MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'gene,''. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:55:16 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3764269&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F18%2Fchallenges-of-enriched-environment-significantly-curb-cancer-growth-in-mice%2F Living in an environment rich with physical, mental and social stimulation – a setting that causes mild stress – appears by itself to curb cancer growth in mice, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3764269 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:32:50 +0100 3764269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3762903&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwill-science-succeed-with-an-anti-aging-revolution%2F2010.07.17 Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to prolong our lives and to keep us healthy right up to the end? Ponce de León never found that Fountain of Youth, but science is still looking. What are the chances science will succeed? How’s it doing so far? In his new book The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution, David Stipp tries to answer those questions. From the title of the book, I expected hype about resveratrol or some other miracle pill, but instead it is a nuanced, levelheaded, entertaining, informative account of the history and current state of longevity research. It makes that research come alive by telling stories about the people involved, the failures and setbacks, and the agonizingly slow process of teasing out the truth with a series of experi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3762903 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:00:59 +0100 3762903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3743644&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FqAGH5CCKq5k%2F I am excited to announce the publication of another mushroom genome this week. The mushroom Schizophyllum commune is an important model system for mushroom biology, development of genome was sequenced as part of efforts at the Joint Genome Institute and a collection of international researchers.  The data and analyses from these efforts are presented in a publication appearing in Nature Biotechnology today. Studies in mushrooms can have important impact on other research areas.  They can be useful in biotechnology as protein biosynthesis factories for producing compounds or even as an edible delivery mechanism for new drugs.  What we found in the analysis of this genome include clues to mechanisms of how white rotting fungi degrade lignin through analysis of enzyme families.  We also ... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3743644 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:12:10 +0100 3743644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3740787&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fesmo-clinical-practice-guidelines-regarding-brca-gene-mutations-ovarian-cancer-supportive-cancer-care%2F The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is the leading European professional organization committed to advancing the specialty of medical oncology, and promoting a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment and care. …  The ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines include coverage of  (i) BRCA gene mutations in breast and ovarian cancer, (ii) gynecologic tumors, and (iii) supportive [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3740787 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:27:51 +0100 3740787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3726742&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fucl-scientists-discover-how-to-switch-on-critical-ovarian-cancer-protector-gene-arrest-tumor-growth%2F A new University College London study reveals that a gene [EPB41L3] which normally protects against ovarian cancer is switched off in 66% of ovarian cancer cases and switching it back on arrests tumor growth. A new University College London study reveals that a gene which normally protects against ovarian cancer is switched off in 66% [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3726742 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:58:27 +0100 3726742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3726782&cid=t_358677_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fasian-alcoholism-genetics%2F New Findings on Asian Alcohol-Protection Gene Only certain East Asian populations have a high prevalence of a gene that protects against alcohol over-consumption, and researchers speculate that some event must have occurred over the past few thousand years to make this genetic protection advantageous, Reuters reported. Yale University researchers said that unknown environmental factors are the likely cause for the prevalence of the ADH1B*47His gene variant among some Asian populations, but not others. The gene causes rapid metabolism of alcohol into acetaldehyde, a chemical that produces hangovers, flushing, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms that make even moderate drinking a poor experience. Researchers found that the gene variant was very prevalent in East Asia, fairly common in West ... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3726782 Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:27:00 +0100 3726782 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718107&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2Ffiles%2Fplant-viral-vectors.html%23unique-entry-id-152 for Protein Expressionfrom Yuri Y. Gleba and Anatoli Giritch writing in Recent Advances in Plant VirologyPlant-virus-driven transient expression of heterologous proteins is the basis of several mature manufacturing processes that are currently being used for the production of multiple proteins including vaccine antigens and antibodies. Viral vectors have also become useful tools for research. In recent years, advances have been made both in the development of first-generation vectors (those that employ the 'full virus' strategy) as well as second-generation vectors designed using the 'deconstructed virus' approach. This second strategy relies on Agrobacterium as a vector to deliver DNA copies of one or more viral RNA replicons. Among the most often used viral backbones are those of Tobacc... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718107 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3718107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710720&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FHmUqNNb51wE%2F I’ll indulge a bit here to happily to point to the cover of this week’s PNAS with an image of Coprinopsis cinerea mushrooms fruiting referring to our article on the genome sequence of this important model fungus.  You should also enjoy the commentary article from John Taylor and Chris Ellison that provides a summary of some of the high points in the paper. Stajich, J., Wilke, S., Ahren, D., Au, C., Birren, B., Borodovsky, M., Burns, C., Canback, B., Casselton, L., Cheng, C., Deng, J., Dietrich, F., Fargo, D., Farman, M., Gathman, A., Goldberg, J., Guigo, R., Hoegger, P., Hooker, J., Huggins, A., James, T., Kamada, T., Kilaru, S., Kodira, C., Kues, U., Kupfer, D., Kwan, H., Lomsadze, A., Li, W., Lilly, W., Ma, L., Mackey, A., Manning, G., Martin, F., Muraguchi, H., Natvig, D.,... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710720 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:35:11 +0100 3710720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3702851&cid=t_358677_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.rawvoice.com%2Fpmn_twiv%2Fwww.twiv.tv%2FTWiV088.mp3 Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier On episode #88 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Marc discuss using a virus for beetle control, RNA based gene therapy for AIDS, and reconstitution of a endogenous human retrovirus. This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-$500 off a Drobo. To enter a drawing to receive 50% off the manufacturers suggested retail price of a Drobo S or FS at drobostore.com, fill out the questionnaire here. Download TWiV #88 (68 MB .mp3, 91 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio. Links for this episode: Controlling the palm rhinoceros beetle with a virus The viro... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3702851 Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:03:35 +0100 3702851 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695741&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fno-more-23andme-blog-posts-sherpa-has.html I am absolutely done talking about 23andMe.Yes, you have heard correctly.That doesn't mean I will stop watching what they are doing.It means that I have coerced them into doing what's right. For now. From the very beginning 23andMe had potential, heck Dr. Jeremiah Mahoney told me they came up to Yale to see them.They must have not liked what Yale said, because they went further up the line and partnered with George Church.Well, they def. didn't like what I had to say.I had even conjectured about DTCG and what this landscape may look like and even warn about the shortcomings, I had been pointing all of you to SACGHS to watch where this regulatory environment may go. The environment was heated with these companies going in.So I knew I had to pay attention to what they were doing, especially ... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695741 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:41:00 +0100 3695741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3691022&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FMmHPW-7YeJU%2F There are several databases that include orthology prediction for fungi. These all have pros and cons. Some are more comprehensive and have many more species. Some are curated orthologies and paralogy which should be pretty stable. Some are automated and groupings and ortholog group IDs change at each iteration. A phylogenetic approach from a Saccharomyces perspective is at PhylomeDB. Fungal Orthogroups is based on Synergy algorithm from I. Wapinski formerly of the Regev group at the Broad Institutue. Yeast gene order browser (YGOB) for Saccharomyces spp and CGOB for Candida spp. OrthoMCL database based on whole genomes, not a ton of fungi but useful starting set. Ensembl Genomes provides ortholog prediction as part of the Compara pipeline though there is a limited phylogenetic diversity ... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3691022 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:13:09 +0100 3691022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695817&cid=t_358677_151_f&fid=35805&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftwelvestepfacilitation%2FwAgT%2F%7E3%2FUUeQOwQ1cyQ%2F New Findings on Asian Alcohol-Protection Gene Only certain East Asian populations have a high prevalence of a gene that protects against alcohol over-consumption, and researchers speculate that some event must have occurred over the past few thousand years to make this genetic protection advantageous, Reuters reported. Yale University researchers said that unknown environmental factors are the likely cause for the prevalence of the ADH1B*47His gene variant among some Asian populations, but not others. The gene causes rapid metabolism of alcohol into acetaldehyde, a chemical that produces hangovers, flushing, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms that make even moderate drinking a poor experience. Researchers found that the gene variant was very prevalent in East Asia, fairly common in West ... Twelve Step Facilitation.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695817 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:18:17 +0100 3695817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3671766&cid=t_358677_107_f&fid=36584&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biotech-weblog.com%2F50226711%2Ftriple_punch_gene_therapy_for_aids_patients_clears_its_first_safety_test_in_humans.php © 1Droid JamLosA triple punch gene therapy has cleared its first safety test in humans as it gives human stem cells three ways to defy HIV. Four AIDS patients were injected with these cells and they tolerated the treatment and for up to two years, the cells produced anti HIV weapons. Researchers are optimistic that after further clinical trials, combination therapy can replace or complement anti-retroviral drugs for treatment of HIV patients. The trial piggybacked on a standard treatment where AIDS patients were ... (Source: The Biotech Weblog) The Biotech Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3671766 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:13:46 +0100 3671766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607816&cid=t_358677_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F5EI31TVBif4%2F And so another week will soon draw to a close, although it will be a longer-than-usual weekend on this side of the pond. Have any interesting plans? So many choices, we know. Our own agenda includes walking the Pharmalot mascot, driving through the countryside, quaffing beverages with Mrs. Pharmalot and keeping the short and not-so-short people amused (wish us luck). Whatever you do, we hope you have a grand time. Meanwhile, here are a few items to help you speed through the day. Have a good one and see you soon… Amgen’s Prolia Osteoporosis Drug Wins EU Approval (PharmaTimes) Teva Stops Making The Propofol Sedative (Reuters) Daiichi Sankyo Is Confident About Resolving Ranbaxy Ban (Bloomberg News) Breast Cancer Patients Win Right To Sue Wyeth (Canadian Broadcasting) AstraZeneca&... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607816 Fri, 28 May 2010 11:49:19 +0100 3607816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603573&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSA6hCAPXJyA%2F By David RittgersPresident Obama is sending 1,200 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico. This should not be viewed as an innovative solution; Bush sent 1,600 troops to the border under parallel circumstances in 2002. As Ilya Shapiro recently wrote, sending some Guardsmen is no substitute for substantive immigration policy reform. The National Guard, and the military generally, should not be seen as the go-to solution for domestic problems. Certainly the role they will play on the border will not be as offensive as policing the streets of an Alabama town after a mass shooting (which the Department of Defense found was a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, but declined to pursue charges) or using a city in Iowa as a rehearsal site for cordon-and-search operations looking for weap... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603573 Thu, 27 May 2010 02:13:47 +0100 3603573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3590328&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2FOQq_wOiJvsw%2Fgeneticswatch-creating-life-and-curing.html GeneticsWatch Creating Life and Curing Blindness May 21, 2010 Tags: Venter, DNA, creating life, genome, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, gene therapy, blindness I’ve been at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting this week, garnering tales for my book, tentatively entitled “The Forever Fix.” It is largely the story of 9-year-old Corey Haas, who was on his way to certain blindness when gene therapy performed at the University of Pennsylvania in September 2008restored his failing vision. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, told Congress about Corey last week.Corey, his parents, and “Dr. Jean” Bennett, who made it all possible, were the stars of a press conference and a huge symposium. Corey got up on stage and calmly and clearly ... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3590328 Sun, 23 May 2010 01:41:35 +0100 3590328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585219&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2Ffiles%2Fhistone-like-hu-proteins.html%23unique-entry-id-75 Bacterial histone-like HU proteins are critical to maintenance of the nucleoid structure. In addition, they participate in all DNA-dependent functions, including replication, repair, recombination and gene regulation. Their function is typically architectural, inducing a specific DNA topology that promotes assembly of higher-order nucleo-protein structures. Although HU proteins are highly conserved, individual homologs have been shown to exhibit a wide range of different DNA binding specificities and affinities. The existence of such distinct specificities indicates functional evolution and predicts distinct in vivo roles. Emerging evidence suggests that HU proteins discriminate between DNA target sites based on intrinsic flexure, and that two primary features of protein binding contribute... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585219 Wed, 19 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3585219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3570008&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fpotential-of-genomic-medicine-lost.html I was reading and often read Mark Henderson of the TimesThe piece I just read about the "Potential of genomic medicine could be lost, say science think-tanks"The piece basically comes down to one conclusion. We have no proof that most of this stuff is useful in any form.This is something that I have been shouting from the roof tops ever since some self deluded socialite from Mountain View decided to say "Genetic testing is for fun"Seriously DTCG. You knew this day was coming. You tried to play yourself off as hip, cool, sexy/ Yet at the same time to avoid regulation you played, not serious, not clinical, and in essence, not valuable.I was deeply concerned about precisely this issue. By putting yourselves out there as an invalid in the clinical world, you cheapened the field and some of the... