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This page shows you the most recent publications within this specialty of the MedWorm directory. This is page number 9.

Why are children at higher risk for negative health effects of environmental toxins?
(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins and a detailed look at how and why, and what can be done to protect children's health, is presented in a two-part article published in Alternative and Complementary Therapies.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 9, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

A Conversation With A Breakthrough Drug
Sunday night, as the biotech world prepared for the annual explosion of chatter and loss-of-perspective that is the annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference, Vertex Pharmaceuticals said that it had been awarded not one but two of the first "breakthrough" designations from the Food and Drug Administration for Kalydeco, its drug for cystic fibrosis, which helps the 4% of patients with the rare disease cystic fibrosis whose disease is caused by a genetic mutation called G551d.
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - January 8, 2013 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Matthew Herper Source Type: news

Epilepsy, Migraines May Have Family Ties
People with epilepsy have a higher risk for migraines, and now new research offers evidence of a genetic link between the two conditions.
Source: WebMD Health - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Genetic matchmaking saves endangered frogs
What if Noah got it wrong? What if he paired a male and a female animal thinking they were the same species, and then discovered they were not the same and could not produce offspring? As researchers from the Smithsonian's Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project race to save frogs from a devastating disease by breeding them in captivity, a genetic test averts mating mix-ups.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 8, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: news

Blood brothers (and sisters): Sibling study discovers genetic region linked to control of key blood-clotting protein
In 2006, the lab of Dr. David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute put a call out for siblings attending the University of Michigan to donate blood for a study of blood-clotting disorders. The samples were collected over three years and have now enabled the researchers to identify the specific parts of the genome responsible for levels of a key substance for blood clotting.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 8, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: news

Genes and obesity: Fast food isn't only culprit in expanding waistlines -- DNA is also to blame
Researchers say it's not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter -- it's also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat responses to a typical fast-food diet are determined in large part by genetic factors, and they have identified several genes they say may control those responses.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 8, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: news

Study Suggests Genetic Link Between Epilepsy, Migraine
Prevalence of migraine increases when several relatives have seizure disorders, researchers say Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Pages: Epilepsy, Genes and Gene Therapy, Migraine
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Genes and obesity: Fast food isn't only culprit in expanding waistlines -- DNA is also to blame
Researchers at UCLA say it's not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter — it's also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat responses to a typical fast-food diet are determined in large part by genetic factors, and they have identified several genes they say may control those responses. The study is the first of its kind to detail metabolic responses to a high-fat, high-sugar diet in a large and diverse mouse population under defined environmental conditions, modeling closely what is likely to occur in human populations. The researchers found that the amount of food consumed con...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - January 8, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Baxter posts positive results from late-stage hemophilia study
(Reuters) - Baxter International Inc reported positive results from a late-stage study evaluating routine use of its anti-inhibitor coagulant complex to treat hemophilia, a rare genetic blood clotting disorder.
Source: Reuters: Health - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Is children's asthma made worse by inhalers?
Conclusion This proof-of-concept trial suggests that montelukast offers a more effective treatment option than salmeterol in a group of children with poorly controlled asthma and a specific genetic variation. The researchers concluded that “adding montelukast to inhaled fluticasone significantly reduced school absences, improved asthma symptoms and quality-of-life, while reducing inhaled reliever use” compared to salmeterol. They also say that “the relative benefits of montelukast in comparison to salmeterol became evident within the first three months and persisted throughout the whole year.” They suggest that th...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Pregnancy/child Source Type: news

Little boy who survived nine life-saving operations is all smiles after he goes home from hospital for the first time
Aaron Armstrong has spent the last 14 months at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle after he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.
Source: the Mail online | Health - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Clinical Blueprint Of Cancer Genes Could Help Guide Treatment For Patients Who Have Exhausted All Other Options
Fox Chase Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, is now offering patients with advanced cancer a cutting-edge clinical test that will provide them with a unique blueprint of their cancer genes. The new clinical test, known as CancerCode-45TM, evaluates an individual's tumor for genetic alterations in a select group of 45 genes and gives physicians the opportunity to look at the alterations and be even more precise when choosing a course of treatment...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer / Oncology Source Type: news

Researchers Identify New Gene Variants Associated With Risk For Behcet's Disease
Researchers have identified four new regions on the human genome associated with Behcet's disease, a painful and potentially dangerous condition found predominantly in people with ancestors along the Silk Road. For nearly 2,000 years, traders used this 4,000-mile network linking the Far East with Europe to exchange goods, culture and, in the case of the Silk Road disease, genes. National Institutes of Health researchers and their Turkish and Japanese collaborators published their findings in the advance online issue of Nature Genetics...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Immune System / Vaccines Source Type: news

