Genetic Press

Watching the unravelling of the human genome….

Archive for August, 2008

Location, Location, Location Important For Genes, Too

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

To better understand how cells become cancerous, a new study by cancer researchers looks at four genes that help regulate cell growth in embryos and contribute to cancer in adults. The genes are generally believed to work together to help control cell proliferation. But this study shows that mice need ...

More Genes Are Controlled By Biological Clocks Than Previously Thought

Friday, August 29th, 2008

The tick-tock of your biological clock may have just gotten a little louder. The number of genes under control of the biological clock in a much-studied model organism is dramatically higher than previously reported. The new study implies that the clock may be much more important in living things than ...

Researchers Devise Means To Create Blood By Identifying Earliest Stem Cells

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Researchers have discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonic stem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biological marker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitors for red blood cells and lymphocytes.

New Findings Explain Genetic Disorder’s Unique Shift; Father’s Role As Resource Provider Influential In Prader-Willi Syndrome

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

New findings give insight into the unique characteristics of the birth defect Prader-Willi Syndrome, and at the same time, may help explain how a certain type of gene is expressed in all humans. The research finds that the amount of care a father gives to his child may cause a ...

New Findings Explain Genetic Disorder’s Unique Shift; Father’s Role As Resource Provider Influential In Prader-Willi Syndrome

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

New findings give insight into the unique characteristics of the birth defect Prader-Willi Syndrome, and at the same time, may help explain how a certain type of gene is expressed in all humans. The research finds that the amount of care a father gives to his child may cause a ...

Keeping Cells Youthful: How Telomere-building Proteins Get Drawn Into The Fold

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

It may take just one or two proteins to polish off a simple cellular task, but life-or-death matters, such as caring for the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres, require interacting crews of proteins, all with a common goal but each with a specialized task.

Also in the Aug. 26 JNCI

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

(Journal of the National Cancer Institute) The Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute features articles on a proposal for a new trial design that could speed drug development, a sea sponge chemical used to kill cancer cells, a new potential mouse model of leukemia ...

Olive leaf extract can help tackle high blood pressure and cholesterol

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

(Wiley-Blackwell) Taking 1000 mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA 943) can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a "Twins" trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the ...

Characteristics, Treatment Options For XXYY Syndrome

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Researchers have described the medical and psychological characteristics of a rare genetic disorder in which males have two "X" and two "Y" chromosomes, rather than the normal one of each.

Tiny Cellular Antennae Trigger Neural Stem Cells

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Yale University scientists today reported evidence suggesting that the tiny cilia found on brain cells of mammals, thought to be vestiges of a primeval past, actually play a critical role in relaying molecular signals that spur creation of neurons in an area of the brain involved in mood, learning and ...