http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. What patterns exist in the evolutionary design of living things? What particular processes produced these patterns? And how might this information be used to untangle the complexities of health and disease, coded in human genes? These are among the central questions examined by Sudhir Kumar in his path-breaking research. http://phys.org/news279524711.html Biology Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:40:02 EST news279524711 By reproducing in the laboratory the complex interactions that cause human genes to turn on inside cells, Duke University bioengineers have created a system they believe can benefit gene therapy research and the burgeoning field of synthetic biology. http://phys.org/news279115222.html Biology Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:00:07 EST news279115222 Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have made a large step towards the understanding of how human genes are regulated. In a new study, published in the journal Cell, they identified the DNA sequences that bind to over four hundred proteins that control expression of genes. This knowledge is required for understanding of how differences in genomes of individuals affect their risk to develop disease. http://phys.org/news277643362.html Biology Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:01 EST news277643362 The Wuzhishan miniature pig is one of 72 breeds native to China. New research published in BioMed Central and BGI's open access journal GigaScience provides the genome sequence of this rare mini-pig. An in-depth analysis of this sequence, along with comparison to human genes, has provided a wealth of knowledge for use in medical engineering and drug design. http://phys.org/news272112561.html Biology Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:00:10 EST news272112561 Biochemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a genetic sequence that can alter its host gene's activity in response to cellular energy levels. The scientists have found this particular energy-sensing switch in bacterial genes, which could make it a target for a powerful new class of antibiotics. If similar energy-sensing switches are also identified for human genes, they may be useful for treating metabolism-related disorders such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. http://phys.org/news270018889.html Chemistry Sun, 21 Oct 2012 13:00:08 EST news270018889 University of Warwick scientists have discovered a "nourishing gene" which controls the transfer of nutrients from plant to seed - a significant step which could help increase global food production. http://phys.org/news245677614.html Biology Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:47:06 EST news245677614 A new database promises to be an invaluable resource to scientists who use a unique single-celled fungus to study human diseases. http://phys.org/news241709122.html Biology Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:25:29 EST news241709122 Using yeast as a model, a team of Spanish researchers has made predictions about how individuals differ from one another by analysing genome sequences. http://phys.org/news240740746.html Biology Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:50:01 EST news240740746 The human genome has been mapped. Now, it's on to proteins, a much more daunting task. There are 20,300 genes, but there are millions of distinct protein molecules in our bodies. Many of these hold keys to understanding disease and targeting treatment. http://phys.org/news239200721.html Chemistry Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:00:17 EST news239200721 For years, scientists believed the vast phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees would be easily explained – the two species must have significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their genomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA sequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical. What then is responsible for the many morphological and behavioral differences between the two species? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have now determined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes are highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for major differences between the two species. http://phys.org/news238765711.html Biology Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:48:46 EST news238765711 While efforts to unlock the subtleties of DNA have produced remarkable insights into the code of life, researchers still grapple with fundamental questions. For example, the underlying mechanisms by which human genes are turned on and off -- generating essential proteins, determining our physical traits, and sometimes causing disease -- remain poorly understood. http://phys.org/news235992219.html Biology Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:24:23 EST news235992219 The popular belief among scientists that certain sequences of DNA are relatively unimportant in the evolutionary process has been turned on its head by two Murdoch University researchers. http://phys.org/news229856609.html Biology Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:04:56 EST news229856609 An Argentine laboratory announced that it had created the world's first transgenic cow, using human genes that will allow the animal to produce the equivalent of mothers' milk. http://phys.org/news226895756.html Biology Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:36:14 EST news226895756 Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed new methods for analysing medical databases that can be used to identify diagnostic markers more quickly and to personalise medication for allergic disorders. They could also reduce the need for animal trials in clinical studies. http://phys.org/news213964109.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:28:49 EST news213964109 A new study conducted by Josh LaBaer's research team in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has pinpointed more than 30 breast cancer gene targets -- including several novel genes -- that are involved in drug resistance to a leading chemotherapy treatment. http://phys.org/news213898566.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:20:06 EST news213898566 (AP) -- British scientists begin a new study on Tuesday to consider how human DNA is used in animal experiments and to determine what the boundaries of such controversial science might be. http://phys.org/news177017080.