New Study Applies Quantitative Modeling To Genomics
Genomic research is widely expected to transform medicine, but progress has been slower than expected. While critics argue that the genomics "promise" has been broken - and that money might be better spent elsewhere - proponents say the deliberate pace underscores the complexity of the relationship between medicine and disease and, indeed, argues for more funding. But thus far, these competing narratives have been based mostly on anecdotes...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Unlocking Secrets Of Protein
Scientists are using an instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor to discover how a key binding protein protects our DNA double helix. This special Replication Protein, or RPA, is critical to keeping our hereditary information intact, which allows geneticists to track diseases that may be passed from one generation to another. RPA keeps the single DNA strands untangled and also prevents attacks by enzymes that can break up the DNA and render the code indecipherable...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Processed snack foods increase colon cancer risk, especially in genetically susceptible individuals
Colon cancer continues to be a leading cause of cancer deaths, as the number of newly diagnosed cases continue to grow concurrent with the rate of overweight, obesity and processed food consumption. This may come as no surprise to natural health followers who understand...
Source: NaturalNews.com - January 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health Advice Source Type: news

Surprising teaching tool in K-12 science education -- Zebrafish research
(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) The world's leading zebrafish researchers contribute to the community's active global efforts to promote science education. Scientific papers, many authored by students in grades K-12, as well as articles highlighting innovative curricula and educational tools and an informative report from the recent Zebrafish in Education Workshops are featured in the journal Zebrafish.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 8, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news

National Academy of Sciences honors geneticist and biologist Sue Biggins
(Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Sue Biggins, Ph.D., a geneticist and biologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology. Sponsored by Pfizer Inc., the award consists of a $25,000 prize in recognition of a recent notable discovery by a young scientist.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 8, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Genetic matchmaking saves endangered frogs
(Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) What if Noah got it wrong? What if he paired a male and a female animal thinking they were the same species, and then discovered they were not the same and could not produce offspring? As researchers from the Smithsonian's Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project race to save frogs from a devastating disease by breeding them in captivity, a genetic test averts mating mix-ups.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 8, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

U-M sibling study discovers genetic region linked to control of key blood-clotting protein
(University of Michigan) In 2006, the lab of Dr. David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute put a call out for siblings attending the University of Michigan to donate blood for a study of blood-clotting disorders.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 8, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Asthma drug 'isn't working on children' and could be making their illness worse
Doctors have warned a genetic quirk means popular drug salmeterol does not help one in seven cases, and have called on the Department of Health to provide new guidance.
Source: the Mail online | Health - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Cheap and easy technique to snip DNA could revolutionize gene therapy
A simple, precise and inexpensive method for cutting DNA to insert genes into human cells could transform genetic medicine, making routine what now are expensive, complicated and rare procedures for replacing defective genes in order to fix genetic disease or even cure AIDS.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 7, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: news

Letters: Questions and Answers (2 Letters)
Letters to the editor.
Source: NYT Health - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics and Heredity Breast Cancer Source Type: news

DealBook: Illumina Buys Maker of Down Syndrome Test
Amid a report that Roche was no longer interested in a takeover, Illumina made a deal of its own in a sign that DNA sequencing is now moving toward being used for medical diagnosis.
Source: NYT Health - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: By ANDREW POLLACK Tags: Genetics and Heredity Verinata Health Inc DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) Illumina Inc ILMN NASDAQ Roche Holding A G RHHBY Other OTC Down Syndrome Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures Tests (Medical) Source Type: news

Epizyme, Eisai and Roche to Develop EZH2 Companion Diagnostic
Collaboration Focused on Genetically Defined Lymphomas - CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Epizyme, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the creation of personalized therapeutics to treat patients with genetically defined...
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - January 7, 2013 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

New insulin associated genetic variants discovered
Exome array genotyping, which allows focus on the protein coding regions of the genome, has enabled researchers to identify three new genes containing low-frequency variants that influence insulin levels.
Source: MedWire News - Diabetes - January 7, 2013 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: news

Roche abandons pursuit of Illumina
US genetics group’s shares fall after Swiss pharmaceutical company chairman says an acquisition deal is definitely off the table
Source: FT.com - Drugs and Healthcare - January 7, 2013 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

Genetic mystery of Behcet's disease unfolds along the ancient Silk Road
Researchers have identified four new regions on the human genome associated with Behcet's disease, a painful and potentially dangerous condition found predominantly in people with ancestors along the Silk Road. For nearly 2,000 years, traders used this 4,000-mile network linking the Far East with Europe to exchange goods, culture and, in the case of the Silk Road disease, genes. National Institutes of Health researchers and their Turkish and Japanese collaborators published their findings in the Jan. 6, 2013, advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Source: NHGRI Press Releases - January 7, 2013 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news

