“Genetic variations help predict risk for salt-induced high blood pressure”
(February 23) News Medical.net reports, “Researchers led by UVa Health System pathologist Robin Felder, Ph.D., have demonstrated that looking for several variations of genes that control blood pressure can predict the risk for high blood pressure caused by high levels of salt.”
“Gene mutation protects fetus from alcohol's effects”
(February 22) Reuters Health reports, “A mutation of an enzyme gene seems to protect the fetus against alcohol consumed by the mother, according to a study of mothers and their infants.”
“Single chip could probe 30,000 genetic conditions”
(February 22) Business Weekly reports, “A software company in Cambridge has branched out to develop a product that could genuinely revolutionise the diagnosis of thousands of serious illnesses.”
“NIH seeks strategies to preserve brain health”
(February 21) EurekAlert reports, “With the rapid aging of the population, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is intensifying the search for strategies to preserve brain health as people grow older.”
“Gene Patterns In White Blood Cells Quickly Diagnose If Someone Has Been Exposed To A Bioterrorism Agent”
(February 21) Medical News Today reports, “Researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are developing a method to determine in a matter of hours if someone has been exposed to a bioterrorism agent just by looking at the pattern of active genes in that person's white blood cells.”
“The Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) Slumbers In The Cells Of 90 Per Cent Of The World's Population And Can Activate About 100 Genes”
(February 21) Medical News Today reports, “A detailed structural picture of a molecule that plays a key role in activating the Epstein Barr Virus in human cells has now been obtained by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Institut de Virologie Moléculaire et Structurale (IVMS), associated with the Université Joseph Fourier and the CNRS, in Grenoble.”
“Gene Mutations May Boost Breast Cancer Risk”
(February 20) Forbes.com reports, “Women with a genetic mutation in one of two related genes are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, a new study suggests.”
“Scientists link gene to increased risk of Parkinson's in men”
(February 20) BioPortfolio reports, “US-based scientists have discovered a new role for a gene that could explain why men are one and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than women, researchers announced.”
“The Big Science of Genomics”
(February 20) Duke News reports, “In President Bush’s budget submitted to Congress this week, $40 million was devoted to the "Genes and Environment Initiative," whose goal is "to accelerate discovery of the major genetic factors for diseases that have a substantial public health impact."
“Large European study finds gene variant is no strong risk factor for osteoporosis”
(February 20) EurekAlert! reports, “Variations in a number of different genes and environmental factors affect an individual's risk for osteoporosis.”
“Mapping offers cancer hope”
(February 20) myDNA reports, “Researchers recently identified the genes that predispose some individuals to prostate cancer, marking a scientific breakthrough that could help reduce the number of future deaths.”
“Ernst Mayr's theory illustrated in genetic epidemiology studies”
(February 18) EutekAlert! reports, “The late, famed evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr's theory of genetic revolution , introduced in 1954, remains controversial to this day and has many detractors.”
“Columbia Receives Up To $15 Million From Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation”
(February 17) Columbia University Medical Center reports, “Columbia University has been awarded up to $15 million from the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Foundation.”
“Recombinomics Inc. Predicts a New Genetic Change in the H5N1 (Avian Flu) Virus”
(February 17) Yahoo reports, “Recombinomics is issuing a new prediction and warning of a likely alteration in the avian influenza H5N1 hemagglutinin gene.”
“Gene design program from Johns Hopkins simplifies, automates and speeds design of 'artificial' genes”
(February 16) Innovations Report reports, “Johns Hopkins researchers have announced the development of a Web-based, automated computer program that they say greatly simplifies the time-consuming and error-prone process of manually designing artificial pieces of DNA.”
“Chromosome rearrangements not as random as believed”
(February 16) EurekAlert! reports, “As the human genome gradually yields up its secrets, scientists are finding some genetic events, such as rearrangements in chromosomes, are less random than they had previously thought.”