Latest Cytogenetics Stories
Scientists show how cells accurately inherit information that is not contained in their genes All 10 trillion cells in the adult human body are genetically identical, but develop into distinct cell types, such as muscle cells, skin cells or neurons, by activating some genes while inhibiting others. Remarkably, each specialized cell maintains a memory of their individual identity by remembering which genes should be kept on or off, even when making copies of themselves. This type of memory...
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Biocept, Inc., a privately-held CLIA-certified laboratory testing company, focused on the detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood samples from cancer patients, announced today that the US Patent and Trademark Office has allowed its patent application covering its microchannel capture device developed for the isolation of rare cells in blood. The microchannel is a key component of Biocept's Cell Enrichment and Extraction...
North Carolina State University researchers have uncovered evidence that evolutionary “breakpoints” on canine chromosomes are also associated with canine cancer. Mapping these “fragile” regions in dogs may also have implications for the discovery and treatment of human cancers. When new species evolve, they leave genetic evidence behind in the form of “breakpoint regions.” These regions are sites on the genome where chromosomes broke during speciation (when new species of dogs...
[ Watch the Video ] After more than a century of study, mysteries still remain about the process of meiosis—a special type of cell division that helps insure genetic diversity in sexually-reproducing organisms. Now, researchers at Stowers Institute for Medical Research shed light on an early and critical step in meiosis. The research, to be published in the Nov. 8, 2011 issue of Current Biology, clarifies the role of key chromosomal regions called centromeres in the formation of a...
An international team of scientists, including biologists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, may have pinpointed for the first time the mechanism responsible for cell polyploidy, a state in which cells contain more than 2 paired sets of chromosomes. When it comes to human chromosomes and the genes they carry, our tissue cells prefer matched pairs. Bundled within the nucleus of our cells are 46 chromosomes, one set of 23 inherited from each of our parents. Thus, we are...
DES PLAINES, Ill., Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new in vitro diagnostic test to aid in determining the prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in older adults. Abbott's Vysis EGR1 FISH Probe Kit, the third Abbott FISH assay approved or cleared in the past two months by the FDA for oncology applications, detects a...
New findings of researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Mauro Mandrioli, Valentina Monti and Gian Carlo Manicardi) show that in aphids the two X chromosomes have a different inheritance. The study was published in Comparative Cytogenetics. Aphids are insects with a sex determination model based on the presence of two X chromosomes (XX) in females and a single X chromosome (XO) in males. Previous studies suggested that X chromosome loss during male determination was...
In children with genomic disorders, often a gamete – egg or sperm – has gone disastrously awry with either a duplication or deletion of genetic material that results in physical and neurological problems for the subsequent child. Previous studies have identified a procedure called nonallelic homologous recombination, which occurs during meiosis or sexual cell division, as the event that most commonly occurs and results in this mistake in DNA. Researchers from Baylor College of...
NIH-funded study provides insight to the earliest stages of some cancers A novel technique that enables scientists to measure and document tumor-inducing changes in DNA is providing new insight into the earliest events involved in the formation of leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas, and could potentially lead to the discovery of ways to stop those events. Developed by a team of researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and the...
Researchers map where in the genome chromosomes rejoin after breaking; could help guide understanding of cancer genomics and efforts to develop gene therapies BOSTON, Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute (IDI) have created a method for mapping "hot spots" in the genome where chromosomes are most likely to break and recombine, knowledge that helps define the rules that govern when and where breaks occur. An...
