| Study finds gene variants that may affect cystic fibrosis severity |
| 1 March 2009 - by Dr Nadeem Shaikh |
| Variations in a gene called IFRD1, linked to activity of white blood cells called neutrophils, may be involved in the severity of symptoms for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) , according to a new US study published in Nature. CF is a life-limiting inherited disease in which the... [Read More] |
| Optimism may be in the genes |
| 1 March 2009 - by Sarah Pritchard |
| Whether a person looks on the brighter side of life may be the result of a gene variation, claims a study published last week. Published in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society B', the study claims that different versions of a particular gene, which affects levels... [Read More] |
| New mathematical framework for identifying healthiest IVF embryos |
| 2 March 2009 - by Dr Will Fletcher |
| Researchers from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) have developed a new mathematical classification scheme that can be used to select embryos for use in assisted reproduction treatments. The Spanish scientists presented this 'intelligent system' of support for infertility treatments in the journal Computer Methods and... [Read More] |
| A single gene caps the tooth |
| 2 March 2009 - by Adam Fletcher |
| A report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, made available online last week, has shed new light on how teeth grow. A gene has been identified as essential for the formation of enamel in the early stages of tooth development. Professors Chrissa Kioussi and... [Read More] |
| Rare Disease Day 2009 hailed a success |
| 2 March 2009 - by BioNews |
| Rare Disease UK (www.raredisease.org.uk) and the Genetic Interest Group (www.gig.org.uk) are organising activities around International Rare Disease Day on 28th February 2009, including three parliamentary receptions to raise the profile of rare diseases and to campaign for the development of a National Plan. A... [Read More] |
| Child abuse alters expression of stress gene |
| 2 March 2009 - by Lorna Stewart |
| Research published in Nature Neuroscience last week shows that child abuse can alter the expression of a gene that regulates the way the brain controls the stress response. The study was conducted by researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University in Montreal, Canada... [Read More] |
| iPS cells created safe for human use |
| 2 March 2009 - by Antony Starza-Allen |
| Researchers in the UK and Canada have successfully created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells suitable for potential future use in humans. iPS cells are adult cells (in this case skin cells) that have been reprogrammed into a pluripotent embryonic-like state, able to divide into any cell in... [Read More] |
| Lesbian Couple Win Battle to Have Scottish NHS Provide IVF |
| 2 March 2009 - by MacKenna Roberts |
| Last Friday, the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) reversed its decision to refuse a lesbian couple IVF treatment after the couple launched a legal challenge against the local health board's decision to consider homosexual couples ineligible for fertility treatment because neither partner is medically infertile and... [Read More] |
| Male infertility linked to testicular cancer |
| 2 March 2009 - by Rosie Beauchamp |
| In a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine a link has been made between male infertility and testicular germ cell cancer. The research, lead by Dr Thomas Walsh at the University of California San Francisco, studied data collected from 22,562 male partners of... [Read More] |
| New research into 'fat gene' |
| 2 March 2009 - by Dr Charlotte Maden |
| New research into the role played by the FTO gene in obesity has been published in the journal Nature, showing that the gene may function in metabolism. The FTO (fat-mass and obesity associated) gene has been linked to obesity in the past, which has provoked much interest... [Read More] |
