Genetics News And Research Archives Page 6

Researchers Help Unlock the Genetic Secrets of Corn (3/5/2008)

Relying on a genetic "physical map" developed by University of Arizona plant scientists, researchers from Washington University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Iowa State University and the UA have completed a working draft of the corn genome. By unlocking the genetic secrets of this crop vital to U.S. agriculture, the researchers have gained information that could ultimately help society deal with drought, global warming, population pressures and increasing energy needs. ...> Full Article

Mice with gene deletion provide clues to Prader-Willi syndrome in study (3/5/2008)

A new mouse model for a genetic cause of obesity has been developed by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The researchers hope that learning more about the mice, which overeat but do not gain weight, will help them develop new therapies for people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic condition that triggers uncontrollable eating. ...> Full Article

Device allows scientists to control gene activity across generations of cells (3/4/2008)

Just as cells inherit genes, they also inherit a set of instructions that tell genes when to become active, in which tissues and to what extent. Now, Rockefeller University researchers have built a device that, by allowing scientists to turn genes on and off in actively multiplying budding yeast cells, will help them figure out more precisely than before how genes and proteins interact with one another and how these interactions drive cellular functions. ...> Full Article

Short RNA strand helps exposed skin cells protect body from bacteria, dehydration and even cancer (3/4/2008)

Every minute, 30,000 of our outermost skin cells die so that we can live. When they do, new cells migrate from the inner layer of the skin to the surface of it, where they form a tough protective barrier. In a series of elegant experiments in mice, researchers at Rockefeller University have now discovered a tiny RNA molecule that helps create this barrier. The results not only yield new insight into how skin first evolved, but also suggest how healthy cells can turn cancerous. ...> Full Article

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

A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it's not the fish's ears that are of interest. In a study published on February 29 in the open-access 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. The study was funded in part by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health. ...> Full Article

Understanding primate evolution could aid HIV research (3/3/2008)

Evolution moves in fits and starts, shaping species through random genetic mutations that can help them survive or even hasten their death. But although the mutations occur by chance, the process can create surprisingly similar results. Now, in a startling twist, new research has provided an example in which evolution didn't just result in similar outcomes - it actually repeated itself, occurring the same way twice. Scientists at Rockefeller University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center have shown that nearly the exact same mutation occurred twice, in two monkey species that live on opposite sides of the world from each other. And while the change evolved independently in each case, in both species it plays a distinct role in how the animals fend off disease. ...> Full Article

All Eyes and Ears on the Corn Genome (3/3/2008)

Researchers complete draft sequence in less than three years ...> Full Article

Genetic Coding Of The Pea Unraveled (3/2/2008)

The pea is one of many important crop species that is unsuited to the Agrobacterium-based genetic modification techniques that are commonly used to work with crops. Researchers have now discovered the first high-throughput forward and reverse genetics tool for the pea (Pisum sativum), could have major benefits for crop breeders around the world. ...> Full Article

Cancers in Dogs, Humans Share Same Genetic Basis, Say Researchers (3/2/2008)

Cancer researchers have found that humans and dogs share more than friendship and companionship - they also share the same genetic basis for certain types of cancer. Furthermore, the researchers say that because of the way the genomes have evolved, getting cancer may be inevitable for some humans and dogs. ...> Full Article

Inverted DNA Turns Quiet Developmental Gene into a Potent Driver of T-Cell Lymphoma (3/1/2008)

A gene crucial for embryonic development can quickly become a potent cancer promoter in adult mice after a genetic misalignment, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center, causing white blood cells to become cancerous spontaneously. ...> Full Article

Donation of $600,000 to Buy State-of-Art DNA Sequencer (3/1/2008)

Cancer center receives donation to buy new genetic sequencer ...> Full Article

New gene discovery could help schizophrenics (2/29/2008)

International team has discovered a gene that increases the risk of developing schizophrenia ...> Full Article

Gene That Controls Ozone Resistance of Plants Could Lead to Drought-Resistant Crops (2/29/2008)

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant's leaves. ...> Full Article

Researchers help piece together the corn genome's first draft (2/28/2008)

Researchers helped write the first draft of the corn genome sequence that will be announced Thursday, Feb. 28, at the 50th Annual Maize Genetics Conference in Washington, D.C. ...> Full Article

Bee Stock Collection Moves to UC Davis (2/28/2008)

A noted collection of about 750,000 live honeybees, developed 18 years ago by internationally known honeybee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. will soon return to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. ...> Full Article

Toolkit energizes study of cell's powerhouse (2/27/2008)

