Latest Human Genome Project Stories

More than half of all people are hosts to Candida albicans in their bodies. This species might be located on their skin or mucous membranes or in the intestines "“ frequently without causing any symptoms. However, it can be dangerous to patients whose immunological system has been weakened such as after organ transplants or chemotherapy with cancer. Then, this fungus penetrates into deeper layers of tissue and uses the blood system to spread throughout the body. In Germany alone, several...

Personal view: Why are we copyrighting science?The increasing commercialisation of science is restricting access to vital scientific knowledge and delaying the progress of science, claim researchers on bmj.com today.Varuni de Silva and Raveen Hanwella from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka argue that copyrighting or patenting medical scales, tests, techniques and genetic material, limits the level of public benefit from scientific discovery.For example, they found that many commonly used...

A gene network behind hardening of the arteries and coronary heart disease has been identified by a team of scientists from Australia, Europe and the United Kingdom. Their findings expose potential targets for the treatment of heart disease.Dr Michael Inouye, a postdoctoral fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, began the study at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK and completed it earlier this year at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Researchers from Finland's National...

HapMap 3 points the way forward for human genetics studiesNew findings show the value of genetic studies across human populations and the value of the latest DNA sequencing technologies to interrogate genetic variation. The results, from the latest phase of the international HapMap Project, are reported in Nature.The researchers' extensive study of genetic variation in multiple populations will form a framework for future genetic studies of variation and disease: their findings highlight the...

Findings offer valuable information for research, targeted drug treatmentsIn one of the first efforts of its kind, UCLA researchers have taken mammalian genome maps, including human maps, one step further by showing not just the order in which genes fall in the genome but which genes actually interact.The findings, published in the August issue of the journal Genome Research, will help researchers better understand which genes work together and shed light on how they collaborate to help cells...

FREMONT, Calif., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WGBS), a leading developer of state-of-the-art genomic analysis systems, today announced that DNA Chip Research Inc. (DCRI), a Japanese contract services provider in functional genomics-based technologies and biology directed by the founder and organizer of the Japanese Human Genome Project, has purchased SmartChip products, including 100 SmartChips. DCRI will provide SmartChip Real-Time PCR...

Seemingly redundant portions of the fruit fly genome may not be so redundant after allNew findings from a Princeton-led team of researchers suggest that repeated instructional regions in the flies' DNA may contribute to normal development under less-than-ideal growth conditions by making sure that genes are turned on and off at the appropriate times. If similar regions are found in humans, they may hold important clues to understanding developmental disorders.The research results, published...

Finding has new implications for understanding genetic diseasesResearchers at the University of Leicester have demonstrated that movable sequences of DNA, which give rise to genetic variability and sometimes cause specific diseases, are far more common than previously thought.In a paper published in the leading journal Cell, Dr Richard Badge and his collaborators examined L1 (or LINE-1) retrotransposons: DNA sequences which can 'copy and paste' their genetic code around the genome. By...

Surprisingly common transposons or 'jumping genes' are known to cause diseaseScientists are finding more variation in the human genome than they had previously expected, now that new technologies are allowing researchers a closer look at the genomes of many individuals, according to a new study from University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. The study, to be published in the June 25 issue of the journal Cell, is one of the first to take an in-depth look at transposons, known as...

It has been ten years since the human genome was first sequenced, and in the time since, there have been many great findings in understanding the origins and evolution of mankind. "With this profound new knowledge, humankind is on the verge of gaining immense, new power to heal. It will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases." So declared then US President Bill Clinton on June 26, 2000, at an event held to hail the completion of the first...