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:25:19 EST news177017080 Spanish researchers say they're a step closer to resolving a "mystery of evolution" -- why some people like Brussels sprouts but others hate them. http://phys.org/news169297576.html Other Sciences Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:07:29 EST news169297576 Rapid advances in biology and genetics are raising fresh concerns about the spreading practice of patenting human genes. http://phys.org/news163334329.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:39:25 EST news163334329 Scientists have managed to induce cells from pigs to transform into pluripotent stem cells - cells that, like embryonic stem cells, are capable of developing into any type of cell in the body. It is the first time in the world that this has been achieved using somatic cells (cells that are not sperm or egg cells) from any animal with hooves (known as ungulates). http://phys.org/news163190851.html Biology Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:48:00 EST news163190851 The widely-used Affymetrix Whole-Transcript Gene 1.0 ST (sense target) microarray platform, normally used to assay gene expression, can also be utilized to interrogate exon-specific splicing. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Bioinformatics shows scientists how to monitor alternative splicing activity on a genome-wide scale, without investing in new exon microarray technologies. http://phys.org/news162155163.html Biology Thu, 21 May 2009 20:06:47 EST news162155163 UCSF scientists have created a method of quickly identifying large numbers of the genetic material known as short hairpin RNA — also called shRNA - that turns genes on and off. http://phys.org/news161946389.html Biology Tue, 19 May 2009 10:07:04 EST news161946389 A UCSF research team has developed a technique to distinguish benign moles from malignant melanomas by measuring differences in levels of genetic markers. Standard microscopic examinations of biopsied tissue can be ambiguous and somewhat subjective, the researchers say, and supplementing standard practice with the new technique is expected to help clarify difficult-to-diagnose cases. http://phys.org/news157653601.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:40:22 EST news157653601 The Myc-gene plays an important role in cell regulation; in about 50 percent of all tumors this gene is mutated. Scientists led by Professor Klaus Bister of the University of Innsbruck, Austria have shown that the gene BASP1 specifically inhibits the effect of this oncogene, thereby preventing uncontrolled cell growth which is typical for tumors. The biochemists have just published their findings in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://phys.org/news156619414.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:24:11 EST news156619414 Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) - targeting not the virus itself but the human genes the virus exploits in its life cycle. In the March 19 Cell Host & Microbe, they report finding nearly 100 genes that support the replication of HCV and show that blocking several of them can suppress viral replication in cultured cells. http://phys.org/news156609143.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:32:43 EST news156609143 More and more information is being gathered about how human genes influence medically relevant traits, such as the propensity to develop a certain disease. The ultimate goal is to predict whether or not a given trait will develop later in life from the genome sequence alone (i.e. from the sequence of the bases that make up the DNA strands that store genetic information in every cell of the body). http://phys.org/news155819821.html Biology Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:20:09 EST news155819821 When young, apparently healthy athletes suddenly collapse, it can be due to hereditary cardiac disease. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital have now discovered a genetic modification that leads to cardiac weakness in an animal model. Just one "false" amino acid can give zebrafish a heart condition. Since the fish have a genetic makeup similar to that of humans, these defects could be critical for humans as well. http://phys.org/news155471734.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:35:58 EST news155471734 It's not just the climate that is struggling with what humans have done to the modern world, our genes are feeling the pressure as well, according to Professor Greg Gibson's recently published book. http://phys.org/news154780255.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:31:24 EST news154780255 Fruit flies and humans share most of their genes, including 70 percent of all known human disease genes. Taking advantage of this remarkable evolutionary conservation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies transformed the fruit fly into a laboratory model for an innovative study of gliomas, the most common malignant brain tumors. http://phys.org/news153738376.html Biology Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:06:40 EST news153738376 (PhysOrg.com) -- An elaborate statistical analysis of genes from more than 7,000 individuals has identified an amino acid that appears to be a major risk factor for multiple sclerosis, a devastating autoimmune disorder that afflicts 2.5 million people worldwide. In research published this month in BMC Medical Genetics, scientists from The Rockefeller University and colleagues from the University of Oxford in England and the University of British Columbia in Canada report a binding pocket in a previously implicated gene that may be an attractive research prospect as a potential drug target. http://phys.org/news153592039.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:27:55 EST news153592039 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have achieved a feat drug developers had thought difficult, if not impossible, discovering a compound that blocks the functioning of a key developmental protein by binding to an “undruggable” target — an advance that may provide a new avenue to fight skin, pancreatic, prostate, and other cancers. http://phys.org/news151594160.html Biology Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:29:57 EST news151594160