain, called HCN2, has been identified by scientists at the University of Cambridge. ...> Full Article

Report on advances in DNA vaccine delivery and production (9/12/2011)

Scientists involved in DNA vaccine research are currently focused on two major issues: the creation of effective delivery systems and the development of more efficient biomanufacturing strategies, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). ...> Full Article

New cellular surprise may help scientists better understand human mitochondrial diseases (9/12/2011)

A surprising new discovery by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, Davis regarding the division of tiny "power plants" within cells known as mitochondria has implications for better understanding a wide variety of human diseases and conditions due to mitochondrial defects. ...> Full Article

Genetics meets metabolomics (9/11/2011)

An international team of scientists have identified several associations between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes. The study, published today in Nature, provides new functional insights regarding associations between risk factors and the development of complex common diseases. ...> Full Article

Structural Genomics Project creates blueprint for infectious disease and biodefense research (9/10/2011)

The September issue of the scientific journal Acta Crystallographica: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications consists entirely of work done at the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID). Featured manuscripts discuss potential drug-targets from organisms that cause some of the world's deadliest diseases, including emerging pathogens and possible bioterror agents. ...> Full Article

Little plant tells big stories (9/9/2011)

An international collaboration of researchers, including biologists at the University of Utah, compared genetic data from 19 different strains of a humble plant called Arabidopsis thaliana. The genome sequences of these strains, 18 of which are presented in the study, will now make it easier to study plants' surprisingly wide trait variation that underlies their adaptability. The results of the study are published online in the journal Nature. ...> Full Article

First lizard genome sequenced (9/8/2011)

The green anole lizard is an agile and active creature, and so are elements of its genome. This genomic agility and other new clues have emerged from the full sequencing of the lizard's genome and may offer insights into how the genomes of humans, mammals, and their reptilian counterparts have evolved since mammals and reptiles parted ways 320 million years ago. Researchers who completed this sequencing project report their findings Aug. 31 online in Nature. ...> Full Article

New Stanford method reveals parts of bacterium genome essential to life (9/7/2011)

A team at the Stanford University School of Medicine has cataloged, down to the letter, exactly what parts of the genetic code are essential for survival in one bacterial species, Caulobacter crescentus. ...> Full Article

How an 'evolutionary playground' brings plant genes together (9/6/2011)

Plants produce a vast array of natural products, many of which we find useful for making things such as drugs. Researchers have recently discovered that the genes producing two of these products in the model plant Arabidopsis are clustered together by an 'evolutionary playground' in the plant's genome. Knowing how these clusters assemble and are controlled will be important for improving and exploiting the production of new natural products. ...> Full Article

1001 Genome-Project -- On the way to a complete catalog of the Arabidopsis genome (9/5/2011)

Thanks to its flexible genome, the Arabidopsis plant can adapt to various environmental conditions. ...> Full Article

'Hidden' differences of chromosome organization become visible (9/4/2011)

To understand the nature of chromosome changes in the voles Microtus savii, researchers from the Rome State University "Sapienza" launched a molecular cytogenetic study. Three of the five Italian forms of pine voles showed remarkable differences in chromosomal distribution of two molecular markers. Analyzing these data and weighing them against previously obtained genetic information, the authors expect to improve the taxonomy of these rodents and to track the pathway of their chromosomal evolution. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover secret life of chromatin (9/4/2011)

Chromatin -- the intertwined histone proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes -- constantly receives messages that pour in from a cell's intricate signaling networks: Turn that gene on. Stifle that one. ...> Full Article

Researchers produce detailed map of gene activity in mouse brain (9/3/2011)

A new atlas of gene expression in the mouse brain provides insight into how genes work in the outer part of the brain called the cerebral cortex. Researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute and Oxford University published a description of the new atlas in the Aug. 25, 2011, journal Neuron. The study describes the activity of more than 11,000 genes in the six layers of brain cells that make up the cerebral cortex. ...> Full Article

A question of gene silencing (9/2/2011)

Our genome contains numerous genes which do not code for the production of proteins. Many of them are transcribed particularly frequently in cancer cells. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and of Heidelberg University Hospitals have been the first to find a way to study the function of such genes in cells. ...> Full Article

Scientists define cellular pathway essential to removing damaged mitochondria (9/1/2011)

In a joint research effort with researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and with help from scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Minnesota, and the National Institutes of Health, investigators from the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute have defined a specific protein complex that allows cells to rid themselves of damaged mitochondria, which are the energy producing machines of the cell. ...> Full Article