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3570008 Mon, 17 May 2010 14:11:00 +0100 3570008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538090&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-you-own-your-genome%2F2010.05.06 As the costs of sequencing our DNA shrink and the roles of digital media in our lives expand, we will need to understand who (or what) controls the ownership, access and use of our genomic information. From state regulation to Google to Facebook, who controls the acquisition, transmission and replication of our genomic information and material will become an important battle in the 21st century. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Phil Baumann* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538090 Thu, 06 May 2010 14:00:11 +0100 3538090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3522769&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FkPpXpM9_1uw%2F Another result from the analysis of the recently published genome of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Nancy Moran and Tyler Jarvik present a study of the origin of the carotenoid production gene in pea aphid. Animals typically cannot make carotenoids so they sought to discover how this is possible. They find that it is derived from a horizontal gene transfer event of a fungal gene into the aphid lineage. This gene is responsible for the red-green color polymorphism in the aphid. It appears the gene is derived from a ‘zygomycete’ or relative in the early branching lineage of the fungi. One gene, a carotenoid desaturase, is encoded in a 30kb genomic region that is missing in green aphids but present in the red morphs. The region is apparently maintained in the population by f... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3522769 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:49:08 +0100 3522769 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519707&cid=t_358677_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FACDBPJSAVNM%2F Patricia Bayne, a senior manager of policy and public affairs at Lilly’s Canadian unit, is now part of a nine-member advisory committee formed to sift through recommendations for an Alberta Health Act. And the committee, which was appointed by Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, will identify policy issues the government needs to address and provide advice on the new legislation. Not everyone likes this idea. “The concern is that she’s got a vested interest,” NDP Leader Brian Mason tells The Calgary Herald. “It’s a clear conflict and I don’t think the minister should have appointed her. She is clearly a senior official and a registered lobbyist for one of the biggest drug companies in the world.” Bayne, by the way, described by the government as ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519707 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:52:57 +0100 3519707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515071&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2Ffiles%2Fsensory-mechanisms-bacteria.html%23unique-entry-id-58 from Sensory Mechanisms in Bacteria: Molecular Aspects of Signal RecognitionBacteria have evolved extraordinary abilities to detect physical and chemical signals, both within their own cells and in the extracellular environment. The interaction of a signal with its receptor (usually a protein or RNA molecule) triggers a series of events that lead to reprogramming of cellular physiology, typically as a consequence of altered patterns of gene expression. In this way, the bacterial cell is able to mount appropriate and effective responses to changing physical and/or chemical environments. The versatility with which many bacteria adapt to environmental change underlies many important aspects of microbiology. For example, pathogens encounter multiple environments as they invade a host from the ... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515071 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3515071 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515070&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2Ffiles%2Fthiol-based-sensory-factors%2520.html%23unique-entry-id-59 from Haike Antelmann and Peter Zuber in Sensory Mechanisms in Bacteria: Molecular Aspects of Signal Recognition Bacteria regularly encounter Reactive Oxygen, Nitrogen and Electrophilic Species (ROS, RNS, RES) that are generated inside the cells by incomplete reduction of molecular oxygen, imbalanced metabolic processes or applied externally by toxic or antimicrobial compounds. The response to such reactive agents is mediated by redox-sensitive transcription factors that exploit the unique chemistry of cysteine thiol groups. Redox-sensitive regulatory proteins bear cysteine residues that can undergo post-translational modification, leading to either activation or inactivation of the transcription factors. This in turn results in responses that are aimed to detoxify the reactive species or a... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515070 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3515070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515578&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fstaying-abreast-of-better-health-practices%2F Steven Narod, MD, is a foremost authority on BRCA cancers. I met him after my genetics team at the University of Michigan referred Sister to him in Canada. Dr. Narod is affiliated with the Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto and is what you would expect from a passionate researcher — quirky and optimistic. Sister has been proactive about her diagnosis and is involved in a study in Canada where she is tested twice yearly; she receives a mammogram in January and an MRI in May. Her goal is to keep her breasts, and aggressive monitoring will identify any sign of a breast tumor early. She also stays abreast (pun intended) of continuing research and findings regarding genetic breast cancers. A hysterectomy two years ago reduced Sister’s risk of both breast cancer and ovarian canc... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515578 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:35:30 +0100 3515578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508396&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F26%2Fon-the-path-to-early-detection-fox-chase-sloan-kettering-researchers-identify-early-ovarian-cancers%2F Researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center discover early tumors and precancerous lesions in cysts that fold into the ovary from its surface, called inclusion cysts. “This is the first study giving very strong evidence that a substantial number of ovarian cancers arise in inclusion cysts and that there [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508396 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:01:54 +0100 3508396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508394&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fwhos-really-controlling-your-health-care%2F For the past year I have been debating health-care reform on the national front at Washingtonpost.com. People in America have been so concerned about big government takeover of health care that their fears have played right into the hands of big business. The practice of targeting and cancelling policies of people diagnosed with serious and chronic illness is well documented. Last week the news agency Reuters reported that WellPoint, the country’s largest insurance agency with nearly 34 million policyholders, had cancelled the policies of at least two women diagnosed with breast cancer [Editor’s note: WellPoint has issued a statement denying these allegations]. This isn’t new — breast cancer is expensive to treat and easy to profile, so insurers know what groups of people are most ... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508394 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:30:19 +0100 3508394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3501581&cid=t_358677_111_f&fid=39123&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fnursingcomments%2Ftdtc%2F%7E3%2FfTeyILguohY%2F           Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive, inherited and degenerative brain disorder that produces physical, mental and emotional changes.  Named after George Huntington, the physician who first described the illness in 1872, Huntington’s disease was formerly known as Huntington’s chorea, from the Greek for choreography, or dance.  The name refers to the involuntary, jerky movements that can develop in later stages of the illness.  Approximately 30,000 people in the United States have Huntington’s disease, which affects men and women equally across all ethnic and racial lines.  While more common in adults, juvenile Huntington’s accounts for about one-sixth of all cases.  Every child of a parent who carries the HD gene has a 50% chance... Nursing Comments blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3501581 Sat, 24 Apr 2010 14:29:03 +0100 3501581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3501683&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F23%2Fparp-inhibitor-olaparib-benefits-women-with-inherited-ovarian-cancer-based-upon-platinum-drug-sensitivity%2F Olaparib (AZD2281), a new type of cancer drug known as a “PARP inhibitor,” produced promising results in patients with platinum-refractory, platinum-resistant, and platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer linked to an inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. A new type of cancer drug — known as a “PARP inhibitor” — produced promising results in patients with ovarian cancer linked [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3501683 Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:38:57 +0100 3501683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499253&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2F99-usd-dna-day-and-patient-letters.html Yes,What a great DNA Day! Today started with my twitter feed notifying me that 23andMe had dropped their prices to 99 USD today. Which almost had me encouraging people to get testing, until I remembered that 23andSerge would then have your DNA..........FOREVER! Then I opened my email and read this great note"Dear Dr. Murphy,Thank you so very much. I am so lucky to have found your team. Who would have thought my Plavix might not be working for me? Only when you told me about how it could not work did I realize that I might be taking something that is worthless. Thanks for testing me. Now that I am on Effient I feel much safer!Thank you Dr. Murphy,You saved my life!"That's right. A genetic test, may have saved this patient from a heart attack. A genetic test I do regularly. Who has this pati... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499253 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:29:00 +0100 3499253 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494508&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F21%2Fresearchers-identify-a-new-breast-ovarian-cancer-susceptibility-gene%2F German researchers identify a new breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene known as “RAD51C.”  The risk for breast cancer in women with the RAD51C mutation is 60 to 80 percent, while the risk for ovarian cancer is 20 to 40 percent. The discovery 15 years ago that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 confer high risks for [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494508 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:46:29 +0100 3494508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494506&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fmy-hair-is-back-and-so-is-my-vanity%2F Finally! After five years, my hair is back to where it was before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. When my hair first started growing back after chemotherapy, it was completely different than what I was expecting. It was dark and curly, and the texture was thicker than my ”real” hair. I didn’t mind it much, mostly because I was so grateful not to be bald anymore. It was also a novelty to have short, dark, curly hair when most of my adult life I had shoulder-length, blond, straight shiny hair. As my hair continued to grow, it lost the curliness and I had long wavy brown hair — this was a novelty for me too. I actually felt like a sexy, sultry brunette. What I didn’t feel was like myself. For a few years, I struggled with my appearance. I liked how I looked as a brunette, bu... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494506 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:06:34 +0100 3494506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487291&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FSJN6vdlBV3U%2F A new paper from the Zilberman lab at UC Berkeley shows the application of high throughput sequencing to the study of DNA methylation in eukaryotes.  They generate an huge data set of whole genome methylation patterns in several plants, animals, and five fungi including early diverging Zygomycete. The work was performed using Bisulfite sequencing (Illumina) to capture methylated DNA, RNA-Seq of mRNA. The also performed some ChIP-Seq of H2A.Z on pufferfish to look at the nucleosome positioning in that species. For aligning the reads, they used BowTie to align the bisulfite sequences (though I’d be curious how a new aligner, BRAT, designed for Bisulfite seq reads would perform) to the genome.  They also sequenced mRNA via RNA-Seq to assay gene expression for some of the species. They... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487291 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:00:05 +0100 3487291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471772&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMnaO7gg739U%2F By David BoazTony Blankley, former press secretary to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, exults in the Washington Times that Americans are waking up “to our heritage of freedom” and to the abuse of the Constitution: All the following acts have suddenly awakened Americans to their Constitution: (1) The nationalization of car companies and banks; (2) the subordination of the car companies’ legal bondholders to union bosses; (3) the creation of trillion-dollar slush funds (the stimulus package) used for, among other purposes, the corrupt purchase of congressional votes; (4) the mandating of individual health insurance purchase against the will of Americans; (5) the attempt to have Obamacare “deemed” to have been enacted, rather than actually publicly voted on by... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471772 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:20:24 +0100 3471772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3472003&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Ffiber-does-good-things-for-my-family%2F Fiber is big news in nutrition. Every time I look into eating better and ways to improve my health or lose weight, I find another article on fiber — and I’ve gotten a lot of great information right here on EverydayHealth.com. Lately I have been looking into claims that increasing fiber in your diet can reduce the risk of colon cancer and even other cancers, including breast cancer. I can’t confirm these claims with what I have learned so far, but I can’t imagine that it would hurt. The one thing that I can tell you for sure is that fiber has done great things for my family. My boys have grown up with whole-wheat bread in our house, and in the past few years, I have bought only cereal, crackers, and baked goods made from 100% whole-wheat flour. My husband got on the fiber b... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3472003 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:34:23 +0100 3472003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463578&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw6MrqfWcBOg%2F By Jim HarperLast week, coincidence brought together a pair of worthy articles attacking the political adage that terrorism is an “existential” threat. Gene Healy debunked “existential” in his Examiner column. “Conservatives understand that exaggerated fears of environmental threats make government grow and liberty shrink,” he writes. “They’d do well to recognize that the same dynamic applies to homeland security.” John Mueller and Mark Stewart, meanwhile, have an article on Foreign Affairs’ web site titled: “Hardly Existential: Thinking Rationally About Terrorism.” They show that conventional assessment methods place terrorism so low on the scale of risks that additional spending to further reduce its likelihood or consequences is probably not justified. B... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463578 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:14:28 +0100 3463578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463795&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbreast-cancer-is-the-winning-story-at-the-masters-tournament%2F In May 2009, Amy Mickelson was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been battling the disease for the past 11 months and has been bedridden for much of that time. Amy is a mother of three children and the wife of Phil Mickelson, the winner of the 2010 Masters golf tournament. Like many people, I tuned in to watch the Masters this past weekend because Tiger Woods was playing. I am not a huge fan of Tiger’s, but like a lot of people I was disappointed when I learned of his lapse in character and integrity over the past years. I am hoping for his family’s sake that Tiger can get his career and personal commitments back on track, so I tuned in hoping to see him do well. I can relate to his wife, Elin Nordegren, since I was betrayed by my first husband in a similar way. For obvious reasons... