Biology News Net - Microarray

Largest ever Alzheimer's genome study unveils dementia mysteries

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:11:35 -0500

British scientists have discovered two new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, while French colleagues uncovered a third. The results, from the largest ever Alzheimer's genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 16,000 individuals, are published in Nature Genetics. They are the first new genes found to be associated with the common form of Alzheimer's disease since 1993.

Distinctive gene expression in brains of relapsing heroin-addicted rats

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:56:30 -0500

A group of genes whose expression is significantly altered following exposure to drug paraphernalia after an enforced 'cold-turkey' period have been identified. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience studied gene expression in the brains of heroin-addicted rats, identifying those genes that may be involved in precipitating a relapse.

FluChip technology licensed to combat deadly flu virus

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:18:15 -0500

InDevR, a small biotech company in Boulder, CO, announced today that they have licensed the FluChip technology from the University of Colorado. The FluChip was invented by a joint team of scientists at the University of Colorado and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an NIH sponsored effort led by Professor Kathy Rowlen.

Learning how the pieces responsible for interpreting the human genome work

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:36:34 -0500

The human genome complete sequencing project in 2003 revealed the enormous instruction manual necessary to define a human being. However, there are still many unanswered questions. There are few indications on where the functional elements are found in this manual. To explain how we develop, scientists will have to decode the entire network of biological complexes that regulate development. One of the biggest challenges is to analyse the key proteins involved in the development of a human being, namely the proteins that bind to DNA. "If the genome provides the recipe to define a human being, the DNA proteins are the "chefs" that cook it", describes Herbert Auer, manager of the Functional Genomics Facility at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and co-organizer, together with Erich Grotewold, at the Ohio State University, of the Barcelona Biomed Conference, "The DNA proteome". Invited by IRB Barcelona and the BBVA Foundation, twenty-one authorities in the field of genomics present their recent work on 20, 21 and 22 April at the "Institut d'Estudis Catalans", in Barcelona.

Hopkins scientists ID 10 genes associated with a risk factor for sudden cardiac death

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:35:40 -0500

One minute, he's a strapping 40-year-old with an enviable cholesterol level, working out on his treadmill.

Medical costs for one premature baby could cover a dozen healthy births

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:10:07 -0500

The medical costs that businesses pay to care for one premature baby for a year could cover the costs for nearly a dozen healthy, full-term infants, according to new statistics from the March of Dimes.

Gene subnetworks predict cancer spread

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:37:00 -0500

The metastasis or spread of breast cancer to other tissues in the body can be predicted more accurately by examining subnetworks of gene expression patterns in a patient's tumor, than by conventional gene expression microarrays, according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

UC San Diego researchers use metagene 'portraits' to reveal distinct stages of kidney formation

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:55:23 -0500

In the art world, the most successful portraits are often those that reveal the true essence of the subject – a subject that on canvas, at least, will never age. In the science world, researchers are relying on portraits of gene expression patterns – but, in this case, the images are helping to reveal how various tissues form.

Study associates 11 new gene sites with cholesterol, triglyceride levels

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:24:57 -0500

An international research team has identified 11 novel locations in the human genome where common variations appear to influence cholesterol or triglyceride levels, bringing the total number of lipid-associated genes to 30. While major mutations in some of these genes have been known to underlie rare lipid metabolism disorders, it is becoming apparent that common changes in the same genes that have modest effects can combine with risk-associated variants in other genes to significantly influence blood lipid levels. The report to appear in the journal Nature Genetics is being released online.

Microarray analysis improves prenatal diagnosis

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:05:52 -0500

A "chip" or array that can quickly detect disorders such as Down syndrome or other diseases associated with chromosomal abnormalities proved an effective tool in prenatal diagnosis in a series of 300 cases at Baylor College of Medicine, said researchers in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Prenatal Diagnosis.