May 18th, 2008
Cambridge University researchers have identified a small molecule that appears to play a major role in making our body clocks tick. Studies in mice have shown cAMP - a common signalling molecule - is involved in keeping the body clock “rhythms” going (circadian rhythms).
The body’s internal clock is a highly sensitive mechanism able to anticipate changes in the […]
By Elaine -- 0 comments
May 7th, 2008
(Image source: www.livingwithcfs.wordpress.com)
Researchers from St George’s Hospital, University of London have identified a biological basis for 7 different genetic types of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
The St George’s study looked at 55 patients from the US and UK with the condition, and carried out a genetic analysis of them and 75 healthy blood donors.
It identified the seven […]
By Elaine -- 1 comment
May 4th, 2008
Osteoporosis
(Image source: www.soylabs.com)
An extensive genome-wide search has been undertaken to find the genes linked to osteoporosis and fracture. Five regions of interest have been identified that appear to warrant further scientific investigation.
The Garvan Institute for Medical Research collaborated with the Icelandic genetics company, deCode, in a project that looked at 1500 women from Garvan’s Dubbo Osteoporosis […]
By Elaine -- 1 comment
April 22nd, 2008
KQED Public Broadcasting in San Francisco recently did a radio story about the UC San Francisco Canine Behavioral Genetics Project run in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. The aims of the project are:
1. To explore the relationship between genes and behavior, both normal and abnormal, in domestic dogs.
2. To assess the amount and nature […]
By Elaine -- 1 comment
April 20th, 2008
Drosophila flies
I just loved this article along with accompanying videos appearing in the BBC news website.
Scientists have managed to give genetically modified fruit flies a sex-change just from a pulse of light to group of 2,000 brain cells responsible for directing courtship displays.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7350403.stm
Oh that it was so easy in humans!
Elaine Warburton www.geneticsandhealth.com
Tags: , Drosophila, Genes, Genetic […]
By Elaine -- 1 comment
March 19th, 2008
Many gene studies focus on WHICH genes cause a person’s risk of developing a disease (forward genetics) but few focus on HOW those genes can lead to disease. Researchers at Merck and Co, deCODE genetics and academic centres in the US and France have focused on the latter and shed light on the complexity of common disease causes where […]
By Elaine -- 1 comment
March 6th, 2008
(Image courtesy of CIMA http://www.cima.es/areas1_neuro/areas1_neuro_english.html)
Data from one of the first genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which focused on Parkinson’s diseases and was funded in part by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), is now being made available to researchers through the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Center for Biotechnology […]
By Elaine -- 0 comments
March 5th, 2008
(The Smiling Faces of Boddhastavas, Cambodia)
Ever the eternal optimist, here’s a piece of research which I can really relate to … Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh working with researchers at Queensland Institute for Medical Research in Australia found that happiness is partly determined by personality traits and that both personality and happiness are largely hereditary.
Rating personalities with […]
By Elaine -- 3 comments
March 2nd, 2008
HIV-2 Virus. Reference: http://www.csend.hu/magazin/0102/hiv2.jpg
A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has discovered a gene that is able to block HIV, and in turn prevent the onset of AIDS. Stephen Barr, a molecular virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, says his team has identified a gene called TRIM22 that can block […]
By Elaine -- 2 comments
February 24th, 2008
Papers published in Nature and Science this week support the previously held theory that humans originated in East Africa, migrating outward until they reached all parts of the globe. But the genetic work from these studies brings a new level of precision to human migration studies, with each group finding subtle and intriguing details that shed light on different aspects of […]
By Elaine -- 2 comments
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