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463795 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:56:58 +0100 3463795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460323&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34995&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2Fgnxp%2F2010%2F04%2Fwhen-a-trait-isnt-a-trait-isnt-a-trait%2F One of the great things about evolutionary theory is that it is a formal abstraction of specific concrete aspects of reality and dynamics. It allows us to squeeze inferential juice from incomplete prior knowledge of the state of nature. In other words, you can make predictions and models instead of having to observe every last detail of the natural world. But abstractions, models and formalisms often leave out extraneous details. Sometimes those details turn out not to be so extraneous. Charles Darwin’s original theory of evolution had no coherent or plausible mechanism of inheritance. R. A. Fisher and others imported the empirical reality of Mendelism into the logic of evolutionary theory, to produce the framework of 20th century population genetics. Though accepting the genetic inh... Gene Expression blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460323 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:15:19 +0100 3460323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460395&cid=t_358677_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fr4doEN28UV4%2F The answer is unclear, although no doubt many pharma execs and FDA officials won’t miss Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who is retiring from Congress after a nasty brawl over health care reform and, in particular, abortion coverage (background here). As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Stupak regularly took on safety issues. Along with John Dingell, who formerly headed the House committee, Stupak investigted Merck and Schering-Plough for allegedly delaying the release of unfavorable clinical trial data for their Vytorin cholesterol med (see here and here). He also subpoenaed FDA investigators for approving the Ketek antibiotic, despite knowing a key safety study was fraught with problems; Sanofi-Aventis execs wer... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460395 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:21:04 +0100 3460395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3457974&cid=t_358677_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FqclZUQhTXbc%2F By now you’ve seen the new Nike TV ad featuring Tiger Woods and the voice of his inquisitive (yet deceased) dad. Genius marketing, state-of-the-art technology, top-flight manipulation. But have you heard Ward Cleaver from Leave It to Beaver and Gene Wilder’s character from Young Frankenstein giving sage advice to ol’ Tiger? Much, much funnier. Check out this clip from an episode of The Colbert Report this week on Comedy Central: Post from: BlissTree Our Absolute Favorite Video of the Week: Stephen Colbert on Tiger Woods (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3457974 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:18:50 +0100 3457974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3457819&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Four-absolute-favorite-video-of-the-week-stephen-colbert-on-tiger-woods%2F By now you’ve seen the new Nike TV ad featuring Tiger Woods and the voice of his inquisitive (yet deceased) dad. Genius marketing, state-of-the-art technology, top-flight manipulation. But have you heard Ward Cleaver from Leave It to Beaver and Gene Wilder’s character from Young Frankenstein giving sage advice to ol’ Tiger? Much, much funnier. Check out this clip from an episode of The Colbert Report this week on Comedy Central: Post from: BlissTree Our Absolute Favorite Video of the Week: Stephen Colbert on Tiger Woods (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3457819 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:18:50 +0100 3457819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3456849&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fno-one-owns-the-breast-cancer-gene-anymore%2F About 10 years ago, a cousin of mine introduced me to the Human Genome Project. He was very excited about the science and process of identifying all the human genes and their sequences. The potential for scientific and medical breakthroughs was staggering. As I got interested in the research and began to follow the project, I was appalled by the business interests involved. Specific business groups began the process of patenting some of the genetic components and findings. It would be like you owning your home and property only to find that someone else owned and had the rights to all the earth on your lot. Although companies argued that by being able to profit from their findings they could continue research and development, it is pretty obvious that individuals and stock holders would b... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3456849 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:23:55 +0100 3456849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3443742&cid=t_358677_107_f&fid=36584&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biotech-weblog.com%2F50226711%2Fgene_therapy_using_nanoparticle_delivery_restores_vision_in_mice.php © Kyle MayIn a research report published in the April 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists describe how they were able to reverse a type of blindness in mice using a form of gene therapy that does not involve the use of modified viruses. They used a non-viral, synthetic nanoparticle carrier to improve and save the sight of mice with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease characterized by progressive vision loss and eventual blindness. Using mice with the retinal degeneration slow (Rds) gene, ... (Source: The Biotech Weblog) The Biotech Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3443742 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:37:30 +0100 3443742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3432839&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fyou-know-youre-unwell-if-youre-gene-simmons%2F Gene’s philosophy might be “hardcore”, but we’re not sure it’s a healthy approach to life: Post from: BlissTree You Know You're Unwell If...You're Gene Simmons (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3432839 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:00:13 +0100 3432839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3433052&cid=t_358677_129_f&fid=35709&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FUniqueButNotAlone%2F%7E3%2F44B9S_TDaus%2Falpha-1-sucks-life-right-out-of-you.html This video is a public service announcement from the Alpha-1 Foundation. I know it is controversial but in my opinion, it is a fabulous advertisement. It grabs your attention, and that is exactly... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Unique But Not Alone) Unique But Not Alone blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3433052 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:07:00 +0100 3433052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429166&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTkO58KX2lDs%2F By David RittgersBrian Walsh of The Heritage Foundation and Paul Rosenzweig have a new book out, One Nation Under Arrest: How Crazy Laws, Rogue Prosecutors, and Activist Judges Threaten Your Liberty. For an example of how our federal criminal laws have morphed into a leviathan that threatens the liberty of average citizens, take the case of inventor and entrepreneur Krister Evertson: In May 2004, FBI agents driving a black Suburban and wearing SWAT gear ran Evertson off the road near his mother’s home in Wasilla, Alaska. When Evertson was face down on the pavement with automatic weapons trained on him, an FBI agent told him he was being arrested because he hadn’t put a federally mandated sticker on a UPS package. A jury in federal court in Alaska acquitted Evertson, but the fed... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429166 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:22:37 +0100 3429166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420680&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fend-of-gene-patents.html With the NY district court ruling in ACLU et.al. v USPTO/MYGN it appears clear that the bar for gene patents is super high and most will likely not reach it. Does this mean the end of gene patents or even just the BRCA1/2 patents?No, but it is the beginning of slipshod sequencing and a whole host of labs testing for BRCA1/2 sequences. It is also the making of a SCOTUS case.But here's why I think Myriad STILL is the gold standard.A. They have the experience doing this testingB. They have the infrastructure to handle national samplesC. They have the ability to analyze rare variants best. Why? They have the samples.....That being said, could Quest or LabCorp begin BRCA testing? Yes and they would do a hell of a job.One thing is for certain, Myriad will have a hard time justifying that 3120 US... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420680 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:44:00 +0100 3420680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3408573&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FGNOX5BmVgp0%2F I spy a picture of Neurospora growing on the cover of Genetics this month.  The cover highlights the results from the work of the lab of Luis Corrochano who works on  light regulation in a variety of systems like Neurospora and Phycomyces.  This work describes their work on the fluffy gene which regulates conidiation (production of conidia or asexual spores). They show that an important interplay between an inducer of light response, the White Collar Complex (WCC), and the FLD protein on fluffy.  The data from indicate hat FLD represses fluffy as a response to dark but that this repression is removed in response to light through the action of WCC. Olmedo, M., Ruger-Herreros, C., & Corrochano, L. (2009). Regulation by Blue Light of the fluffy Gene Encoding a Major Regulator of Co... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3408573 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:49:41 +0100 3408573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378671&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fmoment-of-clarity-some-dtcg-is-not-bad.html Ok,Here is the G-d's honest truth. Not all SNP/DTCG companies are bad. What do I mean by bad? Not all SNP/DTCG companies misrepresented that which is not medically useful as medically useful.I look at Pathway and Counsyl for example. Fast followers looking to say what they do and mean what they say.Some of these DTCG tests could be clinically relevant and useful. The problem I have, is that there is no point at which I can say, "Hey I just want the clinically relevant stuff!" No ear wax please.I need that as a clinician. If I want a huge panel of say CYP450 tests, where do I go? there are some labs that do this and charge and arm and a leg. One company, who I used charged the patient thousands of dollars because insurance wouldn't pick it up.That cannot ever happen again.With the addition ... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378671 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:52:00 +0100 3378671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3339622&cid=t_358677_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fschizophrenia%2F Pathophysiology 1) group of disorders marked by disturbances in thought patterns, speech, behavior, and perception 2) subtypes – paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, and residual 3) cause is unknown, but major risk factors are genetic susceptibility, early developmental insults, in utero viral influenza exposure, and winter birth (possibly related to influenza exposure) Signs and Symptoms Positive symptoms – 1) disorganized thought 2) delusions 3) hallucinations Negative symptoms – 4) social withdrawal 5) loss of functioning 6) flat affect 7) anhedonia Histology/Gross Pathology 1) enlarged third and lateral ventricles 2) cortical atrophy 3) decreased size of hippocampus, amygdala, right prefrontal cortex Associated Conditions 1) birth complications 2) Rh factor incompatibil... Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3339622 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:56:09 +0100 3339622 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322326&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F006981.html About 1 in 6000 babies is born with a genetic disorder of the nervous system called Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The mouse equivalent of SMA has now been treated with gene therapy with substantial improvement. COLUMBUS, Ohio – Reversing a protein deficiency through gene therapy can correct motor function, restore nerve signals and improve survival in mice that serve as a model for the lethal childhood disorder spinal muscular atrophy, new research shows. This muscle-wasting disease results when a child’s motor neurons – nerve cells that send signals from the spinal cord to muscles – produce insufficient amounts of what is called survival motor neuron protein, or SMN. This reduced protein in motor neurons specifically – rather than in other... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322326 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3322326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3318122&cid=t_358677_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.rawvoice.com%2Fpmn_twiv%2Fwww.twiv.tv%2FTWiV071.mp3 Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about maternal infection and fetal injury, viral gene therapy, eyeglasses and influenza, filtering prions from blood, eradication of rinderpest, Tamiflu resistance of H1N1 influenza, bacteriophages and the human microbiome, H1N1 vaccine recalls, human tumor viruses, RNA interference, and junk DNA. This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code VINCENT to receive $50 off a Drobo or $100 off a Drobo S. Win a free Drobo S! Contest rules here. Download TWiV #71 (63 MB .mp3, 88 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email. Links for this episode: Maternal infection and fetal neurologic... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3318122 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:00:22 +0100 3318122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311655&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1bwyS25Me0Q%2F By Daniel GriswoldRep. Gene Taylor, D-MS, thinks so. According to CongressDaily, Taylor is about to introduce a two-page bill that would withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Taylor blames the agreement with Canada and Mexico for the loss of 5 million manufacturing jobs since it was enacted in 1994. This is a popular but false charge. Manufacturing jobs have declined in the past 15 years for one big reason: soaring productivity. Overall output at U.S. factories was actually 37 percent higher in 2009 compared to 1993, the year before NAFTA took effect, according to Table B-51 in the latest Economic Report of the President. We are producing a higher volume of stuff with fewer workers because individual workers are so much more productive than they were in t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311655 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:31:24 +0100 3311655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294568&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBjnkC52U_wk%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Cato Institute had already scheduled a policy forum for noon today where the Urban Institute’s Gene Steuerle and I will discuss the implicit tax rates in the House and Senate health care bills. We’ve already been able to calculate the implicit tax rates that President Obama’s new proposal would impose on low- and middle-income workers. We have also been able to calculate the incentives to drop coverage under the president’s proposal. Upshot: The president’s proposal would result in higher implicit tax rates on low-wage workers than the House and Senate bills. The president’s proposal would result in greater incentives for higher-income workers to drop coverage than under the House and Senate bills. That would cause insurance markets to unravel even fast... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294568 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:58:30 +0100 3294568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3270996&cid=t_358677_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fretinoblastoma%2F Pathophysiology 1) neoplasm originating in retinal neurons 2) malignant spread is either via the optic nerve into the cranial vault or via the blood system (hematogenously) 3) able to grow toward vitreous body (endophytic) or between retinal layers (exophytic) Signs and Symptoms 1) white pupil reflex (leukocoria) 2) red and painful eye 3) squinting 4) vision loss 5) detached retina 6) cat’s eye reflex (yellowish glint in eye) Characteristic Test Findings Funduscopic exam – 1) mass 2) detached retina Histology/Gross Pathology 1) whitish tumor mass with chalk-like flecks (calcification) 2) morphologically can have Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes (radial cells around central cavity) or a fleur-de-lis pattern Associated Conditions 1) secondary glaucoma in affected eye 2) metastasiz... Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3270996 Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:04:27 +0100 3270996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3262550&cid=t_358677_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fturcots-syndrome%2F Pathophysiology familial polyposis syndrome with association of large intestine adenomatous polyps and brain tumors Histology/Gross Pathology 1) polyps are adenomas 2) polyps are found uniformly throughout colon and rectum (no skip areas) Associated Conditions colorectal adenocarcinoma develops in virtually 100% of patients by age 40 years Biochemistry impaired DNA repair occurs Inheritance/Epidemiology 1) polyps almost always present after puberty 2) associated with deletion in long arm of chromosome 5 that codes for tumor suppressor gene APC 3) autosomal dominant Treatment 1) total colectomy with ileoanal anastomosis 2) screening test in offspring (who have 50% risk of disease) is flexible sigmoidoscopy (if disease occurs, there is always rectal involvement Tips for USMLE in any patient ... Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3262550 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:39:16 +0100 3262550 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3236048&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F02%2Fdisarming-specialized-stem-cells-might-combat-deadly-ovarian-cancer%2F Eliminating cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor could hold the key to successful treatments for ovarian cancer, which has been notoriously difficult to detect and treat, according to new findings published this week in the journal Oncogene by Yale School of Medicine researchers. Eliminating cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor could hold the key [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3236048 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:56:20 +0100 3236048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231102&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F02%2Fmicrobial-phylogenetics-horizontal-gene.html Efforts to construct the tree of life take their conceptual motivation from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Until the advent of molecular biology, however, a universal tree of life was well beyond the scope of the data and methods of traditional organismal phylogeny. The rapid development of these methods and bodies of genetic sequence from the 1970s onwards resulted in major reclassifications of life and revived ambitions to represent all organismal lineages by one true tree of life. Subsequent realization of the significance of lateral gene transfer and other non-vertical processes has subtly reconceptualized and reoriented attempts to construct this universal phylogeny.Gene transfer has affected the formation of groups of organisms. Gene transfer can make it more difficult to defi... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231102 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:39:00 +0100 3231102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231107&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F02%2Fmultilocus-sequence-analysis.html Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) represents the novel standard in microbial molecular systematics. In this context, MLSA is implemented in a relatively straightforward way, consisting essentially in the concatenation of several sequence partitions for the same set of organisms, resulting in a "supermatrix" which is used to infer a phylogeny by means of distance-matrix or optimality criterion-based methods. This approach is expected to have an increased resolving power due to the large number of characters analyzed, and a lower sensitivity to the impact of conflicting signals (i.e. phylogenetic incongruence) that result from eventual horizontal gene transfer events. The strategies used to deal with multiple partitions can be grouped in three broad categories: the total evidence, separate... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231107 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:29:00 +0100 3231107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231108&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F02%2Fmicrobial-phylogenetics-methods.html The purpose of phylogenetic analysis is to understand the past evolutionary path of organisms. Even though we will never know for certain the true phylogeny of any organism, phylogenetic analysis provides best assumptions, thereby providing a framework for various disciplines in microbiology. Due to the technological innovation of modern molecular biology and the rapid advancement in computational science, accurate inference of the phylogeny of a gene or organism seems possible in the near future. There has been a flood of nucleic acid sequence information, bioinformatic tools and phylogenetic inference methods in public domain databases, literature and worldwide web space. Phylogenetic analysis has long played a central role in basic microbiology, for example in taxonomy and ecology. In a... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231108 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:25:00 +0100 3231108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220511&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaCkqZa3u09U%2F By Chris Moody Cato experts give Obama’s State of the Union a video fisking. Are we watching the History Channel or something?  Because this new president sure does sound a lot like the old one. Time for the SOTU fact check:  Cato experts put some of President Obama’s core State of the Union claims to the test. Here’s what they found. Flashback to February 2009: Gene Healy on how “the president talks too much.“ During this year’s SOTU, President Obama criticized the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case. Today’s podcast examines the Court’s ruling. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220511 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:44:38 +0100 3220511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193799&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F21%2Fdavid-berreby-interviews-frans-de-waal%2F Situationist friend and author David Berreby recently conducted a fascinating interview of  primatologist Frans De Waal on BloggingHeads.  A rough table of contents of their discussion is listed just below the video. * * * * * * Frans’s latest book, “The Age of Empathy” (04:11) Empathy as a social contagion (06:54) A biological basis for morality and soccer hooliganism (18:48) Does religion have to be at war with science? (12:48) The fragility of empathy (04:08) Enron, the selfish gene, and Nazi pseudoscience (08:14) * * * To read about Frans de Waal’s latest book, The Age of Empathy, click here. To check out David Berreby’s excellent blog, Mind Matters, click here. For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Science of Morality,” “The Si... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193799 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:01:12 +0100 3193799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3189126&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaxTtFN283XA%2F By Chris Moody Gene Healy on today’s election in Massachusetts: “If Republican Scott Brown wins the Massachusetts special election Tuesday, the Bay State will have its first GOP senator since the era when disco was king. And Brown will have the much-derided Tea Party legions to thank.” Why opportunistic politicians need to stop using times of crisis for their own ends and let the next one go to waste. George W. Obama? “Bush’s successor—who actually taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago—is continuing much of the Bush-Cheney parallel government and, in some cases, is going much further in disregarding our laws and the international treaties we’ve signed.” Can Google beat China? Cato’s Timothy B. Lee tackles the questi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3189126 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:02:39 +0100 3189126 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171889&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqfHgYHyCgPg%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a new study titled, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums,” I show that the House and Senate health care bills would impose implicit tax rates on low-wage workers that exceed 100 percent.  Here’s the executive summary: House and Senate Democrats have produced health care legislation whose mandates, subsidies, tax penalties, and health insurance regulations would penalize work and reward Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance. As a result, the legislation could trap many Americans in low-wage jobs and cause even higher health-insurance premiums, government spending, and taxes than are envisioned in the legislation. Those mandates and subsidies would impose effective marginal tax rates on lo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171889 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:52 +0100 3171889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3153592&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F07%2Felevated-proteins-may-warn-of-ovarian-cancer-but-sufficient-lead-time-predictive-value-still-lacking%2F Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center researchers discovered that concentrations of the serum biomarkers CA125, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), and mesothelin began to rise 3 years before clinical diagnosis of ovarian cancer, according to a new study published online December 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. However, the biomarkers became substantially elevated only [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3153592 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:22:08 +0100 3153592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142512&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBJy2Fs_Ja2c%2F By Chris Moody Cato Vice President Gene Healy grades President Obama. (Hint: He doesn’t give him a “B+”). Afghanistan: A war we cannot afford. “Democrats say raise taxes. Republicans say no worries. The best policy would be to scale back America’s international commitments.” Doug Bandow: The war in Afghanistan was justified at the beginning, but to escalate now is the  “geopolitical equivalent of shutting the barn doors after the horses have fled.” How U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization enhances the liberty and prosperity of all Americans. Podcast: “TARP: A Congressional Failure” featuring John Samples. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142512 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:51:21 +0100 3142512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3126578&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D8151 MSNBC Health reports: Individually designed music therapy may help reduce noise levels in people suffering from tinnitus, or ear ringing, German scientists said on Monday. The researchers designed musical treatments adapted to the musical tastes of patients with ear-ringing and then stripped out sound frequencies that matched the individual’s tinnitus frequency. After a year of listening to these “notched” musical therapies, patients reported a distinct decrease in the loudness of ringing compared with those who had listened to non-tailored placebo music, the researchers wrote in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Someone who might benefit from this notched music therapy is Metellica drummer Lars Ulrich. Playing loud rock mu... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3126578 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3126578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3092892&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F15%2Fprinceton-scientists-find-way-to-catalog-all-that-goes-wrong-in-a-cancer-cell%2F A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has “gone wrong,” giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients. A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3092892 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:53:24 +0100 3092892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071433&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F08%2Fmagp2-gene-expression-signature-a-potential-ovarian-cancer-personalized-treatment-target%2F A multi-institutional study has identified a potential personalized treatment target for the most common form of ovarian cancer. In the December 8 issue of Cancer Cell, the research team describes finding that a gene called MAGP2 – not previously associated with any type of cancer – was overexpressed in papillary serous ovarian tumors of patients [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071433 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:17:59 +0100 3071433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3052345&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbeating-cancer-is-a-family-affair%2F This Thanksgiving I did something a little different; I went to Canada to see family. Although they had already had their feast last month, it was really nice to have the time with them. Sister was a little under the weather and hasn’t been sleeping well lately. I think there is a lot going on with her since the hysterectomy to reduce her risk for ovarian cancer. As a BRCA carrier she has taken steps to address her risks for breast and other cancers due to the gene mutation. I have to say I worry about her. I also got to see my niece and her new baby. Nicole also tested positive for the BRCA II gene mutation and having her babies in her twenties is something we have heard can help reduce her risk. More importantly, once she has had all her children she can turn her efforts to other w... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3052345 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:53:39 +0100 3052345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3044689&cid=t_358677_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F01%2Fwho-can-design-a-logo-for-the-medlibs-round%2F According to Bertalan Mesko, blogger at ScienceRoll, one of the important things of a blog carnival is to Find out a proper name. For example, the carnival of genes and gene-related diseases is called Gene Genie; the genetic carnival is Mendel’s Garden. The most well known Medical Blog Carnival is Grand Rounds According Bertalan it may [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3044689 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:10:37 +0100 3044689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3036958&cid=t_358677_107_f&fid=36584&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biotech-weblog.com%2F50226711%2Fsirna_drug_to_treat_genetic_skin_disease_pachyonychia_congenita.php In the November 24 online issue of the journal Molecular Therapy, scientists report a new treatment for pachyonychia congenita, an ultra-rare genetic skin condition due to mutations in the keratin gene. The disorder is characterized by painful, blistering calluses on the feet and limbs that limit a patient's ability to walk, usually with other ther skin and nail problems. The new treatment involves a relatively new class of drug called siRNA, and works by preventing the gene with the mutation from being expressed but permitting the ... (Source: The Biotech Weblog) The Biotech Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3036958 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:06:27 +0100 3036958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3026400&cid=t_358677_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FVirologyBlog%2F%7E3%2FG1R4h8kDa74%2F X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare neurologic disease caused by a defect in a gene required for normal ABCD1 transporter function. The lack of this function leads to progressive demyelination, severe neurologic disease and death in males, often in childhood. ALD disease progression can be controlled by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in those patients for whom bone marrow donors can be found. This unusual correction occurs because bone marrow-derived monocyte-macrophages are known to migrate into the central nervous system and form functional microglial cells. These corrected microglial cells provide the patients with cells with normal ABCD1 transporter activity and allow normal myelin function. Two patients with progressive ALD with no available allogeneic H... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3026400 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:23 +0100 3026400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3015261&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F006730.html An MIT press release about the use of nanoparticles to deliver gene therapy contains an interesting statistic about the size of the overall effort to develop clinically useful gene therapies: In the United States alone almost 1000 gene therapy clinical trials are underway. That's a surprisingly large number. Is it true? Seems too high to be possible. There are nearly 1,000 clinical trials under way in the United States involving gene therapy, for diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. However, no gene therapy treatments have been approved in the United States. This is an example of why it is hard to predict the future. It is hard to predict the success rate of those many attempts. Once some... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3015261 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3015261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2993830&cid=t_358677_113_f&fid=36504&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicalRecordShow%2F%7E3%2FaV8hcUgnvhA%2F At the latest NextGen Users Group Meeting in DC, I saw examples everywhere of storytelling par excellence. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Vermont Governor Howard Dean sprinkled stories of constituents and personal experiences throughout their keynote addresses, as they made their respective (and mostly complementary) points on the healthcare reform debate. The first day’s keynote speakers, Gene Kranz of Mission Control and Commander Jim Lowell from Apollo 13, were all about storytelling. 