EPHX1 Polymorphisms and the Risk of Lung Cancer
Chikako Kiyohara, et al.

• The following are headlines from on-line news articles published during the past week.
• The headlines and lead sentence are exactly as they appear in the popular press and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of CDC.
• Free registration required for some articles.

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“Can Geneticists Cure Obesity?” (January 11) ABC News reports, “Scientists are finding certain genes allow some people to pig out and not gain weight, while others put on pounds after a slight overindulgence. Other research has shed light on genes that may play a role in how much we crave food.”

“Molecular mechanism involved with neural tube defects”
(January 11) News-Medical.Net reports, “Environmental and genetic factors lead to neural tube defects in 1 in every 1,000 births and cause 1 in 20 of every spontaneous abortion.”

“Stanford/Packard Scientist's Data-mining Technique Strikes Genetic GoldStanford/Packard Scientist's Data-mining Technique Strikes Genetic Gold”
(January 11) Medical News Today reports, “A new method to mine existing scientific data may provide a wealth of information about the interactions among genes, the environment and biological processes, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.”

“Evidence for impaired retroviral defense genes in humans”
(January 10) News-Medical.Net reports, “Researchers Harmit Malik and Michael Emerman and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that a surprisingly large fraction of humans may be impaired in the function of a recently discovered arm of the body's defense against invading retroviruses such as HIV.”

“Gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease”
(January 10) News-Medical.Net reports, “An international team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are zeroing in on a gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease.”

“Alcohol Dependence Risk And Gene Variant For A Bitter-taster Receptor On The Tongue”
(January 10) Medical News Today reports, “A team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has found that a gene variant for a bitter-taste receptor on the tongue is associated with an increased risk for alcohol dependence.”

“Gene Halts Spread Of Aggressive Childhood Cancer - University Of California, San Diego”
(January 9) Medical News Today reports, “A team of cancer researchers has shown that a gene commonly lost during neuroblastoma tumor formation, one of the most aggressive cancers in babies and children, is in fact a "metastasis suppressor" gene.”

“Fox Foundation Grant Funds Major Gene Therapy Advance For Treatment Of Parkinson's Disease”
(January 8) Medical News Today reports, “An innovative gene therapy approach pioneered by Pennsylvania-based RheoGene Inc. will be further refined and tested in preliminary clinical trials within four years, thanks to a $4.2 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).”

“Genes Contribute More Strongly To The Risk Of Depression In Women Than In Men”
(January 7) Medical News Today reports, “Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that genes contribute more strongly to the risk of depression in women than in men, and that there may be some genetic factors that are operating uniquely in one sex and not in the other.”

“Transcription-induced Chimerism (TIC) - Two Adjacent Genes Produce A Single, Fused RNA Transcript”
(January 6) Medical News Today reports, “In the January issue of the journal Genome Research, two teams of scientists describe a widespread phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism (TIC), where two adjacent genes produce a single, fused RNA transcript.”

“Hopkins Researcher Links Gene Mutation With Poor Outcomes In People With Most Common Thyroid Cancer”
(January 5) Johns Hopkins Medicine reports, “Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that a mutation in the gene that triggers production of a tumor growth protein is linked to poorer outcomes for patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).”

Prion disease genetics
Mead S
Eur J Hum Genet 2006 Jan

Calculating risk changes after negative mutation test outcomes for autosomal dominant hereditary late-onset disorders
Bonke B, et al.
Heredity 2006 Jan

What Is the Significance of a Significant TDT?
Ewens WJ & Spielman RS
Hum Hered 2006 Jan;60(4):206-10

Cancer survivorship--genetic susceptibility and second primary cancers: research strategies and recommendations
Travis LB, et al.
J Natl Cancer Inst 2006 Jan;98(1):15-25

Development of polycystic ovary syndrome: involvement of genetic and environmental factors
Franks S, et al.
Int J Androl 2005 Dec

Human genetics of adiponectin in the metabolic syndrome
Yang WS & Chuang LM
J Mol Med 2005 Dec:1-10

Family history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease and C-reactive protein concentration findings from the national health and nutrition examination survey, 1999-2000
Ford ES, et al.
Am J Prev Med 2005 Dec;29(5 Suppl 1):57-62

The newborn screening educational gap: what prenatal care providers do compared with what is expected
Faulkner LA, et al.
Am J Obstet Gynecol 2006 Jan;194(1):131-7

Should people with a first-degree relative who died from subarachnoid hemorrhage be screened for aneurysms?
Jacoby G, et al.
J Fam Pract 2006 Jan;55(1):59-60

Genetic predisposition to cancer: the consequences of a delayed diagnosis of Gorlin syndrome
Mitchell G, et al.
Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2005 Dec;17(8):650-4

Genetic pleiotropy between asthma and obesity in a community-based sample of twins
Hallstrand TS, et al.
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005 Dec;116(6):1235-41

Sequential genome-wide association studies for monitoring adverse events in the clinical evaluation of new drugs
Kelly P, et al.
Stat Med 2006 Jan

On estimation of the variance in Cochran-Armitage trend tests for genetic association using case-control studies
Zheng G & Gastwirth JL
Stat Med 2006 Jan

Meta-analysis of the p53 Mutation Database for Mutant p53 Biological Activity Reveals a Methodologic Bias in Mutation Detection
Soussi T, et al.
Clin Cancer Res 2006 Jan;12(1):62-9

Genetic susceptibility for Alzheimer's disease: why did adult offspring seek testing?
Hurley AC, et al.
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 2005 Nov-2005 Dec;20(6):374-81

Promoting children's health through understanding of genetics and genomics
Kenner C, et al.
J Nurs Scholarsh 2005;37(4):308-14

Mannose-binding lectin and its genetic variants
Garred P, et al.
Genes Immun 2006 Jan

Asthma genetics 2006: the long and winding road to gene discovery
Ober C & Hoffjan S
Genes Immun 2006 Jan

Using linkage genome scans to improve power of association in genome scans
Roeder K, et al.
Am J Hum Genet 2006 Feb;78(2):243-52

Genetic contribution to aging: deleterious and helpful genes define life expectancy
Lao JI, et al.
Ann N Y Acad Sci 2005 Dec;1057:50-63

Pharmacogenetics in esophageal cancer
Wu X, et al.
Semin Oncol 2005 Dec;32(6 Suppl 9):87-9

Articles that report on population prevalence of genotypes, gene-disease associations, gene-environment and gene-gene interactions and evaluation of genetic tests. For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

For the week ending January 11, 2006, there are HuGE articles in the following areas:

Gene Variant Frequency
Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
Neoplasms
Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
Mental Disorders
Diseases of the Nervous System and Sense Organs
Diseases of the Circulatory System
Diseases of the Respiratory System
Diseases of the Digestive System
Diseases of the Genitourinary System
Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue
Congenital Anomalies
Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period
Symptoms, Signs, and Ill-defined Conditions

For more information on HuGE, please visit the HuGENet™ home page

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Public Health Genetic Unit Newsletter, January 2006 The PHGU monthly newsletter features news and views about genetics and genetics research, from a public health perspective.

Stanford Genomic Resources
Hyperlinks to systematic analysis projects, resources, laboratories, and departments at Stanford University

Genetic testing for colon and rectal cancer
Information from the Mayo Clinic, find out if genetic testing for colorectal cancer might be right for you.