Genetics News And Research Archives Page 5

Deadly genetic disease prevented before birth in zebrafish (3/23/2008)

Finding offers potential for helping humans ...> Full Article

Autism Gene Scans Converge on Two Suspect Sites, Two Types of Genetic Risk (3/22/2008)

Four teams of scientists, using resources supported in part by NIMH, have pinpointed two different sites in the genome, each conferring a different type of genetic risk for autism. At one site, risk genes appear to be inherited. At the other, risk stems from spontaneous mutations, not seen in the genetics of the parents. In both examples, evidence suggests the suspect genes are critical for development of brain circuits impaired in autism. ...> Full Article

Molecular engineers design new enzymes from scratch (3/21/2008)

Many important chemical reactions are slow and unwieldy because no enzyme exists to prod them to greater efficiency. Designing new enzymes from scratch is of practical interest in biomedicine, biotechnology, environmental cleanup, and other industries. Precisely engineered enzymes, built to match the specific task at hand, could improve many processes in these fields by triggering, speeding up, and controlling the necessary chemical reactions. ...> Full Article

Folate intake linked to genetic abnormalities in sperm, says new study (3/21/2008)

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm ...> Full Article

Algorithm finds the network - for genes or the Internet (3/20/2008)

New algorithm automatically identifies communities and their subtle structures in various networks. ...> Full Article

Gene 'Knockout' Floors Tobacco Carcinogen (3/20/2008)

Scientists have shown that silencing a specific gene in burley tobacco plants significantly reduces harmful carcinogens in cured tobacco leaves. ...> Full Article

Controlling a sea of information (3/19/2008)

New system will unclog the information highway and significantly increase the data contained in TAIR ...> Full Article

Work with power grids leads to cell biology discovery (3/19/2008)

Gene therapy, in which a working gene is inserted into a cell to replace a faulty or absent gene, is a promising experimental technique for the prevention and treatment of disease. ...> Full Article

New technique puts DNA profiling of E. coli on fast track (3/18/2008)

Using new genetic techniques, scientists are unlocking the secrets of how E coli bacteria contaminate food and make people sick. ...> Full Article

Genetic Counselors Turn to Unconventional Counseling To Meet Explosive Demand for Genetic Testing (3/18/2008)

Imagine receiving genetic test results for a disease you could develop later in life without having anyone with whom to discuss your options for managing the risk. That's becoming a common occurrence as people turn to the Internet and other outlets for genetic testing without genetic counseling. In an effort to broaden accessibility to genetic counseling, researchers are exploring non-conventional counseling methods that challenge traditional approaches. ...> Full Article

Genes that protect against atherosclerosis identified (3/17/2008)

One way of combating atherosclerosis is to reduce levels of "bad cholesterol" in the blood. Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now identified the genes that bring about this beneficial effect. ...> Full Article

Royal jelly makes bee queens, boosts nurture case (3/16/2008)

New research may explain why eating royal jelly destines honeybee larvae to become queens instead of workers - and in the process adds new weight to the role of environmental factors in the nature/nurture divide. ...> Full Article

Systems biology approach identifies nutrient regulation of biological clock in plants (3/16/2008)

Using a systems biological analysis of genome-scale data from the model plant Arabidopsis, an international team of researchers identified that the master gene controlling the biological clock is sensitive to nutrient status. The study will appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This hypothesis derived from multi-network analysis of Arabidopsis genomic data, and validated experimentally, has shed light on how nutrients affect the molecular networks controlling plant growth and development in response to nutrient sensing. ...> Full Article

Bioinformatics technology provides new insight into microbial activities (3/15/2008)

Scientists may gain a new insight into the relationship between viruses and their environments thanks to a new computational technology developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. This technology has already been used to identify subtle differences in the metabolic processes of microbial communities. ...> Full Article

Some cheaters can keep it in their genes (3/15/2008)

A new study examining social behaviour suggests certain individuals are genetically programmed to cheat and often will do… providing they can get away with it. ...> Full Article

High-School Scientists Decode DNA Sequence, Present Findings (3/14/2008)

New Jersey students publish their findings, present their work at the National Science Foundation ...> Full Article

Crop scientists discover gene that controls fruit shape (3/14/2008)

Crop scientists have cloned a gene that controls the shape of tomatoes, a discovery that could help unravel the mystery behind the huge morphological differences among edible fruits and vegetables, as well as provide new insight into mechanisms of plant development. ...> Full Article

Genetic analysis reveals range of Rett syndrome (3/13/2008)

The first comprehensive analysis of the clinical effects of genetic mutations involved in Rett syndrome will enable affected families to receive a more accurate indication of their child's prognosis. ...> Full Article

Epigenetic changes discovered in major psychosis (3/12/2008)

New clues for uncovering the mysteries of mental illness ...> Full Article

Lab characterizes novel regulator of chromosome function (3/12/2008)

Lab has shed new light on a novel histone acetyltransferase protein complex called ATAC ...> Full Article

Handheld DNA detector (3/11/2008)

Researcher describes a mathematical simulation to show how a new type of nanoscale transistor might be coupled to a DNA sensor system to produce a characteristic signal for specific DNA fragments in a sample ...> Full Article

New revelations in epigenetic control shed light on breast cancer (3/11/2008)

Scientists discover that long-term regulation of the human genome is much more dynamic than assumed ...> Full Article

Researchers discover the structural alphabet of RNA (3/9/2008)

A team of bioinformaticians at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) report in the March 6th edition of Nature the discovery of a structural alphabet that can be used to infer the 3D structure of ribonucleic acid (RNA) from sequence data, providing new tools to understand the role of this important class of cellular regulators. ...> Full Article

Protocols features high-throughput methods for analyzing gene activity (3/9/2008)

New high-throughput methods are revolutionizing our understanding of transcriptional regulation ...> Full Article

Brown-led study rearranges some branches on animal tree of life (3/8/2008)

A study led by Brown University biologist Casey Dunn uses new genomics tools to answer old questions about animal evolution. The study is the most comprehensive animal phylogenomic research project to date, involving 40 million base pairs of new DNA data taken from 29 animal species. ...> Full Article

Zebrafish provide useful screening tool for genes, compounds that protect against hearing loss (3/8/2008)

In a study published in the Feb. 29 issue of the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers at the University of Washington have developed a research method that relies on a zebrafish's lateral line--the faint line running down each side of a fish that enables it to sense its surroundings--to quickly screen for genes and chemical compounds that protect against hearing loss from some medications. ...> Full Article

Giant panda genome to be sequenced (3/7/2008)

Researchers announce the launch of the International Giant Panda Genome Project ...> Full Article

How worms protect their chromosomes: Thereby hangs a surprising tail (3/7/2008)

A team of scientists has discovered that the roundworm C. elegans constructs the protective tips of its chromosomes - known as telomeres - with a little more panache than do mammals, a finding that could deepen our understanding of the interrelationship of aging and cancer. ...> Full Article

Gene variants may increase risk of anxiety disorder (3/6/2008)

Strongest genetic evidence to date could help identify new drug targets ...> Full Article

Genes hold the key to how happy we are, scientists say (3/6/2008)

Happiness in life is as much down to having the right genetic mix as it is to personal circumstances according to a recent study. ...> Full Article