Biology News Net - Microarray

Attention ladies and gentlemen: Courtship affects gene expression

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:25:33 -0500

Scientists from Texas have made an important step toward understanding human mating behavior by showing that certain genes become activated in fruit flies when they interact with the opposite sex. This research, published in the January 2011 issue of the journal GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org), shows that courtship behaviors may be far more influenced by genetics than previously thought. In addition, understanding why and how these genes become activated within social contexts may also lead to insight into disorders such as autism.

New method will triple amount of genetic information from newborn blood spot screenings

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:25:32 -0500

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers have developed a method that can yield more information from archived newborn blood that has implications for a vast array of research, including population health studies and answering questions about diseases in infants and children.

23andMe presents top 10 most interesting genetic findings of 2010

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:25:29 -0500

23andMe has released its first annual list of what it felt to be the 10 most interesting and significant genetic findings in 2010, as part of an ongoing journey to understand the role of genetics in personal health and human development.

Brain gene expression changes when honey bees go the distance

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:43:09 -0500

Tricking honey bees into thinking they have traveled long distance to find food alters gene expression in their brains, researchers report this month. Their study, in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior, is the first to identify distance-responsive genes.

Newly discovered gene variants lead to autism and mental retardation

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:48:26 -0500

Researchers working with Professor Gudrun Rappold, Director of the Department of Molecular Human Genetics at Heidelberg University Hospital, have discovered previously unknown mutations in autistic and mentally impaired patients in what is known as the SHANK2 gene, a gene that is partially responsible for linking nerve cells. However, a single gene mutation is not always enough to trigger the illness. In some cases, a certain threshold of mutation must be exceeded. The researchers conclude from their results that a correct inner structure of the nerve cell synapses is necessary to enable the normal development of language, social competence, and cognitive capacity. Essential for the success of the project were the studies by the Heidelberg research team with the doctoral student Simone Berkel and collaboration with a Canadian research team headed by Steve Scherer. The study has already been published online in the leading scientific journal Nature Genetics.

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.