99% of their stage time was a recounting of details of raw ingenuity and failure truly not being an option — and 45 minutes into the session, folks were still attentive enough to laugh and groan in all the right places. It’s like we’re hardwired to put everything aside and sit bac... The EMR/EHR Show: Making Your Electronic Medical Records Really Work blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2993830 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:49:53 +0100 2993830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984780&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2qJlkHq0m8U%2F Things you might not want to know: Have you ever thought about how dirty the money in your wallet might be? The case for dropping out of NATO. Gene Healy on the “arrogance of power” involved in running for president these days: “What sort of person wants the job badly enough to spend years living out of a suitcase, begging for cash, glad-handing through primary states, and saying things that no intelligent person could possibly believe?” Doug Bandow: “The fall of the Wall, and the evil system behind it, deserves to be celebrated. Not just on Nov. 9. But every day.” Podcast: “A Looming Decision on Afghanistan“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984780 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:27:36 +0100 2984780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2962859&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F11%2Fgene-expression-in-entamoeba.html Our knowledge of the functions of different structural proteins and virulence factors in the cellular organization and pathogenesis of Entamoeba histolytica has significantly increased following the introduction of various molecular techniques that enable the manipulation of gene expression. Unfortunately, to date, all the attempts to integrate exogenous DNA into the parasite's genome have failed and most methods for up- and down-regulation of gene expression have been based on the transfection of stably maintained plasmids. Down-regulation has been achieved by plasmids encoding: (i) antisense RNA, (ii) truncated or mutated genes that exert dominant-negative effects, and (iii) inverted loops that generate double stranded RNA molecules. Small interfering RNA oligonucleotides incorporated di... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2962859 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:30:00 +0100 2962859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2962861&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F11%2Fcytoskeleton-in-giardia-and-trichomonas.html A recent publication discusses the Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas vaginalis genome projects that have brought to our understanding of the unique cytoskeletal protein profiles of these two parasites and integrates this new analysis of protein composition with recent structural and functional studies. Although both parasites are flagellated, the differences in both the structural and protein composition of their cytoskeletons are more numerous than their similarities. Consistent with general patterns across its genome, the cytoskeletal gene families in Trichomonas are greatly amplified in number, while the corresponding families in Giardia are - with few exceptions - represented by only one or a very few copies. While the microfilament proteome is largely complete in Trichomonas, it is virt... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2962861 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:24:00 +0100 2962861 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954208&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F11%2Fhorizontal-gene-transfer.html Horizontal gene transfer, as a major force in shaping bacterial gene content, has gained incredible attention over the last decade. Along with the fast growing bacterial genome sequence data, there have been an increasingly large number of studies focused on horizontal gene transfer. The studies have been gradually transformed from identifying individual genes that have been horizontally transferred to assessing the general patterns of horizontal gene transfer and evaluating the systematic consequences of massive gene transfers. The rates of gene transfers have been measured by various methods such as parsimony and maximum likelihood methods. Different phylogenetic methods were applied to a variety of data sets to assess whether there exists a congruent and meaningful bacterial tree. Even ... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954208 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:06:00 +0100 2954208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2946942&cid=t_358677_107_f&fid=36584&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biotech-weblog.com%2F50226711%2Fgene_therapy_for_lebers_congenital_amaurosis_lca.php Usign a single shot of gene therapy, scientists were able to improve the vision in five children and seven adults with Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited retinal degenerative disease characterized by severe loss of vision at birth. Although the patients did not attain normal eyesight, half of them (six of 12) improved enough that they may no longer be classified as legally blind. The 12 subjects ranged in age from 8 to 44 years old at the time of treatment. Four of the children, aged ... (Source: The Biotech Weblog) The Biotech Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2946942 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:40:26 +0100 2946942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2923396&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FMTVAsBP3C0E%2F I find it very interesting that today’s big news has to do with why only humans have the capacity for language. First found in a vocally-impaired family, scientists discovered a large gene they named “TOSPEAK” that may explain how humans are the only primates to develop language. Interesting I say because effective today, Genetics and Health will be retired, and in a nostalgic way, this is my last time “to-speak”. Even then, the field of genetics has never been so exciting as these times. Genetics has spread into the language of cancer, HIV/AIDS, behavior/psychological issues from smoking to addictions, from autism to chronic health problems, infections like the H1N1 and MRSA, organic versus modified foods, our children’s sex, paternity issues, and what ... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2923396 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:38:42 +0100 2923396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2920415&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F0esKTEQkzKA%2F Scientists found a tiny mutation on a key gene that could potentially lead to type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and celiac disease and many autoimmune diseases. The interleukin-21 protein has been associated with the development of type 1 diabetes in mice. Scientists from the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia discovered that mice carrying the mutation spontaneously developed type 1 diabetes. When the mice DNA were sequenced they found a mutation, only two base pairs of DNA long, on the promoter region of IL-21 gene. Dr Cecile King, PhD student Helen McGuire and their colleagues then inserted the mutated DNA segment into a healthy IL-21 gene and observed that more IL-21 molecules were produced. When the gene segment was removed, production of the IL-21 slowed down. “Our... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2920415 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:32:20 +0100 2920415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912374&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FwfK90aoXZSQ%2F This is such a cool application of genetics! By sequencing all the genes of a patient, scientists diagnosed a congenital disease that could not be identified using clinical observations. Because of the “molecular diagnostics technique”, doctors were able to provide a treatment tailored for the disease.   The patient, an infant, was persistently dehydrated and failing to gain weight, and researchers uncovered a gene mutation that was responsible to the infant’s condition called congenital chloride diarrhea. Instead of sequencing all the thousand base pairs in a genome, researchers focused only on DNA that encodes proteins, about 1% of the total genome. DNA mutations in this region can result in a nonfunctional protein, and would have far-ranging effects on health. According to H... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912374 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:57:31 +0100 2912374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908666&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fabstract_serotonin_polymorphisms_and_ptsd_in_a_trauma_expos.htm Conclusions: Our findings suggest a relationship between genetic variation in the 5HT2A promoter region and PTSD. (Text has been reformatted for online visual clarity; ed.) Source... Copyright © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info) Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908666 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:35:00 +0100 2908666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2886649&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FR7LcuCQ5FUE%2F Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a potentially fatal genetic disorder caused by a deficient or abnormal blood protein called C1 inhibitor. It causes swelling of the extremities, face, trunk, abdomen or airways. Abdominal attacks can result in severe pain, nausea, vomiting, cramps and diarrhea. The attacks can be spontaneous but may also be triggered by stress, surgery or infection. Death may result when the airways close because of the swelling. Only 1 in 50,00 to 150,000 people worldwide/ 1 in 10,000 to 50,000 in the US is affected by this rare dominant mutation, but the mortality is quite high (30%) so it’s really good that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment Hereditary angioedema. The FDA announced that Berinert has been approved for adults and adolescents wi... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2886649 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:58:27 +0100 2886649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2886204&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F10%2Fdiagnostic-microarray-for-influenza.html Rapid and accurate diagnostic methods for typing and subtyping influenza viruses are needed for improved worldwide surveillance. Although molecular-based diagnostic methods are becoming more widespread in influenza diagnosis, they generally involve amplification of the hemagglutinin (HA) and/or neuraminidase (NA) gene segments for subtyping. A low-density microarray (MChip) has been developed that allows for the identification and subtyping of influenza A viruses in approximately seven hours. MChip is unique in that it is based solely on the matrix (M) gene segment which has enough genetic diversity for subtype analysis but sufficient genetic stability to circumvent the need for continual redesign of primers and microarray probes.Further reading: Influenza: Molecular VirologyFull range of ... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2886204 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:51:00 +0100 2886204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2881287&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FFccxlRW8-qg%2F Couples at high risk for genetic disorders would prefer to have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) rather than risk terminating a pregnancy later, a study from Fertility and Sterility Journal showed. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is performed after in-vitro fertilization where an embryo is tested for mutations that can lead to genetic defects, before being implanted into the uterus. Obviously, PGD reduces the need for prenatal genetic testing in the middle of a pregnancy, and avoid having to choose between terminating or continuing on with the pregnancy. The study showed that among 210 Dutch couples with genetic disorders, 60% would prefer diagnostic testing and, of these 74% preferred PGD over prenatal testing. Couples who are high risk for specific disorders and where ... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2881287 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:50:00 +0100 2881287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2868676&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F10%2Frnai-gene-therapy-to-control-hiv-1.html RNA interference (RNAi) was discovered as cellular gene regulation mechanism in 1998, but several RNAi-based applications for gene silencing have already made it into clinical trials. RNAi approaches have targeted pathogenic human viruses causing acute or chronic infections. HIV-1 infection has been considered for RNAi-based gene therapy. Viruses like HIV-1 are particularly difficult targets for RNAi-attack because they are escape-prone, which requires combinatorial RNAi strategies to prevent viral escape. The future of antiviral RNAi therapeutics is very promising, but it remains of critical importance to include many controls in pre-clinical test models to unequivocally demonstrate sequence-specific action of the RNAi inducers.Further reading: RNA Interference and Viruses: Current Innova... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2868676 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:25:00 +0100 2868676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2862081&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F10%2Fretroviral-vectors-for-gene-delivery.html Gammaretroviral and lentiviral vectors for gene therapy have been developed that mediate stable genetic modification of treated cells by chromosomal integration of the transferred vector genomes. This is highly desired, not only for research use, but also for clinical gene therapy aiming at the long-term correction of genetic defects, e.g., in stem and progenitor cells. Retroviral vector particles with tropism for various target cells have been designed. Due to split genome vector design the risk of replication-competent retrovirus formation has been minimized. Gammaretroviral and lentiviral vectors have so far been used in more than 300 clinical trials, addressing treatment options for various diseases. In some cases these trials resulted in benefit for treated patients suffering from lif... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2862081 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:24:00 +0100 2862081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2852027&cid=t_358677_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Fumich.edu%2Fnews%2FReleases%2F2009%2FSep09%2FFinalReport.pdf Should the families of football players at the high school, college, and professional level be worried about Alzheimer's and dementia. Yesterday I wrote about a new report that indicated retired National Football League players suffer from early onset Alzheimer's and dementia at an alarming rate. A study commissioned by the National Football League found that Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment is appearing in the league's former players at an alarming rate -- 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.The study was conducted for the National Football League (NFL) by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The Michigan researchers found that 6.1 percent of players age 50 and above reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis, fi... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2852027 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:02:46 +0100 2852027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851968&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2Fd0tjpkB_Oss%2F Music and cancer do not go together, and I mean that in the context of this new technology: A project at Harvard Medical School created a program to translate the signals from cells into musical notes. Normal signals will sound harmonious, abnormal signals like those coming from cancer cells will sound awful. Listen to this –     Using date from a pre-existing colon cancer study, bioinformatician Gil Alterovitz and his team created a program that transforms complex genomic information into musical notes, so that abnormal data will sound discordant. “When things go awry, such as in the case of p53-null mutant colon cancer cells under inflammatory stress conditions, gene expression varies slightly, and inharmonious chord progressions result. Listening to the result... