Genetics
> Scientists have found a gene that causes Weaver syndrome, a rare disorder that leads to issues including large sizes at birth, tallness and intellectual disability. Release
> The Mongolian genome has been completely sequenced, Chinese and Mongolian scientists have announced, a feat that will help further research on human genetic diseases. Release
Cancer
> A gene called BAP1 appears to predispose some people to melanoma of the eye as well as lung, brain and other cancers. Release
> Blocking production of small molecules produced in the body called epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) may be a new way to treat cancer by eliminating the blood vessels that feed cancer tumors, NIH and other researchers have found. Release
> Some tissues, such as those in the colon, slow down the accumulation of genetic mutations and can delay the onset of cancer, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany, and elsewhere have found. Release
Stem Cell Research
> Researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats with ALS determined that a combined, systemically delivered immunosuppression treatment of two drugs boosted the survival of the human spinal stem cells. Story
> It looks like iPS cells--deemed a possible alternative to human embryonic stem cells--can mirror the defining defects of the genetic condition Marfan syndrome as well as the embryonic cells can. Release