Stink bug: Combating a top-ranked invasive insect
The stink bug, an invasive species, is a major economic threat to orchard fruits, garden vegetables and row crops. Scientists are searching for ways to control the stink bug by deciphering its genetic toolkit, studying the pheromones it releases, and evaluating potential attractants for use in commercial traps.
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 7, 2013 Category: Science Source Type: news

Genetic mystery of Behcet's disease unfolds along the ancient Silk Road
Researchers have identified four new regions on the human genome associated with Behcet's disease, a painful and potentially dangerous condition found predominantly in people with ancestors along the Silk Road. For nearly 2,000 years, traders used this 4,000-mile network linking the Far East with Europe to exchange goods, culture and, in the case of the Silk Road disease, genes. National Institutes of Health researchers and their Turkish and Japanese collaborators published their findings in the Jan. 6, 2013, advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases - January 7, 2013 Category: American Health Source Type: news

NIH investigators discover new gene that affects clearance of hepatitis C virus
Scientists have discovered a gene that interferes with the clearance of hepatitis C virus infection. They also identified an inherited variant within this gene, Interferon Lambda 4 (IFNL4), that predicts how people respond to treatment for hepatitis C infection. The results of this study, by investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the NIH, and their collaborators at NIH and other institutions, were published online in Nature Genetics on Jan. 6, 2013.
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases - January 7, 2013 Category: American Health Source Type: news

Do epilepsy and migraine share a genetic link?
Conclusion This paper suggests there is a link between the number of close relatives with a seizure disorder and the likelihood that an individual with epilepsy will also suffer from migraines with aura. However, it seems that the researchers were only interested in what they term ‘additional’ family members, and did not take into account the fact that to be eligible for this study at least two siblings or a parent and child both had to suffer from epilepsy. There seems to be the possibility that if, for example, four members of a family were enrolled in the study but the family had no further affected members, all me...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Fatness in older women 'may not be their fault'
Conclusion This mouse- and laboratory-based study has found that the enzyme Aldh1 plays a key role in fat formation. In females, oestrogen seems to repress the expression of one form of Aldh1, called Aldh1a3. A high-fat diet increases Aldh1a1. A high-fat diet seems to have different effects on females and males, and appears to signal the deposition of visceral fat around the organs and activate genes sensitive to retinoic acid – which is produced by Aldh1 enzymes – in females. The researchers have used this finding to suggest that fat deposition in women might change while they age, due to the decrease in oestroge...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Stanford Researchers Use Stem Cells To Pinpoint Cause Of Common Type Of Sudden Cardiac Death
When a young athlete dies unexpectedly on the basketball court or the football field, it's both shocking and tragic. Now Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular basis for a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is the most common cause for this type of sudden cardiac death. To do so, the Stanford scientists created induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, from the skin cells of 10 members of a family with a genetic mutation that causes the condition...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiovascular / Cardiology Source Type: news

In Epigenomics, Location Is Everything
In a novel use of gene knockout technology, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine tested the same gene inserted into 90 different locations in a yeast chromosome - and discovered that while the inserted gene never altered its surrounding chromatin landscape, differences in that immediate landscape measurably affected gene activity. The findings, published online in the Jan...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Editing The Genome With High Precision
Researchers at MIT, the Broad Institute and Rockefeller University have developed a new technique for precisely altering the genomes of living cells by adding or deleting genes. The researchers say the technology could offer an easy-to-use, less-expensive way to engineer organisms that produce biofuels; to design animal models to study human disease; and to develop new therapies, among other potential applications. To create their new genome-editing technique, the researchers modified a set of bacterial proteins that normally defend against viral invaders...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Rare Form Of Active 'Jumping Genes' Found In Mammals
Much of the DNA that makes up our genomes can be traced back to strange rogue sequences known as transposable elements, or jumping genes, which are largely idle in mammals. But Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified a new DNA sequence moving around in bats - the first member of its class found to be active in mammals. The discovery, described in a report published in December on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers a new means of studying evolution, and may help in developing tools for gene therapy, the research team says...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Role Of Plasmalemma Vesicle Associated Protein (Plvap/PV1) Critical To Formation Of The Diaphragms In Endothelial Cells
Dartmouth scientists have demonstrated the importance of the gene Plvap and the structures it forms in mammalian physiology in a study published in December by the journal Developmental Cell. "The knowledge generated and the animal models created will allow a better understanding of the role of the gene in diseases and will help validate its usefulness as a therapeutic or diagnostic target," said lead author Radu V. Stan, MD, associate professor, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC)...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics Source Type: news