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851968 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:11:20 +0100 2851968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2834467&cid=t_358677_145_f&fid=35710&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstoryofhealing.com%2F2009%2F09%2F26%2Finternational-medicine-2008-conference-and-revisits%2F I had so many posts planned for the months past when my schedule and flow took a turn—in a very good and mostly fun way. I have been occupied with our wedding celebration, teaching and other projects, medical electives, mouse jogging through my studies, plus my occasional will of glorious procrastination to begin writing. For those who gave me a-okay for my Media In Medicine series e-interviews, I hope they can still remember me when I start knocking on their email doors again with my finally-written down Qs. For those whose correspondence I am all too happy to receive but have not replied yet, I hope you won’t tire checking in and seeing if I have actually risen from my blog-grave yet. And, of course, thank you for reading. Conference A little over a year ago in May, I flew to t... the story of healing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2834467 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:20:06 +0100 2834467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2807803&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F09%2F17%2Fwikis-as-tools-in-genetics%2F I’ve been planning to write about these wikis that can be very useful tools in the hands of researchers for a long time. The first one is WikiPathway which is an open platform dedicated to the curation of biological pathways by and for the scientific community. The second is the WikiGenes which aims to build the database of evolutionary knowledge on Nature.com. The reason why I mention the third one now is there is a new publication focusing on the pros and cons of using a wiki in genetics research. In Wikipedia, Andrew and his friends created the Gene Portal a year ago and later analyzed the usability and the results. Annotating the function of all human genes is a critical, yet formidable, challenge. Current gene annotation efforts focus on centralized curation resources, but it ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2807803 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:38:24 +0100 2807803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803858&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F006540.html All male squirrel monkeys are naturally red-green color blind. Gene therapy has successfully restored vision of 2 male squirrel monkeys. Researchers have used gene therapy to restore colour vision in... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803858 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2803858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778668&cid=t_358677_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2FSvrw5fO0SxM%2Fscientists-identify-two-gene-variants.html In the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) reported to date involving Alzheimer's disease, scientists have identified two new possible genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's, the most common form of the disease. The study, which pooled DNA samples from a number of European and U.S. groups, not only associated variations in the sequence of the CLU and PICALM genes with increased risk, but also found another 13 gene variants that merit further investigation, according to findings presented in the September 6, 2009, online issue of Nature Genetics. Involving more than 16,000 DNA samples, one feature of this research was its use of publicly shared DNA samples and databases, including several supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and other components of the Natio... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778668 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:31:25 +0100 2778668 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2766213&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F2BEtNQ7gafI%2F Through the wonders of genetics, we might have a wonder drug that let us eat anything we want -without ever gaining a single pound! We can eat fatty and sugary food and we won’t even need to exercise to lose all those calories.   I’m not sure that’s such a good idea but that drug may exist in the near future, with the recent discovery of the so-called “obeso-genes”. The key lies in a gene called IKKE that acts as a master switch that control obesity, by producing a protein kinase that turns other proteins on or off. When a body is fed a high fat diet, the IKKE kinase slows down metabolism and burns less calories, and weight increases. When the gene IKKE (and thus the kinases) are deleted, metabolism speeds up and the body burns more calories. Knock-off mice that didn’t c... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2766213 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:16:24 +0100 2766213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2751903&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D7807 I think there are mixed signals about testing coming out from the MOH especially when there were earlier media reports about the Health Minister encouraging doctors to use the “rapid test”. The Star reported As the death toll from Influenza A (H1N1) rose to 38, the Government green-lighted the use of rapid test kits for private clinics and hospitals to conduct flu checks on the public. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said private healthcare providers can use these kits to help cope with the large number of patients wanting to be checked, and for faster detection and containment of the pandemic. “Use of rapid test kits was discouraged in the private sector earlier when the H1N1 outbreak was still small and mostly imported. “Now that it has reached the community lev... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2751903 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2751903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2745595&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F-tKKRxn5gTI%2F Imagine having been born from a biological dad, and two biological moms. Wait. Don’t imagine. It’s already happened. For now in monkeys, but who knows someday in humans too. And based on your belief, it’s a “no way!” or a “way to go!”. How did a three-parent experiment happen? Scientists from the Oregon National Primate Research successfully transferred the nuclear DNA from one macaque into another cell which had it’s mitochondrial DNA removed (termed mitochondia gene replacement). The hybrid egg cell was fertilized by a sperm and implanted into the uterus of a surrogate mother. Out of the fifteen hybrid embryos, four baby macaques have survived through full term and seem to be thriving. And why is this experiment in monkeys so important for humans? This experiment open... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2745595 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:37:48 +0100 2745595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2727338&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fphg-foundation-and-my-point.html A long time ago I had a post entitled "Beware Doctors Bearing Genetic Tests" back in April of 2007. It was an interesting post where I point out that this wonderful GI doctor who was IVY league trained completely hashed genetic testing for HNPCC.I went on to explain the shortcomings with Internists in interpreting APC testing for familial adenomatoid polyposis coli. 1 in 3 misinterpret tests.....Wait till you see the DTC interpretation!Everyone who gets all in a huff when I say that these DTC genetic tests should be regulated. But I am here to say there is a good reason for it, and it has nothing to do with the people getting the tests.......There is now threat of public harm.....But first let me explain my frustration. Saturday I was on Twitter and Daniel MacArthur and I had a conversatio... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2727338 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:49:00 +0100 2727338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2725213&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F21%2Fua-research-team-designing-holographic-imaging-system-for-ovarian-cancer%2F University of Arizona researchers Jennifer Barton and Ray Kostuk have received a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build the instrument that they hope will one day be used to monitor women at high risk for ovarian cancer. Two University of Arizona [UA] researchers have formed a research team to [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2725213 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:26:23 +0100 2725213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2725221&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fgenetic-counseling-and-its-influence-on-breast-cancer-decisions%2F Genetic counseling was a choice I made.  I decided to have genetic counseling to determine if I had a genetic predisposition to breast cancer; it was in conjunction with my decision to have reconstructive surgery. My oncologist and I were discussing the options available to reconstruct the breast that had been removed. After having a breast cancer diagnosis I had questions as to whether I should consider prophylactic removal of my other breast to reduce the risk of breast cancer in my remaining breast. He was aware of the other cancers in my family and so suggested that genetic counseling could help me determine the risk for another breast cancer diagnosis. Testing positive for the BRCA II gene mutation created new issues. How my sister would be affected, her girls and my children was the... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2725221 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:46:29 +0100 2725221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2716151&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2Fu5LFLPo9kmU%2F 45 breaks and fractures , 16 screws and 2 plates in lower right leg , 3 screws in right knee , 2 screws in left knee , 4 pins and 2 screws in right wrist , 2 screws and a load of wire in left elbow that’s about it. Ouch. That sounds like major ‘machinery’ repair to me. When bones break into several pieces, usually the only repair would be screws, pins and plates. But that could all be a thing of the past with this medical breakthrough – Scientists created a synthetic glue for repairing broken bones using the genes of a marine worm! The sandcastle worm is a marine animal that builds its home from sand and broken shells by gluing the pieces together using a glue-like substance that it secretes. Scientists were able to clone the genes of the natural adhesive and manufacture syn... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2716151 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2716151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2716137&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Ffamily-history-state-of-science.html The NIH/CDC is hosting a conference next week. I conference I wish I could go to, but alas, I will be DOING family histories on my patients that week.The conference will be held at the NIH in Bethesda. This is an NIH state of the science conference about Family History and its usefulness.I for one, am very glad that the government is trying to address this super important issue. It is beyond due for an evaluation. Why?With the cost of a genome going to drop to 5000 USD by the late fall (trust me), we will soon see another level of DTC and Clinical lab set offering the genome as a predictive tool.There are several reasons that Family History beats a Genome (For Now) 1. Phenotypic data of family history represents complex interplay of genes and environment There is no way that a simple genom... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2716137 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:50:00 +0100 2716137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712293&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FTKuPFIt7yqo%2F I read about Jessa Perrin’s story and was struck with how her world was turned upside down by a rare disease. Jessa Perrin was backpacking in Israel when she suddenly became ill. Her skin turned yellow and her liver, kidneys and lungs failed within a day of being admitted to the hospital. She wasn’t even diagnosed with anything yet, but she needed liver transplant fast, or else she was not going to last a week. The doctors finally diagnosed Jessa with Wilson’s Disease, a rare, recessive genetic disorder that shuts down the body’s ability to get rid of copper. Jessa inherited two abnormal copies of the ATP7B gene, one from each of her parents (who were carriers). Because it’s a recessive trait the carrying parents do not have any symptoms and have no known family history of the... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712293 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:05:07 +0100 2712293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2703924&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FD7nRDUVbFfA%2F Every blogger will wish he has this gene! Scientists discovered a rare genetic mutation that allows certain people to sleep on less hours without any adverse effect. In one family, a mother and daughter with this rare mutation needed only six hours of sleep each night while the rest of the family needed the typical 7-8 hours. Gene for Short Sleeper Found. Image: sxc Published in Science, researchers from the University of California- San Francisco isolated the gene as DEC2, involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms, the body’s clock. The scientists then bred mice and fruit flies that carried the mutation and found the mutant mice slept less and needed less time to recover from sleep deprivation. According to health experts, a typical adult needs at least 7-8 hours of sleep each... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2703924 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:55:00 +0100 2703924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2702485&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F14%2Fwomen-often-opt-to-surgically-remove-their-breasts-ovaries-to-reduce-cancer-risk%2F Many women at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer are choosing to undergo surgery as a precautionary measure to decrease their cancer risk, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. PHILADELPHIA – Many women at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer are [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2702485 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:45:23 +0100 2702485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2699652&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fabstract_the_symptomatic_profile_of_panic_disorder_is_shape.htm Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Aug;doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.08.004 The symptomatic profile of panic disorder is shaped by the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism Lonsdorf TB, Rück C, Bergström J, Andersson G, Öhman A, Schalling M, Lindefors N. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Psychology section, Center for Psychiatry Research, Neurogenetics Unit, Stockholm Brain Institute, & Nordic center of Excellence in Cognitive Control, Linköping University, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping, Sweden The short allele of a functional polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in the serotonin transporter promoter is associated with reduced serotonin transporter (5-HTT) expression, lower in vivo 5-HTT binding, neuroticism, amygdala reactivity as well as facilitated... Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2699652 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:18:00 +0100 2699652 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2695425&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fpredicting_depression_and_antidepressant_response_the_long_.htm Primary Psychiatry. 2009;16(8):14-15 Sussman N. In last month's issue,1 I commented on recent research that the gene responsible for expression of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) modulates the effect of life stressors and the development of major depressive disorder. Caspi and colleagues2 cited a polymorphism in the 5-HTT-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), that results in two common alleles, termed "short"(s) and "long'"(l). The "s" allele was found to be associated with increased risk for depression, especially when exposed to loss or environmental stress. I also pointed out that a new study3 found that the 5-HTTLPR gene may not be as critical as believed, since the original finding had not been consistently replicated. The authors found no evidence that the serotonin transporter gen... Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2695425 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:28:00 +0100 2695425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691746&cid=t_358677_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2Ft_JLPDdB9K8%2Fuc-irvine-discovers-new-alzheimers-gene.html This study points to the use of mitochondrial-based therapies fortreating the disease."The study will be published Aug. 7 in the journal PLoS One.Supporting the UCI discovery is research presented recently at theInternational Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Austria. DukeUniversity scientists found that patients with TOMM40 developedAlzheimer's an average of seven years earlier than those without thegene.In addition to Potkin, who is also the Robert R. Sprague Chair in BrainImaging and director of UCI's Brain Imaging Center, UCI scientists Dr.Fabio Macciardi, Guia Guffanti, Dr. Anita Lakatos, Jessica Turner, Dr.Frithjof Kruggel and James Fallon worked on this study.They collaborated with Andrew Saykin of Indiana University, Dr. MichaelWeiner of UC San Francisco and Alzheimer's Disease ... