Black South Africans make up about 47 percent of all cancer patients but only 5 percent of donors in the nations bone marrow registry. The gap between those who may need bone marrow or stem cell transplants, and those able to provide them has deadly consequences for cancer patients.

Black South Africans make up about 47 percent of all cancer patients but only 5 percent of donors in the nations bone marrow registry

Maphoko Nthane, 50, had experienced mysterious and severe backaches for months. Doctors ran test after test, but could find nothing wrong with Nthane.

I had a severe back ache for months, she told Health-e News. Whenever I would have that pain, I couldnt sit down I had to walk or stand up.

Doctors eventually diagnosed Nthane with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, a severe form of cancer affecting a patients blood and bone marrow.

After I was diagnosed I thought I was going to die I didnt know that people with leukaemia could live, Nthane said. My husband was just as traumatised and as a result he didnt know how to support me.

Nthanes cancer failed to respond to standard chemotherapy and ultimately a stem cell transplant saved her life.

As part of stem cell transplants, stem cells are removed from the tissue of donors or, where possible, patients. These cells are usually from human tissues including bone marrow or fat.

Once removed, the stem cells are given high doses of chemotherapy higher than what could be administered to patients before being transplanted into patients in the hope that they will kill other cancerous cells.

Nthane was lucky to find a stem cell donor.

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Deadly shortage of black stem cell donors

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DEAR DOCTOR K: I have leukemia. Thankfully, a family member was a bone marrow match. Can you tell me what to expect during my bone marrow transplant procedure?

DEAR READER: A bone marrow transplant can be a life-saving treatment. To understand how it works, you need to understand how blood cells are created. And what leukemia is.

Your blood contains red and white blood cells. There are several types of white blood cells, which are a key part of your immune system. All your blood cells are made by blood stem cells, which live primarily in the spongy center of your big bones.

In the years before you got leukemia, each of your blood cells was programmed to live for a while, and then to die only to be replaced by new, young cells.

When you developed leukemia, genetic changes in some white blood cells suddenly kept them from dying. As a result, the number of that type of white blood cell kept growing. An ideal treatment would kill just the cancerous white blood cells, and allow noncancerous new cells to replace them. The ideal treatment has not been discovered. Bone marrow transplant, while less than ideal, is such an important advance that it was honored with the Nobel Prize.

In a bone marrow transplant, all of your white blood cells healthy and cancerous are killed by drugs, radiation or both. Then healthy blood stem cells are infused into your blood. Those cells find their way to your bone marrow, and start to make healthy new red and white blood cells. The new cells will multiply. Ive put an illustration of the transplant process on my website, AskDoctorK.com.

The healthy blood stem cells may be collected from your blood, before the main radiation or chemotherapy begins. The cells are treated to remove any cancer cells, and then stored until the transplant. In your case, the healthy blood stem cells will come from another person (a donor). The donors cells must be a good match for you this means certain markers on their cells and your cells are as similar as possible. This reduces the risk that the cells will be rejected by your body.

Bone marrow transplants are usually used to treat leukemia, lymphomas, Hodgkins disease and multiple myeloma, because these cancers affect the bone marrow directly. The procedure is also used for some noncancerous conditions, such as sickle cell anemia.

You will stay in the hospital for several weeks after the transplant. Until your bone marrow cells multiply to a certain level, you will be at increased risk of infection. Other serious risks include severe bleeding, liver problems and increased risk of developing another cancer.

Another possible problem is that cells from a donor might not match your cells well enough and the new donor cells will begin attacking the cells of your body. This is called graft-versus-host disease. You will take medications to reduce the risk of this happening. Despite the dangers, bone marrow transplantation is usually successful.

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The ins and outs of bone marrow transplantation

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Bone marrow transplants have become routine in the West for blood cancers, such as leukemia, and similar diseases.But experts say theres no reason why the therapy should not be available in the developing world.There is need, but a shortage of resources, donors and expertise.

More than one million bone marrow transplants have been performed in 75 countries since the first one was performed in the U.S. 50 years ago.

Thats not very many for a treatment that can be lifesaving, according to Dietger Niederwieser, a professor of hematology and oncology at the University of Leipzig in Germany.

