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 [...]
Thu Aug 27, 2009
Embargo lifted at 3am AEST Thursday 27 August 2009 A new technique has been developed to treat mitochondrial diseases by replacing the defective mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from an egg with healthy mtDNA from a donor.
Wed Jul 29, 2009
Nearly 20% of all human genes are already patented in the US, but is this grab for intellectual property slowing down vital, potentially lifesaving medical research? Does the patenting of genes reduce public access to predictive, diagnostic and potentially lifesaving genetic technology and increase the costs of diagnosis and treatment? Or are patents necessary to [...]
Fri Jul 24, 2009
Embargo lifted 2am AEST Friday 24 July 2009 Two research groups in China have created whole mice from adult cells which have been reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. The two groups have independently created the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from adult mouse cells, before showing that these cells could go on [...]
Thu May 28, 2009
UNDER STRICT GLOBAL EMBARGO TO 3am AEST THURSDAY 28 MAY Japanese researchers have created a line of monkeys that glow green under UV light. The monkeys carry a gene for green fluorescent protein (GFP) and represent the first time a new gene has been fully integrated into the DNA of a primate and successfully passed [...]
Mon Apr 27, 2009
EMBARGO LIFTED AT 4am AEST FRIDAY 24 APRIL 2009 After 6 years of painstaking work, a large team of Australian and international researchers have released their analysis of the genome of the cow in the journal Science. The findings have big implications for the cattle and dairy industries, biomedical research and food security. They also [...]
Fri Feb 20, 2009
Early childhood abuse in humans can change the expression of a gene that is important for responding to stress. Genetic factors have substantial roles in neuropsychiatric disorders, but the mechanisms by which environmental factors affect the genome and contribute to depression or other mental disorders in adulthood is not well understood. Canadian researchers have now [...]
Fri Feb 20, 2009
Many genes have been linked with obesity but how they contribute to disease is unclear. Now for the first time, researchers have been able to directly link one such gene (FTO) and the control of energy expenditure to explain how the gene contributes to obesity development.