Genetics News This is an OPML file. It can be used to export all the MedWorm RSS feeds on this topic into your personal RSS reader (usually you have to save this file to your own computer before clicking on an Import OPML command in your own feed reader to upload the file which will then import all the feeds) or it can be used by webmasters to integrate MedWorm feeds with their own website. This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

This page shows you the most recent publications within this specialty of the MedWorm directory. This is page number 18.

23andMe Nabs Billionaire Yuri Milner As Investor, Cuts Price To $99
Consumer genetics startup 23andMe, which has gone through a difficult series of repositionings, announced a new $50 million round of financing, doubling its total investment take so far. There's one new name on the list: Facebook billionaire Yuri Milner. (See this profile of Milner by my colleague Parmy Olson.)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - December 11, 2012 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Matthew Herper Source Type: news

Risk factors revealed for anti-tuberculosis drug hepatotoxicity
The risk for hepatotoxicity among patients treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs is affected by gender, ethnicity, and the presence of genetic polymorphisms, say Argentinean researchers.
Source: MedWire News - Gastroenterology - December 11, 2012 Category: Gastroenterology Source Type: news

Drug Abuse Runs in FamiliesDrug Abuse Runs in Families
Genetics aside, having a drug-abusing sibling or spouse increases an individual's risk for substance abuse, a new study confirms. Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Psychiatry News Source Type: news

Tests Call Mislabeled Fish a Widespread Problem in New York
The conservation group Oceana said that genetic analyses showed 39 percent of nearly 150 samples of fresh seafood collected from 81 establishments in the city were mislabeled.
Source: NYT - December 11, 2012 Category: Nutrition Authors: By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Tags: New York City Labeling and Labels Consumer Protection Oceana Seafood Source Type: news

New components of epigenetic 'code' for honey bee development discovered
Researchers have uncovered a new element of the honeybee's genetic makeup, which may help to explain why bees are so sensitive to environmental changes.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 11, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Epigenetics may underlie homosexuality, study finds
Is homosexuality genetic? It's a long-running debate. Now researchers say they've found a clue that may unlock the mystery. It lies in something called epi-genetics -- how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 11, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Genetic Vulnerabilities Identified in Residual TNBC After Neoadjuvant Chemo
SAN ANTONIO (IMNG) - In the not-too-distant future, triple-negative breast cancer that persists after neoadjuvant chemotherapy could potentially be treated with targeted therapies, new data suggest.At...
Source: OncologySTAT Latest News - December 11, 2012 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news

Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival
The “Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival” is a weekly summary of the best posts from medical blogs. Please email your suggestions for inclusion to clinicalcases@gmail.com. Best of Medical Blogs (BMB) is published every Tuesday, just like the old Grand Rounds. Is robotic surgery the “laser” of the 21st century? http://buff.ly/Vpbt6W A Low-tech Solution to Keep Immunosuppressed Patients Safe: a green ball http://buff.ly/VjcoFM Cardiologist: Physicians Beware on the Twittersphere: "I was left at a conversational disadvantage because of the loss of context that is inherent to 140-c...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - December 11, 2012 Category: Journals (General) Tags: Best of Medical Blogs Source Type: news

Orkney's world-record MS rates – Vikings to blame?
Conclusion This was a well-conducted study which carried out a thorough review of medical and laboratory records to verify each diagnosis of MS, and used internationally accepted criteria to establish the prevalence of MS (although prevalence rates for the study did vary according to different diagnostic criteria). However, as the authors point out, most patients were not reviewed in person by the study team, so it is possible there were some inaccuracies. In particular, a number of older people who were diagnosed with MS before the widespread introduction of MRI scans to help diagnose the disease more accurately, may hav...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

More Than A Third Of High-Risk Leukemia Patients Respond To An Experimental New Drug
A new drug for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) marked by a specific type of genetic mutation has shown surprising promise in a Phase II clinical trial. In more than a third of participants, the leukemia was completely cleared from the bone marrow, and as a result, many of these patients were able to undergo potentially curative bone marrow transplants, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and nine other academic medical centers around the world...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma Source Type: news

