“Human Genetics May Play a Role in Avian Flu Cases” 
(May 11) The Jakarta Post reports, “Some people are more susceptible to bird flu than others, suggesting human genetics may play a role in the viral infection that's killed more than 100 people in the pastthree years, virologist Robert Webster said.”
“Gene amplification could guide treatment for high-risk breast cancer”
(May 11) News-Medical.Net reports, “A new study shows that breast cancer patients with an "amplification," or greater number of copies, of the TOP2A gene are 45% more likely than women who do not have this amplification to benefit from a longer course of anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.”
“Extension of embryo screening will help reduce serious illness”
(May 11) News-Medical.Net reports, “A fertility watchdog in Britain, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has given approval for the extension of embryo screening to cover a wider range of mutated genes, in the main those which raise the risk of cancer in later life.”
“Genes Hunters Tracking The Tumour - 2nd IFOM-IEO Campus Meeting On Cancer”
(May 10) Medical News Today reports, “What is the best strategy to determine the specific function of a gene?”
“Gene "CGI-58" linked to rare disease activates fat breakdown”
(May 10) News-Medical.Net reports, “A gene earlier linked to a rare disease plays a critical role in the body's "finely tuned balance" of fat storage and break down, new evidence reported in the May Cell Metabolism reveals.”
“Scientists detect cancer genes with new algorithm”
(May 10) News-Medical.Net reports, “Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a new algorithm that enhances the ability to detect a cancer gene, and have applied their algorithm to map the set of tumor-suppressor genes involved in lung cancer.”
“Genetic disease detectable, doctors say”
(May 9) Taiwan News reports, “Thalassemia, an inherited disease of the red blood cells, is the most common form of rare genetic disease in Taiwan.”
“Effective gene suppression using small interfering RNA in hard-to-transfect human T cells”
(May 9) News-Medical.Net reports, “A technical advance in laboratory techniques may provide biology researchers broader access to RNA interference, a process of blocking the activity of targeted genes.”
“Europe wide study to examine causes of asthma”
(May 9) EurekAlert! reports, “Imperial College London and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich are to take the lead in a Euro 11 million (GBP 8 million) study to examine how genetics and environment influence the development of asthma in Europe.”
“NYU algorithm enhances ability to detect cancer genes”
(May 9) EurekAlert! reports, “Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a new algorithm that enhances the ability to detect a cancer gene, and have applied their algorithm to map the set of tumor-suppressor genes involved in lung cancer.”
“Junk" RNA regulates important cellular processes”
(May 9) News-Medical.Net reports, “It has been known for a long time that much of a cell's RNA stems from DNA regions called intergenic spacers (IGS) that lie between two genes and do not code for proteins.”
“Genetic variants and breast cancer risk, genetics and suicidal behavior, and more”
(May 8) EurekAlert! reports, “Remember BRCA1, APC, and p53? The association between rare variants in those genes and familial breast cancer, colon cancer, and multiple cancers, respectively, had been reported over 10 years ago.”
“Gene mutation causes multiple birth defects”
(May 8) myDNA reports, “The transition from fertilized egg to newborn baby requires an incredibly complex network of genes, proteins and biochemical signals that scientists are only beginning to understand.”
“Iceland's Decode finds prostate cancer risk gene”
(May 8) Reuters Health reports, “Scientists at Iceland's Decode Genetics Inc have discovered a genetic variant that may account for around 8 percent of prostate cancer cases, marking a step forward in understanding the disease.”
“Mutation In Deafness Gene Can Help Heal Wounds And Prevent Infection”
(May 8) Medical News Today reports, “A mutation in a gene commonly associated with deafness can play an important part in improving wound healing, a scientist told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, today (Monday 8 May 2006).”
“New approaches to genetic disease, based on cells' own ability to correct themselves”
(May 8) News-Medical. Net reports, “New approaches to genetic disease, based on cells' own ability to correct themselves, will be outlined today at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.”
“Novel protein JHDM2A offers new look at male hormone regulation”
(May 8) News-Medical. Net reports, “For the second time in less than a year, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have purified a novel protein and have shown it can alter gene activity by reversing a molecular modification previously thought permanent.”
“UCSD researchers link novel mutated gene to meal retardation and imbalance”
(May 7) EurekAlert! reports, “The research team, directed by Joseph Gleeson, M.D., Director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at the UCSD School of Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences, have identified a new gene that, when mutated, leads to JSRD.”
“Expanding Waistlines Triggered By Your Genes”
(May 6) Science Daily reports, “A gene that degrades the body's collagen infrastructure has been shown to make fat cells fatter and expand girth.”
“Gene That Shuts Down Immune System Found In 20 Percent Of People Of African Descent”
(May 6) Science Daily reports, “In a groundbreaking new study published in the prestigious journal Nature this week, the team that first discovered the role of caspase-12 in humans has now uncovered the mechanism by which it sabotages us, allowing researchers to develop methods to counter its damaging effects.”
“Molecular Security Mechanism For Keeping Mutations In Check”
(May 5) Science Daily reports, “Everyone knows mutations -- genetic mistakes in DNA, the material of heredity -- are bad: The more mutations in the cell's DNA, the higher the risk of cancer developing.”
“Concern over differences in genetic databases”
(May 5) Laboratorytalk reports, “Inconsistencies among a growing number of genetic databases could lead to misdiagnoses of genetic disorders by health care providers, according to a study that appears in the latest issue of Cytogenetic and Genome Research.”
“Therapeutic Gene Suspected To Cause Cancer”
(May 5) Medical News Today reports, “One of the few gene therapy studies that had ever been successful was terminated in 2003, because several of the treated children had developed leukemia.”
“Genetics might explain why some people get bird flu”
(May 5) Reuters reports, “People who have been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus might be genetically predisposed to infection by avian viruses, leading disease experts suggested on Thursday.”
“Bold Three-Stage Brain Operation for Intractable Seizures Appears Promising”
(May 4) NYU Medical Center reports, “Sadly, none of the treatments for epilepsy—anti-seizure medications, a procedure called vagus nerve stimulation, a special diet —could quell the electrical storms in the young boy’s brain.”
“Diabetes gene at root of wider syndrome”
(May 4) hum-molgen news alert reports, “British scientists say gene mutations associated with neonatal diabetes are believed responsible for other neurological dysfunctions.”
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