news archive genetic news - January 9, 2008

January 9, 2008

your information resource in human molecular genetics

-	Gene Mutation Affecting Human Brain Size Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that cause reduced brain and body size.
-	Genetic Susceptibility To Kawasaki Disease A variant in a gene called ITPKC is associated with increased susceptibility to Kawasaki disease.
-	Genetic Risk Factor For ALS Scientists have identified a variant in the gene DPP6 that increases susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
-	Control of EGFR in Breast Cancer Cell Invasion A mechanism explaining how epidermal growth factor (EGF) regulates breast cancer cell invasion is published.
-	Breast Cancer Goes NUMB A protein called NUMB has a crucial role in keeping breast cancer at bay.
-	When Three Is Better Than Two People with Down's syndrome seem to be less susceptible to cancers - an observation that may at least partly derive from their having an extra copy of the chromosome responsible for the syndrome, chromosome 21.
-	A New Role For Nanog Nanog safeguards the pluripotent state of embryonic stem cells, resetting them if they start to differentiate when they shouldn't.
-	Looking For Cancer In All The Right Places Viable tumour-derived epithelial cells (also known as circulating tumour cells or CTCs) have been identified in the blood of cancer patients.
-	Brain Cells Are Smarter Than You Think Individual brain cells can make a bigger contribution to behaviour and are capable of more computations than previously thought.