What Howler Monkeys Can Tell Us About The Role Of Interbreeding In Human Evolution
Did different species of early humans interbreed and produce offspring of mixed ancestry? Recent genetic studies suggest that Neanderthals may have bred with anatomically modern humans tens of thousands of years ago in the Middle East, contributing to the modern human gene pool. But the findings are not universally accepted, and the fossil record has not helped to clarify the role of interbreeding, which is also known as hybridization...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Diverse Genetic Alterations Discovered In Triple-Negative Breast Cancers
Most triple-negative breast cancer patients who were treated with chemotherapy to shrink the tumor prior to surgery still had multiple genetic mutations in their tumor cells, according to a study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators. Finding multiple mutations instead of just one primary mutation that can be targeted for therapy sheds more light on the challenges of treating triple-negative breast cancer. The study, led by Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and research faculty in the laboratory of Carlos Arteaga, M.D...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: news

Blood Cancer Studies Assess Genetics, Modified Treatment To Improve Outcomes, Reduce Toxicity
Research identifying genetic factors that affect survival of patients with blood cancers and evaluating the effectiveness of modified treatment strategies to improve outcomes while reducing toxicity were presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH)...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma Source Type: news

Scientists Identify Molecules In The Ear That Convert Sound Into Brain Signals
For scientists who study the genetics of hearing and deafness, finding the exact genetic machinery in the inner ear that responds to sound waves and converts them into electrical impulses, the language of the brain, has been something of a holy grail. Now this quest has come to fruition. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, CA, have identified a critical component of this ear-to-brain conversion - a protein called TMHS...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Hearing / Deafness Source Type: news

Why Do Women Live Longer than Men?
I heard that men's life expectancy is catching up to women's. But I don't understand why women typically live longer than men. Is it a difference in lifestyles, or due to some kind of inbuilt genetic advantage?
Source: Dr. Weil Q and A - December 11, 2012 Category: Consumer Health Advice Source Type: news

Researchers identify new components of the epigenetic 'code' for honey bee development
(University of Sheffield) Researchers from the UK and Australia have uncovered a new element of the honeybee's genetic makeup, which may help to explain why bees are so sensitive to environmental changes.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - December 11, 2012 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Drug resistant leukemia stem cells may be source of genetic chaos, Temple scientists find
(Temple University Health System) Temple University School of Medicine researchers have found that a source of genomic instability in chronic myeloid leukemia may lie in a pool of leukemia stem cells that are immune to some anticancer drugs. Even after treatment with the highly effective imatinib, resistant stem cells may continue to foster DNA damage, potentially leading to disease relapse and progression.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 11, 2012 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Study finds epigenetics, not genetics, underlies homosexuality
(National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)) Epigenetics -- how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks -- appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs.According to the study, published online today in The Quarterly Review of Biology, sex-specific epi-marks, which normally do not pass between generations and are thus "erased," can lead to homosexuality when they escape erasure and are transmitted from father to daughter or mother to son.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - December 11, 2012 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Reprogrammed HIV fights leukemia in child
ATLANTA, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old Pennsylvania girl who had run out of treatments for leukemia has "achieved a complete response" using genetically altered HIV, her doctor says.
Source: Health News - UPI.com - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Genetic mutations linked to breast cancer
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Most triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy to shrink a tumor before surgery may still have genetic mutations, U.S. researchers say.
Source: Health News - UPI.com - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Purchase by Amgen Won't Affect deCODE Genetics' Research, Founder Says
Company will continue to publish freely, according to CEO Kári Stefánsson
Source: ScienceNOW - December 10, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Food safety group calls for court to limit GMO seed patents
(Reuters) - Patent protection for genetically modified corn, soybeans and other crop must be limited so farmers can save their seeds and protect themselves against litigation, a public interest group said in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in a case involving global seed giant Monsanto Co.
Source: Reuters: Health - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Indicators of domestic/intimate partner violence are structured by genetic and nonshared environmental influences - Barnes JC, Teneyck M, Boutwell BB, Beaver KM.
One of the most consistent findings to emerge from domestic/intimate partner violence (IPV) research is that IPV tends to "run in the family." Social learning theories appear to be consistent with empirical data, but almost no attention has been given to a...
Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated) - December 10, 2012 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Violence and Weapons Issues Source Type: news

