genetics

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Breast Cancer Risk Seen for Latinos, Blacks

Scientists find higher prevalance of mutated gene in new study

(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%...

Big Stud Fees &ne; Great Racers
Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers
Dec 19, 2007 12:29 PM CST

Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers

Genetics less important than environment, study finds

(Newser) - In horse racing, nurture trumps nature, a study finds. Just 10% of a horse’s winnings can be chalked up to lineage, the BBC reports; offspring of high-priced stallions do perform better overall, but not because of genetics. “People who can afford to pay high stud fees can also...

Synthetic DNA Comes to Life
Synthetic DNA Comes to Life
Dec 17, 2007 9:56 AM CST

Synthetic DNA Comes to Life

As breakthrough nears, questions multiply like cells

(Newser) - Scientists are on the verge of creating new life forms from synthetic DNA and already sparking ethical questions, the Washington Post reports. Researchers can make entire chromosomes from sugars, phosphates, and nitrogen-based compounds, then insert the DNA into a host cell. The new codes can transform bacteria or yeast into...

Genes Make Mouse That Roared
Genes Make Mouse That Roared
Dec 13, 2007 10:25 AM CST

Genes Make Mouse That Roared

Genetically altered Mickey has no fear of cats

(Newser) - Japanese scientists have modified mouse genes to make rodents unafraid of cats in a dramatic experiment that offers insight into the origins of terror. The breakthrough shows that fear is largely genetically hardwired rather than learned through painful experience, researchers say. Some of the mice, whose nasal cells were altered...

Flies Gay, Straight, Gay Again
Flies Gay, Straight, Gay Again
Dec 10, 2007 12:22 PM CST

Flies Gay, Straight, Gay Again

Researchers find genes, drugs can flip insects' sexuality

(Newser) - Fruit flies were gay one hour and straight the next in a recent study in which researchers used drugs to flip the switch of sexuality, reports LiveScience. When scientists disabled a gene called genderblind, male flies courted other males; they reverted to pursuing females only hours later when given a...

Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Delivers Major Results

Researchers find dramatic improvement

(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 ...

DIY Gene Test: Get Results in the Mail

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

(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...

DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies
DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies
Oct 27, 2007 4:05 PM CDT

DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies

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

(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...

Watson Retires Amid Race Furor
Watson Retires Amid Race Furor
Oct 25, 2007 12:39 PM CDT

Watson Retires Amid Race Furor

Watson leaves job as Laboratory head

(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...

Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row
Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row
Oct 19, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row

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

(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...

Grapevine Genome Yields Secrets
Grapevine Genome
Yields Secrets
Aug 27, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

Grapevine Genome Yields Secrets

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

(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...

Redheads Wave Goodbye
Redheads Wave Goodbye
Aug 23, 2007 2:22 PM CDT

Redheads Wave Goodbye

Our flame-haired friends are bound for extinction: report

(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 ginger...

Gay Brothers Studied for Clues to Sexual Preference

DNA from 1,000 pairs analyzed for linkages

(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...

Buckle Up, Britons, or Submit DNA
Buckle Up, Britons, or Submit DNA
Aug 2, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Buckle Up, Britons, or Submit DNA

New rules would let police take samples from scofflaws

(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...

New Genetic Ties to MS Found
New Genetic Ties to MS Found
Jul 29, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

New Genetic Ties to MS Found

Findings represent stunning medical breakthrough

(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,...

Restless Legs Aren't All in Your Head

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

(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,...

Colon Cancer Gene Tagged
Colon Cancer Gene Tagged
Jul 9, 2007 5:23 AM CDT

Colon Cancer Gene Tagged

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

(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...

Evolutionary Theory Takes Big Leap With Evo-Devo

Research in embryonic development reveals how organisms evolve

(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...

Early Immunity to Chimp Virus Leaves Humans Open to HIV

An advantage 4M years ago is a weakness now

(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...

Amazon Tribe Broods Over Poached Blood

Brazil Indians livid after discovering DNA samples sold in the US

(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...

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