Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: genetics

genetics stories: 87 news summaries

61 - 80 of 87 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Delivers
 Major Results

Researchers find dramatic improvement

Nov 20, 07 4:47 AM CST
(Newser) - New evidence indicates that the first gene therapy for Parkinson's disease has achieved measurable success. Brain scans of patients receiving the treatment confirmed significant changes, supporting earlier anecdotal accounts of 65% improvements in mobility and other gains, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • genetics • gene therapy • Parkinson's disease • brain

DIY Gene Test: Get Results
in the Mail

New home exam lets users swab cheeks, send away for info

Nov 6, 07 12:45 PM CST
(Newser) - A new British company has developed a home DNA test that determines whether customers are genetically predisposed to ailments such as breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, and osteoporosis. Users scrape a cheek with a swab, sign a special waiver if they want to know results even for incurable diseases, such... More »

MORE ABOUT:
obesity • cardiovascular disease • breast cancer • genetics • disease • genetic testing • heart disease • DNA • genetic screening • blood pressure • gene pool • osteoporosis

DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies

Biochemist won in '59 for research; son received prize in 2006

Oct 27, 07 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nobel laureate Dr. Arthur Kornberg, 89, a pioneering biochemist in the fields of DNA and human genetics, has died of respiratory failure, the New York Times reports. Kornberg shared the award in 1959 for his research into how DNA works, and that research is the foundation for many of today's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • DNA • Stanford University • obituary • Nobel Prize • Arthur Kornberg • Roger Kornberg

Watson Retires Amid Race Furor

Watson leaves job as Laboratory head

Oct 25, 07 12:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Amid outrage over recent racial remarks, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson is retiring as chancellor of Long Island’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the New York Times reports. Watson, 79, said his departure was overdue but admitted this wasn’t how he’d wanted to leave. The lab suspended Watson... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • DNA • race relations • James Watson • Long Island • racial inequality

Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row

DNA pioneer and Nobel winner cancels book tour to fight for his job

Oct 19, 07 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Embattled geneticist James Watson was suspended from his laboratory today in response to comments he made suggesting that black people are inherently less intelligent than whites, the London Times  reports. The 79-year-old scientist  canceled a British book tour and headed back to the States. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • DNA • James Watson • Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Grapevine Genome
Yields Secrets

Discovery reveals what makes wine taste good and why it's good for you

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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • wine • genetic mutation • genome • grapes • red wine • resveratrol • aging process • pinot noir

Redheads Wave Goodbye

Our flame-haired friends are bound for extinction: report

Aug 23, 07 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Across the globe, true redheads are declining in number and may soon be gone altogether. More human intermingling has lessened redhead coupling, the Daily Mail reports, and carrot-tops may be no more as soon as 2060. Some scientists make less dire predictions, according to National Geographic, and say the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • redhead • extinction • genes • gene pool • vitamin D

Gay Brothers Studied for Clues to Sexual Preference

DNA from 1,000 pairs analyzed for linkages

Aug 11, 07 3:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - A team of Chicago-based scientists is conducting a large-scale study of gay brothers to learn more about the genetic factors involved in sexual orientation. Similar studies have been too small to be conclusive; this time, scientists recruited 1,000 pairs—10 times the size of previous studies— to contribute DNA... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • genetics • science • genetic testing • homosexuality • siblings • brother • sexual orientation

Buckle Up, Britons, or Submit DNA

New rules would let police take samples from scofflaws

Aug 2, 07 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Britain may give police the authority to take DNA samples from anyone stopped for a minor crime, such as littering, speeding or not wearing a seat belt, the Guardian reports. And they'll be able to do so right on the street—without going to the police station, if the Home... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crime • genetics • police • DNA • littering • DNA database • Britain

New Genetic Ties to MS Found

Findings represent stunning medical breakthrough

Jul 29, 07 6:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have pinpointed two genes that may be linked to MS, signaling a breakthrough in the fight against the debilitating disease 20 years in the making. In separate studies published today by two medical journals, researchers revealed one specific gene receptor may trigger cells to inhibit the body's autoimmune reaction,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • health • genetics • disease • science • immune system • genes • genome • multiple sclerosis • MS

