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Identification Of Gene Associated With Eczema In Dogs
Date: May-13-2013A novel gene associated with canine atopic dermatitis has been identified by a team of researchers led by professors Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Uppsala university and Ake Hedhammar, SLU, Sweden. The gene encodes a protein called plakophilin 2, which is crucial for the formation and proper functioning of the skin structure, suggesting an aberrant skin barrier as a potential risk factor for atopic dermatitis. Details appear in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics...
The PiRNA Pathway Protects Eggs And Sperm From 'Jumping Genes' That Can Cause Developmental Defects, Sterility
Date: May-13-2013Two teams of investigators led by Professor Gregory Hannon of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have published studies revealing many previously unknown components of an innate system that defends sex cells - the carriers of inheritance across generations - from the ravages of transposable genetic elements. When activated, these troublesome segments of DNA, also called jumping genes or transposons, can copy and insert themselves at random spots across the chromosomes...
Antibiotic Resistance Detected By New Biosensor
Date: May-13-2013JoVE has published research that demonstrates how a biosensor can detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This new technology is a preliminary step in identifying and fighting superbugs, a major public health concern that has led to more deaths than AIDS in the United States in recent years. The technology is the result of collaboration between Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy at Auburn University and the Keesler Air Force Base with funding from the United States Air Force. Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch first characterized antibiosis, the ability for a chemical to kill bacterial cells, in 1877...
A Highly Selective Refuse Collection
Date: May-13-2013At the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the team led by Professor Jean Gruenberg has long been interested in the movement of lysosomes, the sub-compartments of cells to where endocytic vesicles deliver their waste content and the molecules destined to be destroyed. Within this context, researcher Christin Bissig, along with her international colleagues, carried out a detailed study of the route taken by Alix which is lodged inside the endosomal membrane...
Fat Triggers Rheumatoid Arthritis: Discovery Paves Way For New Gene Therapies, Treatments
Date: May-13-2013Scientists have discovered that fat cells in the knee secrete a protein linked to arthritis, a finding that paves the way for new gene therapies that could offer relief and mobility to millions worldwide. ar "We found that fat in the knee joints secretes a protein called pro-factor D which gives rise to another protein known as factor D that is linked to arthritis," said Nirmal Banda, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Without factor D, mice cannot get rheumatoid arthritis...
Gene-Silencing Activity Discovery Could Lead To Treatment For Viral Infections, Cancers And Other Diseases
Date: May-13-2013A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has found how to boost or inhibit a gene-silencing mechanism that normally serves as a major controller of cells' activities. The discovery could lead to a powerful new class of drugs against viral infections, cancers and other diseases. "Learning to control natural gene silencing processes will allow an entirely new approach to treating human disease," said Ian J...
Mutations In Genes That Regulate Cellular Metabolism Found In Families With Ataxia, Dementia And Reproductive Failure
Date: May-13-2013Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Duke University have identified genetic mutations that appear to underlie a rare but devastating syndrome combining reproductive failure with cerebellar ataxia - a lack of muscle coordination - and dementia. In a paper that will appear in the May 23 New England Journal of Medicine and is receiving early online release, the investigators describe finding mutations in one or both of two genes involved in a cellular process called ubiquitination in affected members of five unrelated families...
Restoring Levels Of A Hormone May Reverse Symptoms Of Heart Failure
Date: May-13-2013Heart failure is one of the most debilitating conditions linked to old age, and there are no specific therapies for the most common form of this condition in the elderly. A study published by Cell Press in the journal Cell reveals that a blood hormone known as growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) declines with age, and old mice injected with this hormone experience a reversal in signs of cardiac aging. The findings shed light on the underlying causes of age-related heart failure and may offer a much-needed strategy for treating this condition in humans...
A Patient's Right To Control Genomic Health Information
Date: May-13-2013Doctors should not have the right or responsibility to force-feed their patients with genomic information about their future health risks, according to bioethicists writing in Trends in Biotechnology, a Cell Press publication. They write in response to controversial recommendations from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) on the reporting of incidental findings in clinical genome sequencing...
Gender Differences In Brain Anatomy Of Dyslexia
Date: May-13-2013Using MRI, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation based on sex. Their study, investigating dyslexia in both males and females, is the first to directly compare brain anatomy of females with and without dyslexia (in children and adults). Their findings were published online in the journal Brain Structure and Function...
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