Cheap and easy technique to snip DNA could revolutionize gene therapy
(University of California - Berkeley) Methods to precisely cut DNA have advanced a lot in the past year, leading researchers to more seriously consider gene-replacement therapies for genetic disease and even cures for infectious diseases such as AIDS. One technique discovered last year by UC Berkeley's Jennifer Doudna and colleagues has now been shown to work in human cells, bringing it to the forefront of DNA-snipping techniques because it is not only precise but easy to use and cheap.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 7, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Combating USDA's top-ranked invasive insect
(United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics) The stink bug, an invasive species, is a major economic threat to orchard fruits, garden vegetables and row crops. USDA scientists are searching for ways to control the stink bug by deciphering its genetic toolkit, studying the pheromones it releases, and evaluating potential attractants for use in commercial traps.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 7, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Epilepsy and migraine 'could have shared genetic link'
Scientists from Columbia University, New York, analysed 500 families containing two or more close relatives with epilepsy. Their findings could mean that genes exist that cause both epilepsy and migraine. Epilepsy Action said it could lead to targeted treatments. Previous studies have shown that people with epilepsy are substantially more likely than the general population to have migraine headaches, but it was not clear whether that was due to a shared genetic cause. The researchers found that people with three or more close relatives with a seizure disorder were more than twice as likely to experience 'migraine with aura...
Source: NHS Networks - January 7, 2013 Category: UK Health Authors: Maria Axford Source Type: news

Bladder cancer genetic variant identified
Patients who have inherited a specific common genetic variant develop bladder cancer tumors that strongly express a protein known as prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA), which is also expressed in many prostate and pancreatic tumors, say researchers from the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.
Source: Modern Medicine - January 7, 2013 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: news

MVI and Inovio partner to develop malaria vaccines using innovative vaccine delivery tech
(Burness Communications) The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced a follow-on collaboration to advance malaria vaccine development and new vaccination delivery technologies. Researchers will test whether a novel vaccine approach that combines genetically engineered DNA with an innovative vaccine delivery technology called electroporation could induce an immune response in humans that protects against malaria parasite infection.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - January 7, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

All in the family: A genetic link between epilepsy and migraine
(Wiley) New research reveals a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy, indicate that having a strong family history of seizure disorders increases the chance of having migraine with aura.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 7, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Pioneering Research On Type 2 Diabetes At UCSB
While legions of medical researchers have been looking to understand the genetic basis of disease and how mutations may affect human health, a group of biomedical researchers at UC Santa Barbara is studying the metabolism of cells and their surrounding tissue, to ferret out ways in which certain diseases begin. This approach, which includes computer modeling, can be applied to Type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, among others...
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 6, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Diabetes Source Type: news

Genetic mystery of Behcet's disease unfolds along the ancient Silk Road
(NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute) Researchers have identified four new regions on the human genome associated with Behcet's disease, a painful and potentially dangerous condition found predominantly in people with ancestors along the Silk Road. National Institutes of Health researchers and their Turkish and Japanese collaborators published their findings in the Jan. 6, 2013, advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 6, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Impact of Genetic Targets on Cancer Therapy
series:Advances in Experimental Medicine and BiologyThe topic of ‘Impact of genetic targets on cancer therapy’ has reviews that each focuses on a specific tumor type, review recent knowledge about molecular pathogenesis in general and especially as it impacts response to therapy. The topic is aimed to provide a forum for publication of original peer-reviewed short communications, full-length research and review articles on new research ...
Source: Springer Biomedical Sciences titles - January 5, 2013 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Cancer Research Source Type: news

Jared Diamond: learning from tribal life
The west's dwindling connection with the natural world puts it in increasing peril, says the distinguished anthropologist in his new book. Many of the practices of tribal cultures can help us to rediscover our way, he argues – from respecting the environment to letting toddlers play with knivesThe Kaulong people of New Britain used to have an extreme way of dealing with families in mourning. Until the 1950s, newly widowed women on the island off New Guinea were strangled by their husband's brothers or, in their absence, by one of their own sons. Custom dictated no other course of action. Failure to comply meant dishonour...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 5, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Evolution Culture Papua New Guinea Society Books Anthropology Geography Features The Observer Science Source Type: news

Jared Diamond: what the tribes of New Guinea have to teach us
The west's dwindling connection with the natural world puts it in increasing peril, says the distinguished anthropologist in his new book. Many of the practices of tribal cultures can help us to rediscover our way, he argues – from respecting the environment to letting toddlers play with knivesThe Kaulong people of New Britain used to have an extreme way of dealing with families in mourning. Until the 1950s, newly widowed women on the island off New Guinea were strangled by their husband's brothers or, in their absence, by one of their own sons. Custom dictated no other course of action. Failure to comply meant dishonour...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 5, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Evolution Culture Papua New Guinea Society Books Anthropology Geography Features The Observer Science Source Type: news