Restless Legs Aren't All in Your Head

Roots of leaping-limb syndrome lie at least partly in genes

Jul 19, 07 3:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - People with restless legs syndrome aren't imagining the twitching that often keeps them up at night, scientists say, countering claims that the condition is more psychosomatic than neurological. Genetic variations play a role in an ailment one sufferer says feels like “something crawling inside your legs, biting on you,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • restless legs

Colon Cancer Gene Tagged

But the risk isn't significant enough for  testing, say researchers

Jul 9, 07 5:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two studies have linked a specific genetic variant to an increased risk of  colon cancer, the BBC reports. About half the population has the permutation, which was linked to a 20% increased risk of developing colon cancer and accounts for 1 of  ten cases. But the risk isn't significant enough... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • health • genetics • science • genetic testing • colon cancer

Evolutionary Theory Takes Big Leap With Evo-Devo

Research in embryonic development  reveals how organisms evolve

Jun 26, 07 9:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Evolutionary theory is in the early days of its third great expansion, the New York Times reports, following Darwin’s original formulation almost 150 years ago and the so-called “modern synthesis” of 1930-50. Dubbed “evo-devo” because it focuses on the embryonic development of organisms, the newest science explores... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • genetics • Evo devo • genes • Charles Darwin

Early Immunity to Chimp Virus Leaves Humans Open to HIV

An advantage 4M years ago is a weakness now

Jun 22, 07 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Humans are more susceptible to HIV than other primates because our ancestors evolved a protein that could fight off a different retrovirus that infected chimps, says Scientific American. The most conspicuous difference between the chimpanzee genome sequenced in 2005 and the human one, says a Seattle virologist, was 130 copies... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • health • AIDS • genetics • disease • HIV • DNA • chimpanzees • genome

Amazon Tribe Broods Over Poached Blood

Brazil Indians livid after discovering DNA samples sold in the US

Jun 20, 07 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Amazon tribe is bilious after scientists took blood samples in exchange for medicine they never got, the Times reports. Doctors collected DNA from the Karitiana Indians in the late '70s and again in 1996, and then sold it to researchers for $85 a pop. But now the once remote... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • genetics • disease • science • Brazil • DNA • blood • doctor • Karitiana

Breast Cancer Can Come From Dad, Too

Stealth gene at fault in half of inherited cases; better screening urged

Jun 20, 07 4:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Half of congenital breast cancer victims inherit the disease from their fathers, not their mothers, according to a new study. And unless dad has female relatives with the affliction, the responsible gene may go undiscovered. The study in JAMA warns doctors, increasingly screening family trees for cancer, not to overlook... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • health • breast cancer • women's health • genetics • women • JAMA

Dog Breeders Deploy DNA Tests

Genetic screening enables breeders to design dogs to suit their needs

Jun 12, 07 8:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the first map of a dog genome recently completed, scientists are hot on the trail of  genes for individual canine traits from coat color to cocking their heads in a cutesy way—and dog breeders are right behind them. Without any of the inhibitions attached to eugenics in humans,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • breeding • genetic screening • genome • eugenics • dog

Genes Give Up Secrets of 7 Serious Diseases

Landmark study sheds light on diabetes, depression, more

Jun 7, 07 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - In an outcome one scientist describes as a "new dawn," researchers have identified genetic variations linked to seven common diseases, opening the door to improved tests and treatments. The study, which focused on depression, Crohn's disease, coronary artery disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 and 2 diabetes,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • health • hypertension • depression • genetics • diabetes • disease • heart disease • rheumatoid arthritis • Crohn's disease

(Newser) - Hundreds of common chemicals—from a substance used in French fries to one found in tap water—may cause breast cancer, a new report linking the disease to everyday products suggests. Researchers say they've found a link between cancer in animals and more than 200 common chemicals, many of which... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • health • breast cancer • genetics • chemicals • cancer research

Researchers Link Gene, Heart Disease

Common variation
dramatically
increases risk

May 4, 07 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - A gene that can more than double the risk of heart disease, especially in relatively young people, is present in about half of those of European descent, researchers say. The discovery, reported this week, raises hopes of more accurate genetic testing for heart disease—the world's leading cause of death—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • health • genetics • heart disease • research

61 - 80 of 87 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>


from our news partners