We have situations where we have an identical [bone marrow] donor, and we have a disease which if treated early, the survival can go up to 90-95 percent even.So, its depending on the disease, its depending on the donor and its depending also on the age of the patients and so on," said Niederwieser.

Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are produced in the marrow, or spongy tissue inside bones, by stem or master cells.

Transplants either from a closely-matched donor or using cleansed marrow from the patients themselves are a way of replacing tissue thats diseased by leukemia, a blood cancer, and lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

For some patients, it is a last ditch effort at a cure.

Analyzing data collected by the Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Niederwieser and colleagues looked at the distribution of these transplants around the world.

Predictably, their study found that the bulk of the complex transplants have been performed in Europe, followed by the United States.

The remaining 15 percent or so have been carried out in South East Asia, the Mediterranean, Western Pacific and Africa.

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Bone Marrow Transplants Scarce in Many Countries

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Testing breast cancer cells for how closely they resemble stem cells could identify women with the most aggressive disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that breast cancers with a similar pattern of gene activity to that of adult stem cells had a high chance of spreading to other parts of the body.

Assessing a breast cancer's pattern of activity in these stem cell genes has the potential to identify women who might need intensive treatment to prevent their disease recurring or spreading, the researchers said.

Adult stem cells are healthy cells within the body which have not specialised into any particular type, and so retain the ability to keep on dividing and replacing worn out cells in parts of the body such as the gut, skin or breast.

A research team from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, King's College London and Cardiff University's European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute identified a set of 323 genes whose activity was turned up to high levels in normal breast stem cells in mice.

The study is published today (Wednesday) in the journal Breast Cancer Research, and was funded by a range of organisations including the Medical Research Council, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Cancer Research UK.

The scientists cross-referenced their panel of normal stem cell genes against the genetic profiles of tumours from 579 women with triple-negative breast cancer - a form of the disease which is particularly difficult to treat.

They split the tumour samples into two categories based on their 'score' for the activity of the stem cell genes.

Women with triple-negative tumours in the highest-scoring category were much less likely to stay free of breast cancer than those with the lowest-scoring tumours. Women with tumours from the higher-scoring group had around a 10 per cent chance of avoiding relapse after 10 years, while women from the low-scoring group had a chance of around 60 per cent of avoiding relapse.

The results show that the cells of aggressive triple-negative breast cancers are particularly 'stem-cell-like', taking on properties of stem cells such as self-renewal to help them grow and spread. They also suggest that some of the 323 genes could be promising targets for potential cancer drugs.

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'Stem cell' test could identify most aggressive breast cancers

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IMAGE:This is Assistant Professor of Biology Jason Meyer, Ph.D. of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis with graduate students Sarah Ohlemacher (left) and Akshaya Sridhar. view more

Credit: School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jason Meyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, has received a National Institutes of Health grant to study how glaucoma develops in stem cells created from skin cells genetically predisposed to the disease. The five-year, $1.8 million grant is funded by the NIH's National Eye Institute.

Glaucoma is a group of degenerative diseases that damage the eye's optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. It is the most common disease that affects retinal ganglion cells. These cells serve as the connection between the eye and the brain. Once these cells are damaged or severed, the brain cannot receive critical information, leading to blindness.

Meyer's research uses human induced pluripotent stem cells, which can be generated from any cell in the body. In this case, they are created from skin cells of patients predisposed to glaucoma. These cells are genetically reprogrammed and then given instructions to develop into cells of the eye's retina.

"Our hope is that because these cells have the genetic information to develop the disease, they will do so in our lab," Meyer said. "Hopefully, we can figure out what goes wrong in those cells and then develop new ways to fix that."

Meyer and two School of Science graduate students are now creating the stem cells and observing their features to determine what isn't going the way it should. They will determine whether they can identify the cause of damage or death of the retinal ganglion cells.

"This is a five-year award, so our hope is that toward the end of the award we can use the information we gather to start developing customized strategies to fix what's going wrong," Meyer said.

He sees this as an exciting approach to stem cell research. Often, stem cells are transplanted to replace cells damaged by disease. While that's a possibility, Meyer's research instead could lead to repairing the existing cells in the eye and restoring vision for patients.

