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Stories related to: genetic mutation

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15 Stories

October 2008
- 100M-Year-Old DNA Regions Baffle Experts
  
  LiveScience | Oct 9, 08 3:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Certain regions of mammalian DNA with no discernible purpose have one perplexing characteristic in common: They have survived, without mutation, for as long as 100 million years, LiveScience reports. Scientists speculate that the areas have some deep purpose, but for now they know only that they are “ultraconserved regions,” some 300 times less likely to mutate than other parts of the genome. More »
  
  Tags
  
  DNA • evolution • scientific study • Stanford University • genetic mutation • genome • mice • genetic engineering
April 2008
- Genetics May Play Role in Smokers' Cancer Risk
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 2, 08 8:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Three new studies have found a genetic variation that may increase smokers' chances of getting lung cancer. A smoker who inherits the variations from both parents has a 70% to 80% greater risk of developing the cancer. The findings could shed light on why some smokers get cancer and some don't, and why some are more prone to getting hooked. They also could lead to better anti-smoking treatments, the Telegraph reports. More »
  
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  smoking • genetics • cancer research • cigarettes • lung cancer • genetic mutation • human genome
March 2008
- Schizophrenia Gene Find Surprises Scientists
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Mar 28, 08 6:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have tracked down the genetic roots of schizophrenia, but in a surprising twist researchers found that the genetic errors to blame often vary from person to person, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . The discovery suggests that multiple glitches in the genetic code are behind schizophrenia, with the exact combination unique in every patient. More »
  
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  mental health • genes • mental illness • autism • schizophrenia • genetic mutation • genetic research
- Scientists Link Gene Mutation to Longevity
  
  Scientific American | Mar 5, 08 11:42 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A genetic mutation that makes cells less responsive to growth hormone has been linked to human longevity, Scientific American reports. A recent study looked at children of Ashkenazi Jews with a family history of long life and an average age of 98, and compared their genes with the children of other Ashkenazi who died around age 68. The mutation suppressing response to the growth factor IGF1 showed up in the former group. More »
  
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  health • medical breakthrough • genes • aging • genetic mutation • longevity • growth hormones • aging process
February 2008
- Africans Have Most Diverse DNA
  
  Reuters | Feb 21, 08 1:47 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A pair of wide-ranging genetic studies, published yesterday in the journal Nature , back up the idea that humanity first evolved in Africa before migrating elsewhere, Reuters reports. DNA testing of African Americans and European Americans found that people with African roots had much more genetic diversity. Other tests discovered that DNA diversity decreased the farther away populations were from Africa. More »
  
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  Africa • DNA • genetics • genetic mutation • human evolution • genetic research
January 2008
- Baby Blues Come From Single Ancestor
  
  LiveScience | Jan 31, 08 7:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - All blue-eyed people have a single, shared ancestor, scientists say. And all those baby blues are the result of a genetic mutation that occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, LiveScience reports. Before that, everyone had brown eyes. The mutation limits the effects of the gene that produces melanin, which colors our eyes and hair, thus diluting browns to blues. More »
  
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  science • genetics • Denmark • genetic mutation • human evolution • eyes
- Study Finds Mutated Genes Raise Autism Risk
  
  USA Today | Jan 10, 08 3:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Researchers studying the DNA of autistic children have discovered a pair of genetic mutations that raise the risk of developing autism as high as a hundredfold, USA Today reports. The defects in chromosome 16 occur in just 1% of autistic kids, but that figure represents some 10,000 children. A test has been developed to identify the mutations, which may be "the tip of the iceberg" of genetic aberrations linked to autism, said one expert. More »
  
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  DNA • medical research • vaccine • genes • autism • genetic mutation • genetic research
- US Settlers Spread Rare Cancer Gene
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 7, 08 6:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Two American settlers braved cross-Atlantic travel in the 1630s with unusual baggage: a genetic mutation that increases the risk of colon cancer 17-fold, the Los Angeles Times reports. Researcher Deborah Neklason traced two cancer-ridden families, one in Utah and one in New York, back to colonists George Frye and his wife—one of whom carried the deadly mutation in a gene called APC. More »
  
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  colon cancer • genetic mutation • genetic defects
December 2007
- Breast Cancer Risk Seen for Latinos, Blacks
  
  San Jose Mercury News | Dec 26, 07 6:40 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A genetic mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer has been linked to Hispanic and young black women, according to a new study. The findings could lead to changes in screening, the San Jose Mercury News reports. In the survey of 3,181 women with breast cancer, 16.7% of black patients under 35 and 3.5% of Hispanic patients had the mutated gene, compared with 2.2% of white patients. More »
  
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  health • cancer • women • breast cancer • disease • genetics • Hispanic • genetic mutation • ovarian cancer • black women • BRCA1
- Humans Evolving at Warp Speed
  
  Los Angeles Times | Dec 11, 07 3:59 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The pace of human evolution switched to the fast track when people began forming agrarian societies 10,000 years ago, researchers have discovered. Scientists had theorized that evolution would slow as challenges to survival waned, but the opposite appears to be the case with changes occurring surprisingly quickly, the Los Angeles Times reported. More »
  
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  disease • evolution • genes • population • malaria • genetic mutation • human evolution • milk
- New Key to Breast Cancer Discovered
  
  Reuters | Dec 10, 07 4:57 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists believe they've made a breakthrough discovery in why a certain genetic mutation can cause a particularly deadly form of breast cancer. Mutations in the BRCA1 gene are apparently linked to the loss of an important protein, PTEN, that checks cell growth, according to a new study in the journal Nature. More »
  
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  breast cancer • genetic mutation • tumors • BRCA1
November 2007
- First Americans Migrated From Siberia
  
  AFP | Nov 27, 07 8:29 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Native Americans are descended from a single group that migrated from Siberia 12,000 years ago, new genetic research suggests. An alternate theory suggested that Native American ancestors migrated in several waves over land and sea from Asia, but the new study shows that native peoples from all over the Americas share a single gene mutation also seen in Siberian natives, AFP reports. More »
  
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  genetic mutation • genetic research • Native American
September 2007
- Lonely People's Genes Make Them Sick
  
  Reuters | Sep 15, 07 6:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Scientists say they’ve figured out why loners get sick and die young: “a highly suspicious conspiracy of genes” screws up their immune systems, Reuters reports. Their altered DNA can lead to heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other problems. “There is something about being isolated and lonely that changes your body,” a biologist says. More »
  
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  DNA • genes • health study • immune system • genetic mutation • loneliness
August 2007
- Grapevine Genome Yields Secrets
  
  McClatchy Newspapers | Aug 27, 07 4:24 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Grapevines have extra genes that are responsible for making wine taste and smell so good, a new study finds. A team of researchers from France and Italy (where else?) mapped a pinot noir-related grapevine's genome and found it has twice as many genes linked to resin and oil—which give wine its "nose"—as regular plants do, McClatchy reports. More »
  
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  wine • genetics • genetic mutation • genome • red wine • grapes • resveratrol • aging process • pinot noir
April 2007
- Drug Targets Hundreds of Disorders
  
  Times (UK) | Apr 23, 07 8:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A magic bullet that could treat cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and more than 1,800 other genetic disorders could be available by 2009. Lee Sweeney of UPenn, leader of the team developing the drug, tells the Times of London: “It doesn’t just target one mutation that causes disease, but a whole class of mutations.” More »
  
  Tags
  
  health • medicine • disease • genetics • medical research • genetic mutation • mutation • muscular dystrophy