genetic variation news from FierceBioResearcher

Technology A team at the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University has created a "miniature laboratory" from one polymer and one small molecule in which human stem cells Read more...

Technology Inspired by new material found in sea cucumbers, researchers at Case Western have developed a new polymer that can morph between flexible and rigid states, depending on the level of Read more...

An international research consortium is launching the 1,000 Genomes Project, mapping the genomes of a thousand different people in an effort to shine a bright research light on the influence of Read more...

The full human genome containing both sets of chromosomes is considerably more complex than the half-measure of DNA decoded by a consortium of academic groups in 2003. That's the conclusion of a Read more...

A team of scientists say they have developed a drug that blocks the SIRT2 enzyme, which protects the neurons damaged by Parkinson's disease. In an article to come out this week in the journal Science, researchers at Harvard show how inhibition of SIRT2--a member of the sirtuin family, which is linked to aging--prevents the toxicity of the protein aggregates that are believed to be behind the neuronal death characteristic of PD. Contrary to "classic" approaches that try to …

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Researchers are recruiting 1,000 healthy members of the Health Alliance Plan in Michigan to examine them for 15 common genetic variations that raise their risk for disease. The scientists want to know if a genetic report card can prompt healthy people to take action to avoid a disease if they are at a higher risk. Participants will get counseling and receive the report in the mail, though it will not become part of their medical record.

- read the USA Today …

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Interested in promoting the advancement of personalized medicine, biomedical researchers are being offered access to a new online resource that identifies small changes in the human genome that are linked to disease. "Having this computational tool available to researchers will help prioritize which genetic variations are most likely to alter the structure and function of a protein, and provides us with critical information related to disease susceptibility, progression, and targets for …

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New research published in The Journal of Neuroscience asserts that transplanted neural stem cells can reduce the destruction of dopaminergic cells and replace cells lost to Parkinson's. A neural stem cell transplant in an animal study demonstrated that the animals continued to function normally, without the progressive loss of physical control that characterizes Parkinson's. The transplant occurred after a toxin was used to destroy neurons that are needed to make dopamine, a key …

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More Research

Lawmakers in Australia have lifted a four-year ban on cloning embryonic stem cells for research purposes. Report

Roche and the National Center of Competence in Research at the new Swiss Nanoscience Institute have unveiled new research into a nanotech sensor that can be used to monitor a …

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