###

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IUPUI biologist receives NIH grant to study how glaucoma develops in stem cells

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Babies with two fathers or two mothers could soon become a reality Egg and sperm cells can be made using skin from two same sex adults Scientists say technique could be used to create baby two years from now Breakthrough could help infertile or gay couples to have children But concerns have been raised about prospect of 'designer babies'

By Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail

Published: 20:21 EST, 22 February 2015 | Updated: 20:22 EST, 22 February 2015

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Babies with two fathers or two mothers could become a reality after a breakthrough by researchers at Cambridge.

They have shown that it is possible to make human egg and sperm cells using skin from two adults of the same sex.

The development could help men and women who have become infertile through disease or gay couples to have children.

But critics voiced concern, arguing that the breakthrough brings closer the prospect of 'designer babies', in which the looks, character and health attributes of children would be selected by parents.

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Scientists say they can make human egg from skin of two men

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CHICAGO -- The International Society for Stem Cell Research's 13th annual meeting will take place June 24-27, 2015 at the Stockholmsmssan Exhibition and Convention Center in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting will bring together approximately 4,000 stem cell scientists, bioethicists, clinicians and industry professionals from over 50 countries to present and discuss the latest discoveries and technologies within the field.

"The ISSCR is excited to bring its annual meeting to Stockholm, a city that shares our passion and reputation for great scientific research and collaboration," said ISSCR President Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D., Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. "We look forward to learning more about the strong work being done in Sweden and across Europe."

The meeting will open with the Presidential Symposium on June 24 from 1:15-3:15 p.m. local time. The symposium sets the stage for the meeting with world renowned speakers, including Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka. It is also the platform for the formal recognition of the 2015 recipients of the McEwen Award for Innovation and the ISSCR Public Service Award. Another prestigious award, the ISSCR-BD Biosciences Outstanding Young Investigator Award, will be presented during Plenary VI on June 27 from 9-11:20 a.m. and followed by an award lecture.

"I look forward to the Presidential Symposium setting the tone for the entire program," Jaenisch said. "A thread throughout will be the use of stem cells to drive our understanding of development and disease, as we explore disease modeling, gene and tissue engineering technologies and other important advances that are bringing stem cells into the clinic."

Presidential Symposium speakers will include:

Fred H. Gage, Ph.D., Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, U.S.

Jrgen Knoblich, Ph.D., Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Austria

Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D., Center for iPS Cell Research & Application, Japan

Jeannie Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, U.S.

The McEwen Award for Innovation award winners (Presidential Symposium):

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The International Society for Stem Cell Research announces annual meeting details

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Hello Doctor - Information about Stem Cell Therapy - [Ep 76]
Hello Doctor - Information about Stem Cell Therapy - [Ep 76] Today in Hello Doctor Cosmotologist Specialist Dr Ratnavel will share information about stem cell therapy. Subscribe to Vendhar...

By: Vendhar TV

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Hello Doctor - Information about Stem Cell Therapy - [Ep 76] - Video

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Freeport, Grand Bahama (PRWEB) March 09, 2015

Okyanos, the leader in cell therapy, launched its next in a series of studies today to determine the emotional impact and lifestyle influence orthopedic conditions such as osteoarthritis and sports-related injuries have had on those affected. The survey focuses on people between the ages of 55 and 75 living with orthopedic health issues and is designed to examine the toll on those afflicted as well as their relationships.

According to Okyanos VP Marketing Carol Montgomery, Millions of people suffer disorders of the joints, bones, muscles and connective ligaments, tendons and cartilage debilitating conditions on a daily basis, ranging from reduced function to crippling pain but have exhausted available methods of treatment. These restrictions affect them in a variety of ways and our ongoing lifestyle surveys measure the effects such chronic conditions have on todays aging population. Many are turning to solutions like adult stem cell therapy for treatment with excellent results.

The Okyanos Lifestyle and Relationship Survey for Heart Disease, of nearly 700 adults, uncovered a staggering 93% were open to alternatives to their existing heart disease treatment plan showing a growing discontent with their current options. A majority 68% were emotionally impacted and felt they were saddled with restrictions imposed by their heart conditions such as chronic fatigue and shortness of breath.

