Latest Nature Genetics Stories

Researchers from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, and the University’s Brain Tumor Program, have developed a new mouse model of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) that allow them to discover new genes and gene pathways driving this type of cancer. The research was published this week in the journal Nature Genetics. Utilizing the Sleeping Beauty transposon method, researchers in the lab of David Largaespada, Ph.D., professor in the Medical School and...

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a group of proteins that are mutated in about one-fifth of all human cancers. The finding suggests that the proteins, which are members of a protein complex that affects how DNA is packaged in cells, work to suppress the development of tumors in many types of tissues. The broad reach of the effect of mutations in the complex, called BAF, rivals that of another well-known tumor suppressor called p53. It also furthers...

Technology will allow better surveillance of bacterial populations, understanding of vaccine effectiveness A new study led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK has, for the first time, used genome sequencing technology to track the changes in a bacterial population following the introduction of a vaccine. The study follows how the population of pneumococcal bacteria changed following the introduction of the 'Prevnar'...

Researchers report in Nature Genetics they have increased the number of confirmed genes linked to juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) from three to 17 – a finding that will clarify how JIA fits into the spectrum of autoimmune disorders and help identify potential treatment targets. Published April 21, the study involves an international research team that analyzed 2,816 JIA cases recruited from more than 40 pediatric rheumatology clinics. It was the largest collaborative patient...

A new genome-wide association study of more than 6,000 people has identified seven new genetic regions associated with pulmonary fibrosis. In findings published online in Nature Genetics on April 14, 2013, researchers at National Jewish Health, the University of Colorado and several other institutions found a number of genes associated with host defense, cell-cell adhesion and DNA repair, which provide clues to possible mechanisms underlying this currently untreatable disease. "This...

The largest genetic search for "obesity genes" in people of African ancestry has led to the discovery of three new regions of the human genome that influence obesity in these populations and others. University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences Department of Epidemiology and Population Health researcher Kira Taylor, PhD, and her team today (April 14, 2013), published their findings in Nature Genetics. The study involved more than 70,000 men and women of...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have identified new DNA sequences associated with breast and ovarian cancers that help reveal the underlying causes of these diseases so new prevention strategies can be devised. The findings appear in three studies in the journals PLoS Genetics and Nature Genetics. In the first study, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers looked at variations across the genomes of...

A team of plant geneticists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has successfully demonstrated what it describes as a "simple hypothesis" for making significant increases in yields for the maize plant. Called corn by most people in North America, modern variants of the Zea mays plant are among the indispensable food crops that feed billions of the planet's people. As global population soars beyond 6 billion and heads for an estimated 8 to 9 billion by mid-century, efforts to boost...

Finding emerged from 100 billion RNA nucleotides in 10 children with cancer After an intensive three-year hunt through the genome, medical researchers have pinpointed mutations that leads to drug resistance and relapse in the most common type of childhood cancer—the first time anyone has linked the disease's reemergence to specific genetic anomalies. The discovery, co-lead by William L. Carroll, MD, director of NYU Langone Medical Center's Cancer Institute, is reported in a study...

Scientists at Singapore Eye Research Institute and A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore have succeeded in identifying genes for central corneal thickness that may cause potentially blinding eye conditions. These eye conditions include glaucoma, as well as the progressive thinning of the cornea, which may eventually lead to a need for corneal transplantation. The authors jointly led a multi-centre study involving 55 hospitals and research centres around the world. They performed a...