Leukemia Patients Stay In Remission More Than Two Years With New T Cell Therapy
Leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells, after the cells had been genetically engineered to fight the patients' cancerous tumors, reacted to the therapy in a positive way, staying in full remission for over two years. The new therapy was developed by a group of scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the results will be presented at the American Society of Hematology's Annual Meeting and Exposition...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma Source Type: news

Amgen to acquire genetics pioneer Decode
US biotech group is to pay $415m to buy Decode from a consortium of private investors as it seeks to strengthen its expansion into genetically targeted treatments
Source: FT.com - Drugs and Healthcare - December 10, 2012 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

VIDEO: DNA mapping for cancer patients
Up to 100,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases in England are to have their entire genetic code sequenced.
Source: BBC News | Health | UK Edition - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Targeted molecular therapy for untreatable neurofibroma tumors
Researchers conducting a preclinical study in mice successfully used targeted molecular therapy to block mostly untreatable nerve tumors that develop in people with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Scientists say the data provide strong rationale for testing the therapy in clinical trials for NF1.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 10, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

With DeCode Deal, Amgen Aims To Discover Drugs Like We Meant To In 1999
It certainly wasn’t the deal Amgen investors were expecting from their new executive team: This morning, the Thousand Oaks, Calif., biotechnology giant dropped $415 million on DeCode Genetics, a genomics firm that Wall Streeters associate with the hype-filled days of the 2000s genomics boom and a company they probably hadn’t thought about since it went bankrupt in 2010.
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - December 10, 2012 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Matthew Herper Source Type: news

With DeCode Deal, Amgen Aims To Discover Drugs Like We Meant To 1999
It certainly wasn’t the deal Amgen investors were expecting from their new executive team: This morning, the Thousand Oaks, Calif., biotechnology giant dropped $415 million on DeCode Genetics, a genomics firm that Wall Streeters associate with the hype-filled days of the 2000s genomics boom and a company they probably hadn’t thought about since it went bankrupt in 2010.
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - December 10, 2012 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Matthew Herper Source Type: news

Study Identifies Targeted Molecular Therapy For Untreatable NF1 Tumors
Researchers conducting a preclinical study in mice successfully used targeted molecular therapy to block mostly untreatable nerve tumors that develop in people with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report their findings online Dec. 10 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer / Oncology Source Type: news

Amgen buys Icelandic gene hunter Decode for $415 million
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. biotechnology group Amgen Inc has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $415 million in cash to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs.
Source: Reuters: Health - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Amgen to Acquire deCODE Genetics, a Global Leader in Human Genetics
deCODE Genetics Will Provide Amgen With an Industry-Leading Ability to Identify and Validate Disease Targets in Human Populations THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Dec. 10, 2012 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Amgen (AMGN) and deCODE Genetics today ann... Biopharmaceuticals, Mergers & AcquisitionsAmgen, deCODE Genetics
Source: HSMN NewsFeed - December 10, 2012 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

Amgen buys Icelandic gene pioneer Decode for $415 million
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. biotechnology group Amgen has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in gene research, for $415 million to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs.
Source: Reuters: Health - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

ADHD linked to oxygen deprivation before birth
Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life as compared to unexposed children, according to a new study. The findings suggest that events in pregnancy may contribute to the occurrence of ADHD over and above well-known familial and genetic influences of the disorder.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 10, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Leukemia patients remain in remission more than two years after engineered T cell therapy
Nine of 12 leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients' tumors responded to the therapy.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 10, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Britain launches genome database to improve patient care
LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 100,000 Britons suffering from cancer and rare diseases are to have their genetic codes fully sequenced and mapped as part of government efforts to boost drug development and improve treatment.
Source: Reuters: Health - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Malaria Cure Step Closer With Discovery Of Parasite's Cloaking Device
A team in Israel believes the hope of a cure for malaria is a step closer after discovering a genetic cloaking device that the parasite uses to evade the immune system and establish infection. They suggest a treatment that interferes with the DNA of the cloaking device could give the immune system a chance to clear the infection. Ron Dzikowski and colleagues from The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem write about their findings in a paper that was published online ahead of print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS on 29 November...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Tropical Diseases Source Type: news