Adult stem cell therapy has emerged as a new treatment alternative for those who are restricted in activities they can no longer do but are determined to live a more normal life. Okyanos cell therapy uses a unique blend of adult stem and regenerative cells derived from a patients own fat tissue, thereby utilizing the bodys own natural biology to heal itself.

Just 50 miles from US shore, Okyanos cell therapy is available to patients suffering with the daily discomfort of orthopedic conditions including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sports-related injuries and spine disease.

Patients with a severe orthopedic condition, interested in participating in the study can go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ortho_Okyanos

For a copy of the Okyanos Heart Disease Lifestyle Report that reveals the emotional toll and lifestyle impact heart disease has on patients in the United States, visit: Heart Disease Lifestyle Report

Patients can contact Okyanos to learn more and request a free consultation at http://www.Okyanos.com or by calling 1-855-659-2667.

About Okyanos: (Oh key AH nos) Based in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Okyanos brings a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease, tissue ischemia, autoimmune diseases, and other chronic neurological and orthopedic conditions. Okyanos Cell Therapy utilizes a unique blend of stem and regenerative cells derived from patients own adipose (fat) tissue which helps improve blood flow, moderate destructive immune response and prevent further cell death. Okyanos is fully licensed under the Bahamas Stem Cell Therapy and Research Act and adheres to U.S. surgical center standards. The literary name Okyanos, the Greek god of the river Okyanos, symbolizes restoration of blood flow.

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Okyanos Stem Cell Therapy Launches Orthopedic Lifestyle Survey

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PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Scientists have proven successful in engineering immune cells to track down and attack cancer cells. The heat-seeking T cells have proven effective in controlling brain tumor growth in mice, and have also shown promise as a potential treatment for two types of leukemia.

The new treatment technique is specific to cancers that express the protein EGFRvIII. Roughly a third of all glioblastomas -- the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor -- feature EGFRvIII. Tumors that express the protein tend to be the most aggressive and the most resistant to traditional treatments.

The unique treatment begins with the extraction of blood from the cancer patient. The sample's T cells, the body's main blood-bound immune cell, are isolated and trained to hunt down a specific protein via gene therapy.

The engineered T cells are then reintroduced to the patient. The cells seek out the tumor, binding to the surface of the EGFRvIII-expressing cells and inhibiting growth.

"A series of Penn trials that began in 2010 have found that engineered T cells have an effect in treating some blood cancers, but expanding this approach into solid tumors has posed challenges," lead study author Dr. Marcela Maus, an assistant professor of oncology at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center, explained in a press release.

"A challenging aspect of applying engineered T cell technology is finding the best targets that are found on tumors but not normal tissues," Maus added. "This is the key to making this kind of T cell therapy both effective and safe."

While the cancer-hunting T cells weren't enough to thwart cancer alone, when mice with human brain tumors were treated simultaneously with chemotherapy and targeted T cell therapy, researchers were able to control the growth of the glioblastomas.

The treatment was safe and effective enough to move onto a Phase 2 trial, with human patients. Twelve people with EGFRvIII-expressing brain cancer have already begun the experimental treatment.

Researchers say a similar technique could allow scientists to engineer T cells to thwart leukemia, as well.

The new study was published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Personalized T cell therapy shows promise in stopping brain tumor growth

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WSCS 2014: REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: A NEW ERA OF DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
Moderator - John Sterling, Genetic Engineering Biotechnology News Speakers - Marie Csete, MD, PhD, Huntington Medical Research Institute Aubrey de Grey, ...

By: worldstemcell

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WSCS 2014: REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: A NEW ERA OF DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION - Video

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IMAGE:Tissue Engineering is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, February 17, 2015--In creating engineered tissues intended to repair or regenerate damaged or diseased human tissues, the goal is to build three-dimensional tissue constructs densely packed with living cells. The Bio-P3, an innovative instrument able to pick up, transport, and assemble multi-cellular microtissues to form larger tissue constructs is described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Tissue Engineering website until March 20th, 2015.

