Genes Archives

Researchers identify protein that fuels ovarian cancer

Researchers identify protein that fuels ovarian cancer, but its production can be stifled by a tiny bit of RNA wrapped in a fatty nanoparticle. – A protein that stimulates blood vessel growth worsens ovarian cancer, but its production can be stifled by a tiny bit of RNA wrapped in a fatty nanoparticle, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers discover TRIM22 gene that blocks HIV

Canadian researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a gene that can block HIV, and in turn prevent the onset of AIDS. – Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a gene that is able to block HIV, and in turn prevent the onset of AIDS. Stephen Barr, a molecular virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, says his team has identified a gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection in a cell culture by preventing the assembly of the virus.

New chemical tool kit reveals insights into drug toxicity

A Harvard Medical School team led by Vamsi Mootha has developed a new chemical tool kit that helps in explaining how drugs can affect its users, reveals insights into drug toxicity. – Why do nearly 1 million people taking cholesterol-lowering statins often experience muscle cramps? Why is it that in the rare case when a diabetic takes medication for intestinal worms, his glucose levels improve? Is there any scientific basis for the purported health effects of green tea?

Gene changes after smoking affects lung cancer

Smoking?s effects on genes may play a role in lung cancer development and survival; changes in gene expression persisted in people who had quit smoking many years earlier. – Smoking plays a role in lung cancer development, and now scientists have shown that smoking also affects the way genes are expressed, leading to alterations in cell division and regulation of immune response. Notably, some of the changes in gene expression persisted in people who had quit smoking many years earlier.

Herpes virus link to complications in pregnancy

Exposure to viral infection – especially viruses of the herpes group – may be associated with pregnancy-induced hypertensive disease (pre-eclampsia) and also with pre-term birth. – Viral infection with high blood pressure during pregnancy may lead to pre-term birth, revealed by researchers at Adelaide’s Women’s & Children’s Hospital and the University of Adelaide.

Genetic breakthrough boosting natural immunity

Genetic breakthrough supercharges immunity to flu and other viruses; McGill researchers discover way to boost cells’ natural anti-virus defences. – Researchers at McGill University have discovered a way to boost an organism’s natural anti-virus defences, effectively making its cells immune to influenza and other viruses.

Avastin found effective in advanced breast cancer patients

Avado Study of Avastin Plus Docetaxel Chemotherapy Showed Improved Progression-Free Survival in Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer – Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) announced that AVADO, a Roche-sponsored Phase III, placebo-controlled study evaluating Avastin? (bevacizumab) in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of prolonging progression-free survival (PFS) in patients who had not received prior chemotherapy for their locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.

Scientists identify new cellular receptor for HIV

NIAID Scientists identified new cellular receptor for HIV, and it may help further elucidate the complex mechanisms of the pathogenesis of HIV infection. – A cellular protein that helps guide immune cells to the gut has been newly identified as a target of HIV when the virus begins its assault on the body’s immune system, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

7 new prostate cancer genetic risk factors identified

UK researchers identified more than 7 new genetic links to prostate cancer, 2 of which would be included in a new diagnostic test aimed at spotting men at risk from this disease. – 7 new sites in the human genome identified that are linked to men’s risk of developing prostate cancer, revealed by Cancer Research UK funded scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and University of Cambridge.

IGFBP7 protein may stop melanoma skin cancer

One might call it a tale of two melanocytes. Given the same genetic mutation, why does one melanocyte shut down growth and become a relatively benign mole, while another rages out of control and develops into deadly melanoma” – Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have uncovered a protein that stops the growth of melanoma, a cancer that develops from pigment-producing cells in the skin called melanocytes.

Stress in pregnancy may lead to schizophrenia in offspring

This population-based study suggests that severe stress to a mother during the first trimester may alter the risk of schizophrenia in offspring. This finding is consistent with ecological evidence from whole populations exposed to severe stressors and suggests that environment may influence neurodevelopment at the feto-placental-maternal interface. – Most societies believe that a mother’s psychological state can influence her unborn baby. Children of women who undergo an extremely stressful event-such as the death of a close relative-during the first trimester of pregnancy appear more likely to develop schizophrenia, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Simple urine test detecting prostate cancer accurately

New, non-invasive prostate cancer test beats PSA in detecting prostate cancer, researchers report. Simple urine test leads to more accurate diagnoses, fewer false-positive results. – An experimental biomarker test developed by researchers at the University of Michigan more accurately detects prostate cancer than any other screening method currently in use, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.