news archive genetic news - November 19, 2009

November 19, 2009

your information resource in human molecular genetics

-	*ASTAR of Singapore to Launch an Online Publication Promoting its Research** Macmillan Scientific Communications (MSC) and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) launch new open access website, ASTAR Research, to highlight some of the best research published by A*STAR's research institutions.
-	Understanding Schizophrenia Dysfunction of neurotransmitter signalling can cause pathological behaviour similar to that seen in schizophrenia.
-	The Long Shadows of Adversity Severe stress suffered at an early age can cause long-lasting changes to gene expression patterns in the mouse brain.
-	Damaging DNA from a Distance Medically used nanoparticles can damage the DNA of cells without crossing cellular barriers in the body.
-	Inducible MicroRNA Sponges for Intact Organisms A method for the tissue-specific inhibition of microRNAs -- which play a key role in regulating gene expression -- is published online.
-	Location, Location, Location A drug that inhibits excitatory activity in the brain can either improve or worsen the progression of Huntington's disease (HD) depending on where on neurons its targets are located.
-	Arthritis is Spreading A mechanism that accounts for the spreading of arthritis between joints is presented in a study.
-	Disrupting Lasting Memory A new protein holds the key to making long-lasting antibody responses in the body.
-	Common Genetic Risk Variants for Parkinson's Disease Two independent studies report that common variants at five genes are risk factors for sporadic Parkinson's disease.
-	Exome Sequencing Identifies Cause of Miller Syndrome Targeted sequencing of the protein-coding regions of the human genome has been used to identify the cause of a rare genetic disorder.
-	Variants Associated with Hearing Loss in Children Receiving Chemotherapy Medication An association between a chemotherapy-induced hearing loss and specific genetic variants has been identified.
-	A Deletion is Associated with Neurodevelopmental Problems A small deletion at a specific region on chromosome 15 is associated with a range of neurodevelopmental problems, including developmental delays and seizures.
-	Smoking and Autoimmunity Affect Rheumatoid Arthritis Susceptibility New insights into the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis are reported in two papers.
-	Re-Thinking Obesity Mutations in specific genes fully explain a small but significant subset of patients with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes while genetic factors play a key role in determining susceptibility to both disorders in the broader population.
-	Notch Takes a Knocking A drug that blocks a protein involved in cancer once thought 'un-blockable' has shown promise in a mouse model of leukaemia.
-	Speeding Up 'Ethical Stem-Cell' Production The process of reprogramming mature cells into a stem-cell-like state can be accelerated.