Andrew Blakely, MD, Kali Manning, Anubhav Tripathi, PhD, and Jeffrey Morgan, PhD, Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, Providence, RI, developed the manual Bio-P3 device, and in the article "Bio-Pick, Place, and Perfuse: A New Instrument for 3D Tissue Engineering," they explain how the device is able to grip, transport, and release multi-cellular microtissues grown in the laboratory, with minimal effects on the viability of the cells or the structure of the microtissue construct. The authors describe the design of the device's gripper and build heads and the peristaltic pump-driven fluid dynamics used to create and maintain contact between the device heads and the microtissues. They discuss applications of the device, the potential for automation, challenges, and future directions.

"This device can be the long-expected breakthrough in the field of regenerative medicine and hopefully allow the fabrication of large 3D organs and tissues," says John A. Jansen, DDS, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods and Professor and Head of Dentistry, Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands.

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About the Journal

Tissue Engineering is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published bimonthly, and Part C: Methods, published 12 times per year. Led by Co-Editors-In-Chief Antonios Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX, and Peter C. Johnson, MD, Vice President, Research and Development and Medical Affairs, Vancive Medical Technologies, an Avery Dennison business, and President and CEO, Scintellix, LLC, Raleigh, NC, the Journal brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. Tissue Engineering is the official journal of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at the Tissue Engineering website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, and Advances in Wound Care. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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New device enables 3-D tissue engineering with multicellular building blocks

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IMAGE:This is a figure depicting four regulatory models for genome-edited crops. view more

Credit: Araki, M. and Ishii, T./Trends in Plant Science 2015

A survey of rice, wheat, barley, fruit, and vegetable crops found that most mutants created by advanced genetic engineering techniques may be out of the scope of current genetically modified organism (GMO) regulations. In a review of these findings, published in the February 25 issue of the Cell Press journal Trends in Plant Science, two bioethicists from Hokkaido University propose new regulatory models for genome-edited crops and declare a call to action for clarifying the social issues associated with such genetically engineered crops.

"Modern genome editing technology has allowed for far more efficient gene modification, potentially impacting future agriculture," says Tetsuya Ishii, PhD, of Hokkaido University's Office of Health and Safety. "However, genome editing raises a regulatory issue by creating indistinct boundaries in GMO regulations because the advanced genetic engineering can, without introducing new genetic material, make a gene modification which is similar to a naturally occurring mutation."

Under current regulations, a GMO is a living organism that has been altered by a novel combination of genetic material, including the introduction of a transgene. Advanced genetic engineering technologies, including ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas9, raise regulatory issues because they don't require transgenes to make alterations to the genome. They can simply pluck out a short DNA sequence or add a mutation to an existing gene.

"Genome editing technology is advancing rapidly; therefore it is timely to review the regulatory system for plant breeding by genome editing," says Dr. Ishii. "Moreover, we need to clarify the differences between older genetic engineering techniques and modern genome editing, and shed light on various issues towards social acceptance of genome edited crops."

In their study, Dr. Ishii and a member of his research staff, Motoko Araki, present four regulatory models in order to resolve the indistinct regulatory boundaries that genome editing has created in GMO regulations. They propose that the most stringent regulation (in which most of the mutants are subject to the regulations, whereas only a portion of deletion and insertion mutants fall outside the regulations) should be initially adopted and gradually relaxed because the cultivation and food consumption of genome-edited crops is likely to increase in the near future.

While policy-level discussions about the regulations of genome-edited organisms are slowly taking place around the world, according to Dr. Ishii, his study will serve as a basis for the conversation with regulatory agencies in the world as well as the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.

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Trends in Plant Science, Araki, M. and Ishii, T.: "Towards social acceptance of plant breeding by genome-editing"

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Regulating genome-edited crops that (according to current regulations) aren't GMOs

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IMAGE:Light-activated genetic manipulation is demonstrated by shining light through a stencil to turn on fluorescent genes in cells. view more

Credit: Charles Gersbach, Duke University

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University researchers have devised a method to activate genes in any specific location or pattern in a lab dish with the flip of a light switch by crossing a bacterium's viral defense system with a flower's response to sunlight.