Researchers Produce A Catalog Of The Deleterious And Disease-Causing Genetic Variants In Healthy People
Researchers at Cambridge and Cardiff have found that, on average, a normal healthy person carries approximately 400 potentially damaging DNA variants and two variants known to be associated directly with disease traits. They showed that one in ten people studied is expected to develop a genetic disease as a consequence of carrying these variants. It has been known for decades that all people carry some damaging genetic variants that appear to cause little or no ill effect...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Insight Into DNA Reprogramming During Egg And Sperm Cell Development
Scientists at the Babraham Institute have gained a new understanding of when and how the DNA in developing egg and sperm cells is 'reset', in preparation for making a new embryo. It is well known that small chemical groups can be added to DNA to alter gene activity, these modifications to the DNA are acquired during development in the womb and throughout adult life and can arise from changes in environment. Most of these modifications are removed in immature egg and sperm cells to 'reset' the DNA and to erase any 'environmental memory', but some remain...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

DNA mapping for cancer patients
Up to 100,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases in England are to have their entire genetic code sequenced.
Source: BBC News | Health | UK Edition - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Researchers Find New Genetic Pathway Behind Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, have discovered a new genetic process that could one day provide a novel target for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as intellectual disability and autism. The research study, which appears in the December issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, was led by Carl Ernst, a Douglas Institute researcher, an assistant professor in McGill's Department of Psychiatry and a Canada Research Chair in Psychiatric Genetics...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology / Neuroscience Source Type: news

Everybody's DNA could be on genetic map in 'very near future'
Personalised medicine for all could be a possibility in the "very near future" as everybody will soon be able to have their entire DNA make-up mapped for as little as £100, a leading professor said.
Source: Telegraph Health - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: David Cameron NHS genome DNA database Source Type: news

European sellouts reject study linking GM corn to cancer; ignore cold, hard facts to protect biotech industry
The next time somebody tries to tell you that "science" is the reason why genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are approved for use in many countries around the world, you can point them to the latest unscientific decision made by the European Food Safety Authority...
Source: NaturalNews.com - December 10, 2012 Category: Consumer Health Advice Source Type: news

Three Chinese Officials Fired in Scandal over GM Rice Study Involving School Children
Last week, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC) completed its ethics investigation of a study in which twenty-four 6-8 year old children were fed rice that was genetically-modified (GM) to produce beta-carotene (i.e., Golden Rice) to evaluate its effectiveness as a supplement to combat vitamin A deficiency....Read Full Post
Source: About.com Biotech Biomedical - December 10, 2012 Category: Biotechnology Source Type: news

Study identifies targeted molecular therapy for untreatable NF1 tumors
(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center) Researchers conducting a preclinical study in mice successfully used targeted molecular therapy to block mostly untreatable nerve tumors that develop in people with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report their findings online Dec. 10 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and say the data provide strong rationale for testing the therapy in clinical trials for NF1.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - December 10, 2012 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news

Biologists engineer algae to make complex anti-cancer 'designer' drug
(University of California - San Diego) Biologists at UC San Diego have succeeded in genetically engineering algae to produce a complex and expensive human therapeutic drug used to treat cancer. Their achievement, detailed in a paper in this week's early online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, opens the door for making these and other "designer" proteins in larger quantities and much more cheaply than can now be made from mammalian cells.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - December 10, 2012 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news

New edition of 'Bacterial Genetics' text available
(American Society for Microbiology) ASM Press announces the fourth edition of Molecular Genetics of Bacteria, a textbook that centers on the most-studied bacteria, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, in addition to examples from other medically, ecologically or biotechnologically significant bacteria.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - December 10, 2012 Category: Biology Source Type: news

DNA study finds many genetic mutations are rare and recent
Scientists look at a broad sample of human DNA and get a snapshot of how dramatically we've changed in the last few thousand years.Human DNA contains myriad individual differences that influence a host of traits, be they eye color or the ability to digest milk. Now a study shows that most of those tiny genetic variations are rare — and they arose in the very recent history of our species.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - December 10, 2012 Category: Science Source Type: news

Whole genome mapping for cancer patients
UK first to introduce DNA mapping into mainstream health system Related items from OnMedicaAlso in the pressGuideline promises to transform cancer care for patientsPush for more genetic testing on the NHSCancer steals 170 million years of ‘healthy life’
Source: OnMedica Latest News - December 10, 2012 Category: UK Health Source Type: news