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Gene today, gone tomorrow: Genes for autism and schizophrenia only active in developing brains
Genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are only switched on during the early stages of brain development, according to a study in mice led by researchers at the University of Oxford.
Neuroscience
Source: University of Oxford
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013, 4:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1213 | Comments: 0
Researchers find possible genetic clues to organ development, birth defects
Using cutting-edge time-lapse photography, University of Southern California (USC) researchers have discovered clues to the development of the head at the cellular level, which could point scientists to a better understanding of how organs and birth defects form in humans.
Development
Source: University of Southern California - Health Sciences
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013, 4:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1159 | Comments: 0
Researchers identify genetic root to early-onset prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is often considered an elderly man's disease, and little is known about the approximately 2% of cases that arise in men who are aged 50 years or younger. Research published in the February 11th issue of the Cell Press journal Cancer Cell uncovers the genetic origin of such early-onset prostate cancer. The findings could help in the development of new diagnostic, prognostic,
Genetics
Source: Cell Press
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013, 12:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1240 | Comments: 0
Mouse model improves understanding of clear cell sarcoma
Geneticists led by University of Utah Nobel Prize Laureate Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., have engineered mice that develop clear cell sarcoma (CCS), a significant step in better understanding how this rare and deadly soft tissue cancer arises. The mouse model also can potentially speed the development of drugs to target genes that must be activated for the cancer to form.
Cancer
Source: University of Utah Health Sciences
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013, 12:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1173 | Comments: 0
New strategy prevents rheumatoid arthritis in mice
Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people.
Immunology
Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Posted on: Monday, Feb 11, 2013, 10:15am
Rating: | Views: 1388 | Comments: 0
Putting our heads together: Canines may hold clues to human skull development
Man's best friend may touch our hearts with their empathy, companionship, playfulness and loyalty, and they may also lead us to a deeper understanding of our heads.
Development
Source: Genetics Society of America
Posted on: Monday, Feb 11, 2013, 8:15am
Rating: | Views: 1142 | Comments: 0
Protein paves the way for correct stem cell differentiation
A single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells. Research from BRIC, University of C
Molecular Biology
Source: University of Copenhagen
Posted on: Friday, Feb 08, 2013, 4:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1358 | Comments: 0
Colon cancer exhibits a corresponding epigenetic pattern in mice and humans
Tumourigenesis is driven by genetic alterations and by changes in the epigenome, for instance by the addition of methyl groups to cytosine bases in the DNA. A deeper understanding of the interaction between the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms is critical for the selection of tumour biomarkers and for the future development of therapies.
Molecular Biology
Source: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Posted on: Friday, Feb 08, 2013, 2:15pm
Rating: | Views: 1317 | Comments: 0
Biologists map rare case of fitness-reducing interaction in nuclear, mitochondrial DNA
A team of biologists from Indiana University and Brown University believes it has discovered the mechanism by which interacting mutations in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA produce an incompatible genotype that reduces reproductive fitness and delays development in fruit flies.
Development
Source: Indiana University
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 06, 2013, 12:15pm
Rating: | Views: 1146 | Comments: 0
The zebrafish revealed a central regulator for the development of the brain histamine system
Research has shown that mutations in the psen1 gene are common in the familial forms of Alzheimer's disease, and the Presenilin-1 protein that the gene encodes is known to be involved in the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein. In Alzheimer's disease the amyloid precursor protein is not cleaved the normal way, and the protein accumulates in the brain damaging neuronal tracts and neurons. It
Neuroscience
Source: University of Helsinki
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 06, 2013, 10:00am
Rating: | Views: 1134 | Comments: 0
If you are impulsive, take modafinil and count to 10
Poor impulse control contributes to one's inability to control the consumption of rewarding substances, like food, alcohol, and other drugs. This can lead to the development of addiction. FDA-approved medications for alcoholism, like naltrexone (Revia) and disulfiram (Antabuse), are thought to reduce alcohol consumption by curbing cravings and creating unpleasa
Neuroscience
Source: Elsevier
Posted on: Monday, Feb 04, 2013, 10:15am
Rating: | Views: 1117 | Comments: 0
Understanding 'master regulator' genes could lead to better cancer treatments
Cell division is serious business. Cells that divide incorrectly can lead to birth defects or set the stage for cancer. A new discovery from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified how two genes work together to make sure chromosomes are distributed properly when cells divide, providing new insights that could contribute to the future development of cancer treatments.
Genetics
Source: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Posted on: Friday, Feb 01, 2013, 2:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1221 | Comments: 0
Epigenetic control of cardiogenesis
Many different tissues and organs form from pluripotent stem cells during embryonic development. To date it had been known that these processes are controlled by transcription factors for specific tissues.
Genetics
Source: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1202 | Comments: 0
Protein family linked to autism suppresses the development of inhibitory synapses
Synapse development is promoted by a variety of cell adhesion molecules that connect neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, for example, are associated with autism and schizophrenia. According to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology, another family of proteins linked to th
Neuroscience
Source: Rockefeller University Press
Posted on: Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013, 12:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1324 | Comments: 0
Black silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels
Scientists at Aalto University, Finland, have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation on highly absorbing silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying atomic layer coating. The results advance the development of devices that require high sensitivity light response such as high efficiency solar cells.
Energy
Source: Aalto University
Posted on: Monday, Jan 28, 2013, 8:45am
Rating: | Views: 1179 | Comments: 0
Chance finding reveals new control on blood vessels in developing brain
Zhen Huang freely admits he was not interested in blood vessels four years ago when he was studying brain development in a fetal mouse.