With the ability to use light to activate genes in specific locations, researchers can better study genes' functions, create complex systems for growing tissue, and perhaps eventually realize science-fiction-like healing technologies.

The study was led by Charles Gersbach, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, and published on February 9 in Nature Chemical Biology.

"This technology should allow a scientist to pick any gene on any chromosome and turn it on or off with light, which has the potential to transform what can be done with genetic engineering" said Lauren Polstein, a Duke PhD student and lead author on the work. "The advantage of doing this with light is we can quickly and easily control when the gene gets turned on or off and the level to which it is activated by varying the light's intensity. We can also target where the gene gets turned on by shining the light in specific patterns, for example by passing the light through a stencil."

The new technique targets specific genes using an emerging genetic engineering system called CRISPR/Cas9. Discovered as the system bacteria use to identify viral invaders and slice up their DNA, the system was co-opted by researchers to precisely target specific genetic sequences.

The Duke scientists then turned to another branch of the evolutionary tree to make the system light-activated.

In many plants, two proteins lock together in the presence of light, allowing plants to sense the length of day which determines biological functions like flowering. By attaching the CRISPR/Cas9 system to one of these proteins and gene-activating proteins to the other, the team was able to turn several different genes on or off just by shining blue light on the cells.

"The light-sensitive interacting proteins exist independently in plants," explained Gersbach. "What we've done is attached the CRISPR and the activator to each of them. This builds on similar systems developed by us and others, but because we're now using CRISPR to target particular genes, it's easier, faster and cheaper than other technologies."

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Controlling genes with light

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IMAGE:Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, combines advances in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, March 9, 2015-- A novel, fully untethered soft robot capable of repeated jumping is able to cover half a meter in a single hop-and-roll motion. The innovative design of this combustion-powered robot, based on a roly-poly toy, and how it returns to an upright position after each jump are described in a fascinating study published in Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Soft Robotics website.

In the article "An Untethered, Jumping Roly-Poly Soft Robot Driven by Combustion", Michael Loepfe, Christoph Schumacher, Urs Lustenberger, and Wendelin Stark, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering (Zurich, Switzerland), describe a soft robot powered by a mixture of nitrous oxide/propane/butane gas that can function even over rough terrain. The authors provide a detailed description of the activity of the robot and suggest future advances that could improve the jumping ability and performance of the robot.

"Although this robot is a hybrid of soft and hard components, I think it demonstrates how incorporating new materials can open up all sorts of robot capabilities," says Editor-in-Chief Barry A. Trimmer, PhD, who directs the Neuromechanics and Biomimetic Devices Laboratory at Tufts University (Medford, MA).

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About the Journal

Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, combines advances in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering to present new approaches to the creation of robotic technology and devices that can undergo dramatic changes in shape and size in order to adapt to various environments. Led by Editor-in-Chief Barry A. Trimmer, PhD, and a distinguished team of Associate Editors, the Journal provides the latest research and developments on topics such as soft material creation, characterization, and modeling; flexible and degradable electronics; soft actuators and sensors; control and simulation of highly deformable structures; biomechanics and control of soft animals and tissues; biohybrid devices and living machines; and design and fabrication of conformable machines. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Soft Robotics website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science, technology, and biomedical research, including 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Jumping, roly-poly, untethered robot described in Soft Robotics journal

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IMAGE:Industrial Biotechnology, led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MoT, CEO and President, Taxon Biosciences, Tiburon, CA, is... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, February 19, 2015--Novel nanomaterials derived from cellulose have many promising industrial applications, are biobased and biodegradable, and can be produced at relatively low cost. Their potential toxicity--whether ingested, inhaled, on contact with the skin, or on exposure to cells within the body--is a topic of intense discussion, and the latest evidence and insights on cellulose nanocrystal toxicity are presented in a Review article in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Industrial Biotechnology website.

Maren Roman, PhD, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, describes the preparation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and highlights the key factors that are an essential part of studies to assess the potential adverse health effects of CNCs by various types of exposure. In the article "Toxicity of Cellulose Nanocrystals: A Review" , Dr. Roman discusses the current literature on the pulmonary, oral, dermal, and cytotoxicity of CNCs, provides an in-depth view on their effects on human health, and suggests areas for future research.

