Genetics


ROUND-UP: Correcting genes to treat liver disease (Nature*) - experts respond

Thu Oct 13, 2011

Embargo lifted 4am AEDT Thu 13 Oct 2011
UK scientists were able to treat liver disease in mice with a combination of stem cells and genetic correction therapy. The research, to be published in Nature, demonstrates the feasibility of combining human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with genetic correction to generate clinically relevant cells for cell-based [...]

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ROUND-UP: Escapee GM canola plant populations (PLoS ONE*) - experts respond

Thu Oct 6, 2011

EMBARGO lifted 8am AEDT Thursday October 6, 2011

US scientists have questioned GM monitoring protocols in the US after investigating escapee canola plants living outside of cultivated fields. These populations were found to persist from year to year and reach thousands of individuals. The authors also found that the escaped plants could hybridise with each other. [...]

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RAPID ROUNDUP: First synthetic life - experts respond

Fri May 21, 2010

A well known American geneticist, Craig Venter, and colleagues claim to have invented the first ’synthetic life’. In an article in the journal Science,  the scientists describe how they created a synthetic genome of the bacterium M. mycoides and incorporated it into another bacterium M. capricolum with its own genome removed. The bacterium was directed [...]

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RAPID ROUNDUP: DNA transfer prevents mitochondrial disease in humans (Nature) - Experts respond

Thu Apr 15, 2010

In a world-first study published in Nature, scientists have shown in human embryos a new technique developed last year in monkeys to treat maternally-inherited mitochondrial diseases. The study describes the first ever transfer of genetic material between fertilised human eggs which has the potential to ‘treat’ human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease at a genetic level. [...]

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RAPID ROUNDUP: New human ancestor discovered (Science) - Experts respond

Fri Apr 9, 2010

A team of scientists, including three Australians, have uncovered the skeletal remains of a new species of ancient human. The researchers suggest the species - named Australopithecus sediba - could be a direct ancestor to Homo erectus, the predecessor of modern humans.

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RAPID ROUNDUP: Alcohol exposure during pregnancy alters gene expression (PLoS) – Experts respond

Fri Jan 15, 2010

New Australian research shows that exposure of a fetus to alcohol during the first half of pregnancy results in changes to the expression of genes as adults, according to a new mouse model study.

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ONLINE BRIEFING: Horse genome sequenced - Science

Fri Nov 6, 2009

What better time than Melbourne Cup week to reveal the first ever complete genetic sequence of the horse. The Australian led project has successfully sequenced the genome of a grey horse named Twilight.

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RAPID ROUNDUP: Successful gene therapy trial for brain wasting disease (Science) – Experts respond

Fri Nov 6, 2009

A gene therapy trial on two patients with a lethal brain-wasting illness has proved successful with the disease halted in it tracks. The 7 year old boys had a disease known as adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a brain disease that slowly strips away layers of fatty acids protecting nerve fibres in the brain. It was first brought [...]

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