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691746 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:38:00 +0100 2691746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691734&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F10%2Fnovel-targeted-gene-therapies-use-diphtheria-toxin-to-fight-ovarian-cancer-future-clinical-trials-anticipated%2F Two separate research teams reported promising results last week based upon preclinical studies involving the use of diphtheria toxin to fight ovarian cancer. … A targeted gene therapy was utilized in both studies, wherein a gene fragment capable of producing diptheria toxin was combined with a nanoparticle which was [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691734 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:16:33 +0100 2691734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2688866&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F10%2Fnovel-targeted-gene-therapies-use-diphtheria-toxin-to-fight-ovarian-cancer-future-clinical-trials-anticipated%2F Two separate research teams reported promising results last week based upon preclinical studies involving the use of diphtheria toxin to fight ovarian cancer. … A targeted gene therapy was utilized in both studies, wherein a gene fragment capable of producing diptheria toxin was combined with a nanoparticle which was [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2688866 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:16:33 +0100 2688866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2682082&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34994&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gnxp.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F08%2Fgenome-more-than-coding.php Evolutionary Processes Acting on Candidate cis-Regulatory Regions in Humans Inferred from Patterns of Polymorphism and Divergence. Let me just jump to the final paragraph since that's probably what most readers are curious about:Our analysis of human polymorphism and divergence in conserved non-coding sites suggests that the evolution of candidate cis-regulatory regions is often driven by both positive and negative selection. Our findings reinforce the idea that the non-coding portion of our genome has an important functional and evolutionary role, and suggest that patterns of natural selection in non-coding DNA are often distinct from that of protein-coding regions. Many of the adaptive changes in candidate cis-regulatory regions might have occurred near genes expressed in the fetal brain... Gene Expression blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2682082 Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:12:00 +0100 2682082 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2678680&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fabstract_early_adversity_and_5httbdnf_genes_new_evidence.htm Conclusions Childhood adversity per se predicted higher levels of adult depressive symptoms. In addition, BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms seemed to moderate the effect of CSA on adult depressive symptoms. (Glossary links added; ed.) Source... Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info) Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2678680 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:44:00 +0100 2678680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2663958&cid=t_358677_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2Frkwcor2UVlk%2F Video from the Nature Publishing Group on the risks of smoking coupled with the genetics of its addiction and genes that lead to cancer development. “Some of the strongest evidence that lung cancer risk variants are common in the general population appears in Nature and Nature Genetics, although the three papers differ on whether the association is direct or mediated through nicotine dependence. Watch the research being discussed here. Stephen Chanock, David Hunter and Kari Stefansson discuss how your genes can affect your addiction to nicotine and your cancer risk from smoking.” [Link to Video] addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fmedicineandman.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F08%2F02%2Fsmoking-and-lung-cancer-genes%2F'; addthis_title = 'Smoking+and+Lung+Cancer+Genes'; addthis_pub = ''; ... Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2663958 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:27:07 +0100 2663958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2662627&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F01%2Fnew-study-shows-four-year-window-for-early-detection-of-ovarian-cancer%2F A new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers shows that most early stage ovarian tumors exist for years at a size that is a thousand times smaller than existing tests can detect reliably.  But the researchers say their findings also point to new opportunities for detecting ovarian cancer—a roughly four-year window during which most [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2662627 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:45:36 +0100 2662627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2662628&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F01%2Ftrojan-horse-for-ovarian-cancer-nanoparticles-turn-immune-system-soldiers-against-tumor-cells%2F In a feat of trickery, Dartmouth Medical School immunologists have devised a Trojan horse to help overcome ovarian cancer, unleashing a surprise killer in the surroundings of a hard-to-treat tumor. Using nanoparticles–ultra small bits– the team has reprogrammed a protective cell that ovarian cancers have corrupted to feed their growth, turning the cells back [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2662628 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:59:42 +0100 2662628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2649203&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FJq8P_-8o38w%2F Do you remember that TV ad for a weed-killer where two men face each other at their front lawns (ala-fastest draw in the west)? Well, that scene was brought to mind when I read this report on atrazine, a popular weed-killer in the U.S.. As one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S., atrazine easily runs off into surrounding fields and groundwater. It is banned in Europe because the concentrations of the herbicide in underground water supply systems can not be contained at safe levels. Recently, a study reported that atrazine lowers the production of the male hormone androgen by changing the genes that make them. The study was done on male rats which were fed with higher doses of atrazine. The herbicide also lowered testosterone levels and decreased the size of the prostate in rat... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2649203 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:16:12 +0100 2649203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2649245&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F28%2Fvox-populi-libby-well-be-missing-you%2F Vox Populi:  Libby, We’ll Be Missing You. Dear Libby, One year ago today, you left us after an extended battle with ovarian cancer.  You are missed as a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a cousin.  You were, and continue to be, a very special family member to your loved ones who remain behind.  [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2649245 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:49:25 +0100 2649245 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2639591&cid=t_358677_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2FKmHULOBFnuk%2F Interesting video on Charlie Rose Show: A conversation about Personalized Medicine with Steven Pinker (Professor of Psychology, Harvard University), George Church (Prof of Genetics, Harvard Medical School) and Anne Wojcicki & Linda Avey of “23 and Me“ Link to Video (30 minutes) My own posts on genetics which resonate with some of the sentiments mentioned in this interview: Genetics - A guide to understanding the literature Does gene analysis provide risk profiling for heart attack? addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fmedicineandman.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2F25%2Fpersonalized-medicine%2F'; addthis_title = 'Personalized+medicine'; addthis_pub = ''; (Source: Medicine and Man) Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2639591 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:20:19 +0100 2639591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630337&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fexplaining-hereditary-cancer-to-your-children%2F Yesterday my youngest son, “The Big Guy,” asked me if the cancer I had ran in the family. He is only 18 so we have not alarmed him about the possibility that he could test positive for the BRCA 2 gene mutation for breast cancer. Since Sister and I inherited it from my Dad, there is the possibility that my future grandchildren can inherit it from my sons. My niece Nicole tested positive and is expecting her first child, her younger sister refuses to get tested. I hadn’t expected the question, so I answered as best I could telling him that as he gets older we will get him tested and I would like to start him on a vitamin regime to ensure he has a strong immune system. He could develop prostate or breast cancer if he is predisposed with the gene mutation. It reminds me why w... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630337 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:16:34 +0100 2630337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602200&cid=t_358677_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2FUmPX83zhFng%2Falzheimers-risk-gene-may-reduce.html In their analysis, the researchers found that physical activity was associated with enhanced cognitive function, and that this relationship was differentially influenced by the person's APOE genotype: non-E4 carriers and people with one copy of E4 performed better than people with two copies of E4.For more Insight into Alzheimer's DiseaseSubscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading RoomAlzheimer's Risk Gene May Reduce Benefits of Physical Activity to Cognitive AbilityWhile the relationship of physical activity with cognitive performance as we age is a subject of considerable research, much less is known about how this relationship is impacted by the Alzheimer's risk gene Apolipoprotein E (APOE). The APOE gene comes in three types, or alleles, known as e2, e3, and e4. Each person gets one type of A... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602200 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:25:02 +0100 2602200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2594470&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fabstract_5httlpr_modulates_antidepressant_efficacy_in_depr.htm Conclusion: Despite a low power, this study suggests a significant effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on antidepressant efficacy in depressed women but not in men, with both SSRI and non-SSRI drugs. Further research is needed to confirm this result and investigate its underlying mechanisms. (Links added; ed.) Source... © 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info) Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2594470 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:03:00 +0100 2594470 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570607&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F02%2Fbreakthrough-for-schizophrenia-and-bipolar%2F Earlier today, we reported that NIMH-funded researchers at three different genetic research institutes from around the world collaborated and published three new studies yesterday in the journal, Nature, that suggested a true breakthrough in our understanding of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And to think that just earlier this week, I was dismissing the largely inconclusive findings of genetics research in mental illness. One of the researchers commented on the findings: “There was substantial overlap in the genetic risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that was specific to mental disorders. We saw no association between the suspect gene variants and half a dozen common non-psychiatric disorders.” This is an important discovery — that some of the roots of schi... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570607 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:00:34 +0100 2570607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556102&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D7329 CONCLUSION: We conclude that Live blood analysis may have no clinical significance. 2. Complementary and alternative allergy tests : review article. Morris, Adrian 2006 This article reviews the common tests employed by complementary and alternative medical practitioners to diagnose allergies and intolerances. These tests include VEGA, applied kinesiology, hair analysis, auriculocardiac test, stool and live blood analysis, leucocytotoxic tests and IgG ELISA tests. None of these tests has proven to be as accurate as specific IgE measurement in allergy diagnosis and they cannot be recommended. 3. eMJA 2004; 180 (12): 647-648: Good medicine and bad medicine: science to promote the convergence of “alternative” and orthodox medicine - poses a question which those in charge of ethics should p... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556102 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2556102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553000&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FJvZlJEPNyj8%2F I’ve been tasked with presenting the genetic and rare disease perspective on comparative effectiveness. I’ll dispense with ‘rare’ right away.  If by rare, we mean single gene disorders, then perhaps it is a useful designation. If by rare, we just mean the equivalent of the US definition of orphan disease, i.e., less than 200,000 people in the US, then we should ask a few questions. In the old model of test and drug development, the ‘block buster, body count’, model, rare was a useful designation.  In a system built for BIG, then rare needed a boost.  In the new age of personalized medicine, all conditions are rare. In fact, they are usually an N of 1 after factoring in the myriad of genes involved, epigenetics, environment and so on.  As we enter new... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553000 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:14:59 +0100 2553000 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553103&cid=t_358677_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FBiWCnDMqp_g%2F They say some people are just born to be entrepreneurs. You’ve probably seen very resourceful kids that start these smaller businesses before they are even teenagers. Those kids always seem to grow up to be successful business owners. Being adopted, I’ve always been very aware of the “nature versus nurture” debate and can attest that several characteristics we get are born of nature. One source says that there might be an “entrepreneurial gene” which isn’t a scientific fact but rather one based on a set of common traits that seem to be present among successful entrepreneurs. The desire to create their own business comes from something innate inside all of them. If you think you might have that entrepreneurial gene, there are four things to help yo... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553103 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:36:21 +0100 2553103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512404&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F6TloWtiF83Q%2F Tracing back family trees and genetic histories can be quite an experience. Some of us have probably fantasized about being related to some ancient royalty or well-known personality. Or maybe you wondered where you got that blazing red hair but not your cousin’s true-blue eyes. I had quite a small discovery when my mother drew our family tree some years back. We found distant relations to the wife of a national hero, and though it sounds shallow, that’s become a source of family pride. Ha-ha, indulge me. But other than this, and a possibility that we may have come from some Portuguese immigrant, nothing really pops up about my past. At least nothing quite like the family history of Sir Paul Maxime Nurse, the noted biochemist, Nobel Laureate, Knight Bachelor and president of Rockefell... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512404 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0100 2512404 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511070&cid=t_358677_109_f&fid=35671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anxietyinsights.info%2Fabstract_development_and_persistence_of_ptsd_and_the_5httl.htm J Traumatic Stress 2009 Jun;22(3):240-243Development and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism Thakur GA, Joober R, Brunet A. Douglas Mental Health University Institute and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Departments of Neurology ; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Association between 5-HTTLPR [serotonin transporter gene] polymorphism and development of acute and persistence of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was prospectively investigated. DNA was extracted from 41 motor-vehicle accident victims evaluated for development and persis... Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511070 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:14:00 +0100 2511070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2474070&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F10%2Fone-in-three-billion-found-single-mutation-in-the-foxl2-gene-may-cause-granulosa-cell-ovarian-cancer%2F “… Vancouver scientists from the Ovarian Cancer Research (OvCaRe) Program at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered that there appears to be a single spelling mistake in the genetic code of granulosa cell tumours, a rare and often untreatable form of ovarian cancer. This means that out of the three [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2474070 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:05:16 +0100 2474070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464165&cid=t_358677_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2FjWbgdwnYxh0%2F “In a world-first breakthrough, UNSW medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease.” addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fmedicineandman.