The article is part of an IB IN DEPTH special research section entitled "Cellulose Nanotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications," led by Guest Editors Jose Moran-Mirabal, PhD and Emily Cranston, PhD, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. In addition to the Review article by Dr. Roman, the issue includes Reviews by M. Rose, M. Babi, and J. Moran-Mirabal ("The Study of Cellulose Structure and Depolymerization Through Single-Molecule Methods") and by X.F. Zhao and W.T. Winter ("Cellulose/cellulose-based nanospheres: Perspectives and prospective"); Original Research articles by A. Rivkin, T. Abitbol, Y. Nevo, et al. ("Bionanocomposite films from resilin-CBD bound to cellulose nanocrystals), and P. Criado, C. Fraschini, S. Salmieri, et al. ("Evaluation of antioxidant cellulose nanocrystals and applications in gellan gum films"); and the Overview article "Cellulose Nanotechnology on the Rise," by Drs. Moran-Mirabal and Cranston.

"A comprehensive and objective assessment of the environmental toxicity of cellulose nanocrystals is important for deployment of these crystals for a number of exciting industrial biotechnology applications," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

###

About the Journal

Industrial Biotechnology , led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MoT, CEO and President, Taxon Biosciences, Tiburon, CA, is an authoritative journal focused on biobased industrial and environmental products and processes, published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal reports on the science, technology, business, and policy developments of the emerging global bioeconomy, including biobased production of energy and fuels, chemicals, materials, and consumer goods. The articles published include critically reviewed original research in all related sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemical and process engineering, agriculture), in addition to expert commentary on current policy, funding, markets, business, legal issues, and science trends. Industrial Biotechnology offers the premier forum bridging basic research and R&D with later-stage commercialization for sustainable biobased industrial and environmental applications.

About the Publisher

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Potential toxicity of cellulose nanocrystals examined in Industrial Biotechnology journal

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IMAGE:Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for, or are more prevalent among women,... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, February 23, 2015--Even as more women are pursuing careers in academic medicine, and now comprise 20% of full-time faculty in medical schools, they are not rising to senior leadership positions in similar numbers as men. The National Faculty Study evaluated the gender climate in academic medicine and identified several factors related to the current work environment that are contributing to this disparity, and these are described in an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website until March 23, 2015.

Coauthors Phyllis Carr, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), Christine Gunn and Samantha Kaplan, MD, Boston University School of Medicine, Anita Raj, PhD, University of California, San Diego, and Karen Freund, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine (Boston, MA), found a lack of gender equality in the following areas: fewer women achieving leadership positions, disparities in salary, more women leaving academic medicine, and a disproportionate burden of family responsibilities and of balancing work and home life on women's career advancement. Better methods to track the careers of women and greater institutional oversight of the gender climate are needed, conclude the authors of the article "Inadequate Progress for Women in Academic Medicine: Findings from the National Faculty Study."

"Despite some progress in improving the climate for women in academic medicine, inequities persist that must be addressed," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.

"The powerful effect of innate bias has been documented. Its effect in the academic medicine sphere needs to be considered," says Rita R. Colwell, PhD, President of the Rosalind Franklin Society and Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

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About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for, or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.

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Why don't more women rise to leadership positions in academic medicine?

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Researchers find link between burden of genetic risk factors and reduction of cardiovascular death and heart attacks with statin therapy

Research has demonstrated that the risk for developing coronary heart disease depends on a host of risk factors that are related both to lifestyle and genetics. In a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), researchers tested whether a composite of genetic variants could identify the risk of cardiovascular death and heart attacks as well as identify individuals who derived greater clinical benefit from statin therapy.

Researchers found that a genetic risk score identified individuals at increased risk for cardiovascular death or a heart attack, both in individuals with and without known coronary disease, with individuals in the highest genetic risk score group having more than a 70 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular death or a heart attack compared to the lowest risk group. Moreover, the individuals with the highest burden of genetic risk had the largest benefit with statin therapy in terms of reducing the risk of cardiovascular death or heart attacks, with three times the absolute risk reduction seen in the low risk group. These findings are published in the March 3 issue of The Lancet.

