Step towards personalised breast cancer treatment

Researchers in the US have found that they can predict how well breast cancer patients respond to a type of chemotherapy based on certain genes. The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, highlight the potential for personalised cancer therapies in the near future....[Read More]

Drinking mice have more brown offspring

New research has shown that drinking during pregnancy can cause permanent genetic changes to the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of the developing fetus. The findings, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, may aid in the development of a diagnosis for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)....[Read More]

Dog genes could give OCD clue

Researchers in the US studying dogs have found a gene that is linked to the canine version of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It is hoped that the findings will shed new light on the human condition, which is a complex disorder, difficult to study in man....[Read More]

Genetic switch that turns mice ovaries into testes

Scientists have found that a single gene maintains femininity in adult mice, and that when it is switched off they develop male features. The findings may help understand sex disorders in children or premature menopause in women....[Read More]

Stress during infancy could alter gene expression in later life

New research into stress in early life has revealed that it can permanently alter specific genes. The work, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that trauma or stress endured in infancy can cause behavioural changes in later life that may lead to psychological disorders, such as depression....[Read More]

Five new genes linked to Parkinson's disease

New investigations into the genetics of Parkinson's disease have identified five new genes associated with the sporadic form of the disease. The worldwide collaborative effort, published in Nature Genetics last week, gives new insight into the progression of the devastating disease that affects so many people....[Read More]

Trial to re-grow breasts after cancer surgery planned for next year

Scientists in Australia have developed a way for women diagnosed with breast cancer to regrow their breasts after a mastectomy. The group at the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne plan to start clinical trials with the technique next year. It is believed that this will be only the second time in the world that tissue engineering has been carried out in a human....[Read More]

Gene therapy mends damaged lungs for transplant

Donor lungs damaged before transplantation can be repaired using a gene therapy technique developed by a team of scientists in Canada. This may increase the supply of functional lungs for transplant patients, by using organs that are currently discarded....[Read More]

Mutant gene conclusively linked to Parkinson's disease

New research into a rare genetic disorder called Gaucher disease has revealed a genetic predisposition for people with this disease to Parkinson's disease. The study, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, was carried out because in the past some clinicians have noticed a link between the two diseases....[Read More]

Stem cell combined with gene therapy repairs damaged tissue in mice

A team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, US, has found a way of delivering genes into stem cells to ensure they are more effective at their function...[Read More]