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F06%2F08%2Fstem-cell-imregnated-contact-lens-restores-sight%2F'; addthis_title = 'Stem+cell+impregnated+contact+lens+restores+sight'; addthis_pub = ''; (Source: Medicine and Man) Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464165 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:57:39 +0100 2464165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2453072&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F03%2Fgene-network-sciences-uconn-to-work-on-computer-modeled-ovarian-cancer-treatments%2F Gene Network Sciences, Inc. (GNS) today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with The University of Connecticut Health Center’s Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center in which the parties will incorporate genetic, genomic and clinical data (”3-D Data”) together into computer models of different cancers [with ovarian cancer as initial area [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2453072 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:32:12 +0100 2453072 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2442555&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F24%2Fgenetic-testing-for-hereditary-breast-and-ovarian-cancers-greatly-underutilized-by-high-risk-women%2F A women’s lifetime breast cancer risk is approximately 13 percent, and her ovarian cancer risk is less than 2 percent.  But women with BRCA1 (BReast CAncer 1) or BRCA2 (BReast CAncer 2) gene mutations may be 3 to 7 times more likely to develop breast cancer, and 9 to 30 times more likely to develop [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2442555 Mon, 25 May 2009 01:03:00 +0100 2442555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424366&cid=t_358677_132_f&fid=37823&url=http%3A%2F%2Fathena.bioc.uvic.ca%2Fnode%2F1026 Baculovirus has emerged as a novel gene delivery vector in the recent years.  As a DNA virus that infects insect as its natural host, baculovirus does not replicate nor is toxic inside the transduced cells.  Furthermore,  baculoviral DNA degrades inside the mammalian cells over time, thus easing the safety concerns about the use of baculovirus for gene therapy.  In the study,  Baculovirus Transduction of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: In Vitro Responses and In Vivo Immune Responses After Cell Transplantatio read more (Source: VBRC Blog) VBRC Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424366 Wed, 20 May 2009 01:00:04 +0100 2424366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424354&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F05%2F19%2Fgene-genie-blog-carnival-new-look-new-concept%2F I’ve been organizing Gene Genie, a blog carnival about human genes and personalized medicine for 2 years, but it seems it gets harder and harder to organize such blog events. So I came up with the microcarnival idea which means we all can submit our favourite human genetics-related articles and posts and share those in real-time. I created a Gene Genie Friendfeed room for this purpose. Please subscribe and let’s discover personalized genetics together. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424354 Tue, 19 May 2009 21:05:46 +0100 2424354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415712&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F17%2Fsymptoms-of-ovarian-cancer-remain-relatively-stabile-over-time-as-reported-by-high-risk-women%2F Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported recently that symptoms of ovarian cancer tend to be relatively stable over time for women who are at increased risk of ovarian cancer based upon family history of cancer or BRCA 1/2 gene mutation. Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, located in Seattle, Washington, recently [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415712 Mon, 18 May 2009 02:08:18 +0100 2415712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405068&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E5%2FIpdIUOX5DlM%2F20090513patent_BRCA_Complaint.pdf In an earlier related post on biobanking, we asked our readers if they thought whether or not one's DNA should be private or publicly banked; the response was overwhelmingly in favor of privacy. Similarly, the notion of property rights in application to genes and genetic information presents serious challenges, as the Council for Responsible Genetics has long argued; their Genetic Bill of Rights includes a section that states "All people have the right to a world in which living organisms cannot be patented, including human beings, animals, plants, microorganisms and all their parts."Now this issue is going before the courts: A group of patients, genetic researchers, and professional associations have filed a lawsuit against Myriad and the US Patent Office for patenting the genes known as... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405068 Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:12 +0100 2405068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2381062&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F30%2Fwomen-of-diverse-ethnic-ancestry-have-similar-risk-of-carrying-brca-mutations-as-those-with-western-european-ancestry%2F ” …The study, performed by researchers at Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center and Myriad Genetics, Inc., analyzed the prevalence of BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations in patients of different ethnicities at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The study included test results of 46,276 women during the ten-year period from 1996 to 2006. Study subjects encompassed [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2381062 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:12:40 +0100 2381062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364011&cid=t_358677_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F04%2Fmetagenomics.html is a rapidly growing field of research that has had a dramatic effect on the way we view and study the microbial world. By permitting the direct investigation of bacteria, viruses and fungi irrespective of their culturability and taxonomic identities, metagenomics has changed microbiological theory and methods and has also challenged the classical concept of species. This new field of biology has proven to be rich and comprehensive and is making important contributions in many areas including ecology, biodiversity, bioremediation, bioprospection of natural products, and in medicine.from Diana Marco in Metagenomics: Theory, Methods and ApplicationsFull range of books on microbiology at Microbiology Books (Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists.) Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364011 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:46:00 +0100 2364011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2365323&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FrgTtU-dDDJs%2F Often, finding the gene(s) that cause a disease is like the proverbial needle in a haystack. And in very rare cases, it’s Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is a rare childhood lung cancer where cysts and/or solid tumors grow in the lungs of children anytime from birth to about 7-8 years of age. Malignant cancer cells. Image: Newscom Only about 50% of patients with PPB are successfully cured of the cancer, and the prognosis becomes better with early diagnosis. One fourth of children with PPB have other types of cancers in their bodies (personal history) or in other family members, so there is a clear genetic factor involved. A recent study found very interesting results that could help scientists understand how cancers develop. Results from a molecular study found that that a master controll... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2365323 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:10:00 +0100 2365323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364921&cid=t_358677_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEEwxPca-7E0%2F At Capitol News Connection, brought to you each morning by your tax dollars, they reported this morning: With more than a trillion tax dollars tied up in the Troubled Asset Relief Program and stimulus spending, Congress is trying to figure out how to account for every penny. Uh-huh. Congress is always on top of our federal dollars. Coincidentally, just hours after the CNC report, the Government Accountability Office released a report warning about the lack of oversight procedures in the kitchen-sink stimulus bill. And a few days earlier the inspector general for the TARP program reported that Treasury has no real details on how TARP funds are being spent. In fact, IG Neil Barofsky told Congress that there were 20 criminal investigations into possible TARP fraud already underway. Two mont... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364921 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:38:18 +0100 2364921 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2326620&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F04%2Fjohns-hopkins-discovers-a-protein-that-contributes-to-ovarian-cancer-recurrence-by-causing-chemoresistance%2F ” … Ground-breaking work on an ovarian cancer-related protein in the lab of Ie-Ming Shih at the [Johns Hopkins] School of Medicine is leading to new insights into cancer biology. … They have revealed a novel protein that creates cancer cells that are resistant to traditional cancer chemotherapies and partially revealed its mechanism of action. [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2326620 Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:57:57 +0100 2326620 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2299064&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F24%2Fovarian-cancers-detected-early-may-be-less-aggressive%2F “The biology of ovarian cancers discovered at an early stage may render them slower growing and less likely to spread than more aggressive cancers, which typically are discovered in an advanced stage, according to a study led by investigators in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.  This finding has implications for the question of whether screening [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2299064 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:27:59 +0100 2299064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2299065&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F24%2Froutine-screening-for-hereditary-breast-and-ovarian-cancer-recommended-by-acog-sgo%2F Evaluating a patient’s risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome is an important first step in cancer prevention and early detection and should be a routine part of ob-gyn practice. Those who are likely to have the syndrome should be referred for further assessment to a clinician with expertise in genetics, according to a [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2299065 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:55:32 +0100 2299065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2305859&cid=t_358677_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F24%2Fgene-genie-44%2F The latest issue of Gene Genie (nr 44) is now up at Mary Meets Dolly. Please enjoy reading the posts here Gene genie is the “blog carnival of genes and genetic conditions“, initiated and maintained by Bertalan Mesko of Scienceroll. You can subcribe to Gene Genie by email or RSS feed and as you may know there [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2305859 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:54:14 +0100 2305859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2295336&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F03%2F22%2Fgene-genie-44-at-mary-meets-dolly%2F The  44th edition is up at Mary Meets Dolly. A great compilation of articles and blogposts about human genetics and personalized medicine. Thank you, Rebecca Taylor, for hosting Gene Genie. Gene Genie is the blog carnival of genes and gene-related diseases. Our plan is to cover the whole genome before 2082 (it means 14-15 genes every two weeks). We accept articles on the news of genomics and clinical genetics. The news and articles of personalized genetics are also included. Check out Gene Genie for more about this unique field of medicine. Many thanks to Ricardo Vidal for the logo! Don’t forget to submit your articles via e-mail (berci.mesko at gmail.com). Let me know if you would like to host an edition. Here are all the issues of Gene genie: Issue #1: Scienceroll Issue #2: Sciences... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2295336 Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:58:22 +0100 2295336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2268016&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F14%2Fmassachusetts-general-hospital-cancer-center-to-genetically-profile-all-patient-tumors%2F “The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center has recently opened a new Translational Research Laboratory that will uncover the genetic codes and gene mutations from almost all of its cancer patients. … By embarking on such an ambitious approach, Cancer Center pathologists and oncologists hope to gather specific information about tumor properties that will lead to [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2268016 Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:59:44 +0100 2268016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2260084&cid=t_358677_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2F23andme-to-do-research-one-question.html Did you guys catch that Sergey Brin is funding some research into Parkinsons Disease? It turns out that you can have all the money in the world and still get disease.......Or at least pre-disease..."The study, will be conducted by 23andMe, a company co-founded and co-managed by Mr. Brin’s wife, Anne Wojcicki. The company offers a personal genomics service, in which it scans the DNA submitted by its customers and provides information on their health risks, ancestry and other traits."There are a couple of issues I need clarified here.1. Is there an IRB involved to govern 23andME in this "research"? 23andMe will establish a research advisory committee to guide such collaborations. 23andMe may grant researchers associated with partner organizations access to our database of genetic and other... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2260084 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:43:00 +0100 2260084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2295073&cid=t_358677_129_f&fid=35709&url=http%3A%2F%2Falphagirls.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Falpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency-get.html It’s a familiar story for many Alphas. You’ve been short of breath. The cough you got from that chest cold two weeks ago won’t go away. Your doctor prescribes an inhaler for asthma, but it’s not helping much. You’re confused, tired and worried about what may be wrong. The Alpha-1 Foundation's new video, “Short of Breath? Get Tested,” focuses on the symptoms of Alpha-1 and the problems Alphas face getting the right diagnosis. You can help spread awareness about getting tested for Alpha-1 by sharing this video with your friends. (Source: Unique But Not Alone) Unique But Not Alone blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2295073 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:42:00 +0100 2295073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2259911&cid=t_358677_129_f&fid=35709&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FUniqueButNotAlone%2F%7E3%2FdvIsI0e4WUs%2Falpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency-get.html It’s a familiar story for many Alphas. You’ve been short of breath. The cough you got from that chest cold two weeks ago won’t go away. Your doctor prescribes an inhaler for asthma, but it’s not... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Unique But Not Alone) Unique But Not Alone blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2259911 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:42:00 +0100 2259911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2235723&cid=t_358677_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F05%2Fwhat%25e2%2580%2599s-feeding-cancer-cells-johns-hopkins-researchers-discover-how-critical-cancer-gene-controls-nutrient-use%2F “Cancer cells need a lot of nutrients to multiply and survive. While much is understood about how cancer cells use blood sugar to make energy, not much is known about how they get other nutrients. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered how the Myc cancer-promoting gene uses microRNAs to [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2235723 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:16:37 +0100 2235723 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232793&cid=t_358677_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2Flv5Eji_QRs0%2F This presentation explains some of the basic concepts of genetics and provides a framework to analyze and understand medical literature pertaining to genetic studies. Genetics - A guide to understanding the literature View more presentations from Sudeep Bansal. (tags: genes statistics) (Disclaimer: I am not a geneticist and this is my attempt as a physician, to understand the role of genetics in patient care. If there are any inaccuracies, I will appreciate if you will leave a comment. Thanks) addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fmedicineandman.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2F04%2Fgenetics-a-guide-to-understanding-the-literature%2F'; addthis_title = 'Genetics+-+A+guide+to+understanding+the+literature'; addthis_pub = ''; (Source: Medicine and Man) Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232793 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:04:07 +0100 2232793