Screening both genes and physiology yields rich compendium on mitochondrial biology ...> Full Article

Getting to the roots of hair loss (2/27/2008)

New gene improves our understanding of hair growth and offers a path to effective therapies ...> Full Article

Genome-wide profiling of epigenetic therapy in cervical cancer (2/26/2008)

In a single-arm interventional study, demethylating hydralazine and the histone deacetylase (HADC) inhibitor magnesium valproate were added to cisplatin chemoradiation in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIB cervical cancer treatment to assess their safety and biological effects. ...> Full Article

Radiation From Mobile Phones Changes Protein Expression In Living People, Study Suggests (2/26/2008)

A new study completed by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) on effects of mobile phone radiation on human skin strengthens the results of the human cell line analyses: living tissue responds to mobile phone radiation. ...> Full Article

Gene at intersection of stem cells, immunity (2/25/2008)

A gene that "wakes up" the blood system's stem cells in times of stress also plays an important role in protecting against infection, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and Duke University Medical School in a report that appears in the journal Cell Stem Cell. ...> Full Article

Structural Genomic Variation and Personalized Medicine (2/24/2008)

The ultimate goal of personalized medicine is to comprehensively identify genetic differences among persons and to correlate specific genetic features (or combinations of genetic features) with the differential risk of human diseases or the efficacy of certain therapeutic interventions. "This goal is likely to be achieved when we are able to identify all relevant forms of genetic variation in each person and are able to interpret this information in a clinically meaningful manner," said researchers from Harvard Medical School in their article recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover New Details of a Gene-Regulatory Network Governing Metabolism (2/23/2008)

A molecule called NADP regulates a cascade enabling yeast cells to adjust metabolic state ...> Full Article

Masters of disguise: secrets of nature's 'great pretenders' revealed (2/22/2008)

A gene which helps a harmless African butterfly ward off predators by giving it wing patterns like those of toxic species, has been identified by scientists who publish their findings today (20 February 2008). ...> Full Article

Scans Reveal Faulty Brain Wiring Caused by Missing Genes (2/22/2008)

An NIMH study using an emerging imaging technology has discovered faulty wiring in the brains of people with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects some aspects of thinking. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans revealed abnormal tracts of neuronal fibers that conduct long-distance communications between brain regions. The abnormalities likely resulted from neurons migrating to the wrong destinations during development, due to the absence of certain key genes, researchers say. ...> Full Article

Researchers release most detailed global study of genetic variation (2/21/2008)

Scientists have produced the largest and most detailed worldwide study of human genetic variation, a treasure trove offering new insights into early migrations out of Africa and across the globe. ...> Full Article

New Genetic Syndrome Linked to Missing DNA (2/20/2008)

People who lack a certain large segment of DNA have a previously unrecognized syndrome characterized by mental retardation, seizures, and slight physical abnormalities, according to a genetic analysis conducted by HHMI investigator Evan E. Eichler at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a team of international collaborators. The deleted DNA segment is responsible for just a small percentage of cases of mental retardation, but "when you think about how common mental retardation is," Eichler says, "this deletion has a significant impact on human health." ...> Full Article

Imitating monkey's 'jumping genes' could lead to new treatments for HIV (2/20/2008)

Scientists have taken a significant step in understanding how retroviruses such as HIV can move between species and the biological mechanisms behind the 'jumping genes' which make some monkeys immune. They will now use this knowledge to develop a gene therapy treatment for HIV/AIDS in humans. ...> Full Article

Researchers probe a DNA repair enzyme (2/19/2008)

Researchers have taken the first steps toward understanding how an enzyme repairs DNA. ...> Full Article

New Cataract Gene Discovered (2/19/2008)

The international team of researchers was able to identify the location and defect in the coding region of the gene through analysis of genetic material (DNA) from members of a large Swiss family, the majority of whom suffered from autosomal dominant juvenile cataract. The corresponding protein belongs to a family of monocarboxylate transporters which move small molecules across cell mem-branes. Surprisingly, this genetic defect may also lead to the condition of renal glucosuria, a non-pathological kidney defect with elevated levels of glucose in the urine, but not in blood. ...> Full Article

BMP protein maintains cross talk between cells that control hair growth (2/18/2008)

Genes, it turns out, are only as active as the signals that turn them on and off. Now scientists from Rockefeller University have identified the signaling molecule that ratchets up and clamps down the activity of key genes in dermal papilla, a type of skin cell whose unique collection of proteins ultimately instruct epithelial stem cells to make hair. ...> Full Article