Neuroscience
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Posted on: Friday, Jan 25, 2013, 4:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1184 | Comments: 0
Discovery of new class of damage-prone DNA regions could lead to better cancer treatments
Cancer is thought to arise from DNA damage at fragile sites in the genome. A study published by Cell Press on January 24th in the journal Cell reveals a new class of fragile sites that contributes to DNA alterations in a type of blood cancer called B cell lymphoma The findings could lead to the development of more effective treatments for B cell lymphoma and potentially other cancers.
Genetics
Source: Cell Press
Posted on: Friday, Jan 25, 2013, 11:45am
Rating: | Views: 1246 | Comments: 0
Children's complex thinking skills begin forming before they go to school
New research at the University of Chicago and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that children begin to show signs of higher-level thinking skills as young as age 4 ½. Researchers have previously attributed higher-order thinking development to knowledge acquisition and better schooling, but the new longitudinal study shows that other skills, not always connected with knowledge,
Psychology
Source: University of Chicago
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 24, 2013, 4:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1532 | Comments: 0
Oxygen-free energy designed to fuel brain development spurs on growth of cancer
The metabolic process which fuels the growth of many cancers has its origins in normal brain growth finds a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Cancer & Metabolism. Using knock-out mice the study shows that interfering with Hexokinase-2 (Hk2), an enzyme integral to glucose metabolism, reduces the aggressiveness of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumo
Cancer
Source: BioMed Central
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 24, 2013, 11:15am
Rating: | Views: 1216 | Comments: 0
BPA substitute could spell trouble
A few years ago, manufacturers of water bottles, food containers, and baby products had a big problem. A key ingredient of the plastics they used to make their merchandise, an organic compound called bisphenol A, had been linked by scientists to diabetes, asthma and cancer and altered prostate and neurological development. The FDA and state legislatures were considering action to restrict BPA's us
Health
Source: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 24, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1306 | Comments: 0
Stem cell research helps to identify origins of schizophrenia
New University at Buffalo research demonstrates how defects in an important neurological pathway in early development may be responsible for the onset of schizophrenia later in life.
Molecular Biology
Source: University at Buffalo
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 24, 2013, 10:30am
Rating: | Views: 1184 | Comments: 0
A diffusion trap
Over the past several years, Rong Li, Ph.D., at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has been making crucial discoveries about the development of cell polarity—the process by which one side of a cell becomes different from the other side. Such polarity is critical for the functioning of the vast majority of cells. The outside surface of skin cells is very different from the
Molecular Biology
Source: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013, 1:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1172 | Comments: 0
Evidence mounts for role of mutated genes in development of schizophrenia
Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a rare gene mutation in a single family with a high rate of schizophrenia, adding to evidence that abnormal genes play a role in the development of the disease.
Genetics
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013, 8:15am
Rating: | Views: 1176 | Comments: 0
Developing microbial cell factories by employing synthetic small regulatory RNAs
Biotechnologists have been working hard to address the climate change and limited fossil resource issues through the development of sustainable processes for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials from renewable non-food biomass. One promising sustainable technology is the use of microbial cell factories for the efficient production of desired chemicals and materials. When microorganisms
Molecular Biology
Source: The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Posted on: Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013, 12:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1171 | Comments: 0
Novel technique reveals dynamics of telomere DNA structure
Biomedical researchers studying aging and cancer are intensely interested in telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes. In a new study, scientists at UC Santa Cruz used a novel technique to reveal structural and mechanical properties of telomeres that could help guide the development of new anti-cancer drugs.
Genetics
Source: University of California - Santa Cruz
Posted on: Friday, Jan 18, 2013, 2:15pm
Rating: | Views: 1260 | Comments: 0
Drug targets hard-to-reach leukemia stem cells responsible for relapses
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that hard-to-reach, drug-resistant leukemia stem cells (LSCs) that overexpress multiple pro-survival protein forms are sensitive – and thus vulnerable – to a novel cancer stem cell-targeting drug currently under development.
Cancer
Source: University of California - San Diego
Posted on: Friday, Jan 18, 2013, 12:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1576 | Comments: 0
New research finds slower growth of preterm infants linked to altered brain development
Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.
Neuroscience
Source: Child & Family Research Institute
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 17, 2013, 2:15pm
Rating: | Views: 1187 | Comments: 0
Light exposure during pregnancy key to normal eye development
New research in Nature concludes the eye – which depends on light to see – also needs light to develop normally during pregnancy.
Development
Source: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 17, 2013, 12:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1201 | Comments: 0
New surfaces repel most known liquids
In an advance toward stain-proof, spill-proof clothing, protective garments and other products that shrug off virtually every liquid — from blood and ketchup to concentrated acids — scientists are reporting development of new "superomniphobic" surfaces. Their report on surfaces that display extreme repellency to two families of liquids — Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids — appears in the Jour
Materials Science
Source: American Chemical Society
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 17, 2013, 11:45am
Rating: | Views: 1418 | Comments: 0
Genetics plays major role in victimization in elementary school
Genetics plays a major role in peer rejection and victimization in early elementary school, according to a study recently published on the website of the journal Child Development by a team directed by Dr. Michel Boivin, a research professor at Université Laval's School of Psychology.
Genetics
Source: University Laval
Posted on: Thursday, Jan 17, 2013, 10:00am
Rating: | Views: 1267 | Comments: 0
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