news archive genetic news - December 21, 2006

December 21, 2006

your information resource in human molecular genetics

-	Advancing Spinal Research Stimulates New Clinical Trial Guidelines Four papers to be published online address the need for a principled set of guidelines for clinical trials in patients with spinal damage.
-	Exploitation Of Race As A Marketing Tool? The obstacles facing the development of genetics-based personalized medicine are described online.
-	Standardized Methods Improve Cancer Diagnosis A set of guidelines for pathologists that may greatly improve the diagnosis of malignant lymphomas has been published online.
-	Islet Transplantation For Diabetes: Failing To Deliver? The promise of islet transplantation to treat diabetes has not yet been fully realised.
-	Synchronized Sleeping In The Brain Waking experiences are replayed in multiple parts of the brain in a coordinated fashion during sleep.
-	Humans Follow The Scent The human sense of smell may be better than previously thought.
-	Sensing Fungal Infections Two studies demonstrate the importance of a host protein in recognizing the presence of fungal infections.
-	How Shigella Causes Dysentery A report explores how shigella bacteria survives and spreads in the gut to cause dysentery.
-	Lightning Strikes Twice For Milk Drinkers The ability of Africans and Europeans to digest milk as adults is analyzed.
-	Malaria Parasite Diversity Three studies independently characterize the genetic diversity of the parasite that causes malaria.
-	Scientists Share Thoughts On Animal Research An anonymous online poll of nearly 1700 researchers has revealed intriguing insights into scientists' views on the use of animals in research.
-	Cellular 'Dustbin' Modelled A detailed model of the phagosome, the cellular 'dustbin' that engulfs and destroys foreign matter, is unveiled.
-	Protein Blocks Brain Tumour Growth A protein that blocks the growth of aggressive human brain tumours in a mouse model has been identified.
-	Navigating The Mouse Brain The comprehensive digital map of gene expression in the mouse brain will have an impact on the fields of neuroscience and mammalian genomics alike.
-	Key Influenza Virus Molecule Visualised Researchers have visualised the structure of the influenza A virus nucleoprotein.
-	Carbon Dioxide Receptors And Malaria The discovery of a pair of receptors that enable fruit flies to sense carbon dioxide (CO2) could boost the development of a new type of mosquito repellent.
-	Botulinum Toxin Structure Unveiled The structure of botulinum toxin B bound to one of its receptor is revealed.
-	A Two Base Pair Deletion In The PQBP1 Gene Is Associated With Microphthalmia, Microcephaly, And Mental Retardation Mutations in PQBP1 are associated with an S-XLMR phenotype including microphthalmia, thereby further extending the clinical spectrum of phenotypes associated with PQBP1 mutations.
-	Changing Rates Of Genetic Subtypes Of Prader–Willi Syndrome In The UK First report of a greater proportion (50%) of those with Prader–Willi Syndrome (PWS) due to maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) in children presently under 5 years living in the UK.
-	Molecular Genetic Analysis Of The Human Dihydrofolate Reductase Gene Subjects were screened for the 9-bp repeat (n=417), as well as the recently reported 19-bp deletion in intron 1 (n=330) of the human dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene, and their associations assessed with plasma tHcy, serum and RBC folate levels.
-	The Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism 309 In The MDM2 Gene Contributes To The Li–Fraumeni Syndrome And Related Phenotypes The higher prevalence of MDM2 SNP309 homozygous G/G carriers in the TP53-negative group suggests that this allele contributes to cancer susceptibility in LFS and LFS-related families.
-	Review Article: Implication Of Abnormal Epigenetic Patterns For Human Diseases New insights on the mechanisms by which epigenetic machinery proteins regulate gene expression.
-	Mutation Prevents Pain A mutation in one key gene can rob people of their ability to experience pain.