All Articles Tagged As: chromosomes

Lack of fragile X, related gene disrupts sleep (6/30/2008)

Lack of both the fragile X syndrome gene and one that is related could account for sleep problems associated with the disorder, which is the common cause of inherited mental impairment ...> Full Article

Centromeres cross over, a lot (6/15/2008)

Recombination at centromeres is higher than anywhere else on the chromosome, even though methyltransferases do their best to prevent it ...> Full Article

Missing protein in Fragile X Syndrome is key to transporting signals within neurons (6/12/2008)

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) robs the brain of a protein that plays a major role in the way neurons communicate and that is essential for brain development, learning and memory. ...> Full Article

Gene Regulating Glucose Levels Identified (6/9/2008)

Discovery provides insight into blood sugar regulation ...> Full Article

X chromosome exposed (6/1/2008)

An enzyme that binds differently to male and female sex chromosomes helps males to make up for their X chromosome shortage ...> Full Article

Research shines spotlight on a key player in the dance of chromosomes (5/16/2008)

Cell division is essential to life, but the mechanism by which emerging daughter cells organize and divvy up their genetic endowments is little understood. In a new study, researchers report on how a key motor protein orchestrates chromosome movements at a critical stage of cell division. ...> Full Article

Scientists Identify Key Roadblock to Gene Expression (5/13/2008)

A team of scientists has provided, for the first time, a detailed map of how the building blocks of chromosomes, the cellular structures that contain genes, are organized in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster ...> Full Article

Genetic 'tag team' keeps cells on cycle (5/11/2008)

By surveying the activity of thousands of genes at several different time points, researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have uncovered new evidence that a network of influential genes act as a kind of genetic tag team to orchestrate one of the most fundamental aspects of all life: the cell cycle. ...> Full Article

Protocols features classic approaches for analyzing chromosomes (5/2/2008)

Two classic methods for chromosomal analysis ...> Full Article

Scientists Clarify a Mechanism of Epigenetic Inheritance (4/23/2008)

"Silent" DNA stays that way as a result of RNA interference during chromosome replication ...> Full Article

Zinc link made in barley breeding (4/23/2008)

Chromosomal regions conferring zinc efficiency in barley ...> Full Article

Protein role in cell division re-evaluated researchers (4/21/2008)

Work could impact study of miscarriages, birth defects ...> Full Article

New technique yields more detailed picture of chromatin structure (4/18/2008)

Researchers have developed a technique for imaging cells under an electron microscope that yields a sharper image of the structure of chromatin, the tightly wound bundle of genetic material and proteins that makes up the chromosomes ...> 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

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

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

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

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

Scientists achieve major genetics breakthrough in intellectual disability (2/1/2008)

University of Adelaide geneticist Dr Jozef Gecz and a team of Belgium and UK scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in discovering the causes of intellectual disability. ...> Full Article

Team finds an economical way to boost the vitamin A content of maize (1/21/2008)

A team of plant geneticists and crop scientists has pioneered an economical approach to the selective breeding of maize that can boost levels of provitamin A, the precursors that are converted to vitamin A upon consumption. This innovation could help to enhance the nutritional status of millions of people in the developing world. ...> Full Article

Recurrent genetic deletion linked to autism (1/9/2008)

Loss of a small portion of chromosome 16, known as 16p11.2, is significantly associated with autism report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in an article, published Dec. 21, 2007, online by the journal Human Molecular Genetics. ...> Full Article