"These findings could play an important role in helping physicians understand which patients will benefit the most from statin therapy," said Jessica L. Mega, MD, MPH, first author of the research paper and a cardiologist and Senior Investigator in the TIMI Study Group at BWH.

"Current clinical guidelines base treatment indications, in part, on the estimated 10-year risk of having an event," added Nathan Stitziel, MD, PhD, co-first author of the report and a cardiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. "It is possible that a genetic score such as this one might help refine these risk estimates in the future."

Researchers examined data from 48,421 individuals who experienced 3,477 cardiac events during the study period, and evaluated the association of a genetic risk score, based on 27 known genetic variants, with a first time or repeat cardiac event. After grouping patients by genetic risk, researchers then evaluated the role of statin therapy in reducing the risk of a cardiac event in each group.

They report that those with the lowest genetic risk score had the lowest risk of a first-time or recurring cardiac event, such as heart attack or stroke. In terms of the benefit of statin therapy, researchers observed an increase in both absolute and relative risk reduction across the low, intermediate and high genetic risk categories.

"Over the last five years, we have identified more than two dozen genetic variants that increase risk for heart attack," said Sekar Kathiresan, MD, director of Preventive Cardiology at MGH and co-senior author of the paper. "We wondered if those at highest genetic risk would enjoy the greatest benefit from statin therapy with respect to preventing a first heart attack. This looks to be the case."

"This knowledge will allow us, as cardiologists, to provide more personalized treatment for our patients," said Marc S. Sabatine, MD, MPH, a cardiologist at BWH, chairman of the TIMI Study Group and co-senior author of the paper.

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Genetic risk linked to clinical benefit of statin therapy

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White Houses move to develop customized care prompts worries about data security and informed consent

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A new effort to create tailor-made medicine for patients around the U.S. is getting a boost from a $215-million presidential initiative. Its an ambitious undertaking fraught with concerns about patient privacy, funding and how such data would be stored. But because its such an innovative idea, there are few blueprints to work with. The broad federal effort, first announced during Pres. Barack Obamas State of the Union address and then fleshed out with a few more details and a presidential East Room address last week, would create a personal health care information database of more than a million individuals. In addition to patient histories the endeavor would include genetic data and information from devices like wearable health monitors, and the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses in and on the body called the microbiome. Armed with reams of such data scientists hope they could one day offer more personalized medical care, or precision medicine, that would differ from person to person based on their unique genetic makeups and other factors. The end result of the initiative, according to Obama, will be delivering the right medicine at the right time every time to the right person. Moreover, as the president envisions it, patients would also be able to access their own data. Rather than start culling data from scratch, however, the effort aims to tap existing info on patients in clinical trials and incorporate it into the new massive effort. And thats where it gets complicated, says Kristen McCaleb, program manager of the Genomic Medicine Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco. Scientists often disagree on the importance or meaning of particular genetic variants for disease. When a sick patient agrees to get his DNA analyzed it triggers a string of decision-making. A doctor may tell the lab to only seek results about specific genes. And once the genome is sequenced, another expert makes a judgment callruling if a mutated gene identified by the sequencer is risky or not. Certain mutations, such as variants of the BRCA1 gene linked to breast cancer, are clearly defined. The significance of many others, however, remains muddier, so two scientists looking at the same list of more than 30,000 genetic variants for each person may have varying opinions about whether or not those genetic mutations are strongly linked to disease or worth exploring further. That ambiguity, McCaleb says, could spell trouble for the presidents precision medicine initiative. If they plan on incorporating all 30,000 variants coming from one million people, somebody better have a gigantic, honking-fast supercomputer capable of capturing all that raw data, she says, because otherwise investigators would be relying on a series of relatively subjective interpretations of that information, making it cumbersome to work with. As excited as we are that Pres. Obama has made this a priority, there are a lot of logistics to be worked out here, she says. Robert Green, the director of a genome research program, G2P, at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, says that a raw data set from a single genome takes roughly 100 gigabytes of storage. So all that data will also pose a computational challenge. When his team collected 800 genomes for a large Alzheimers study, the only way they could practically share the data, other than sending it around on hard drives as they do now, he says, would be to put it on a giant server in the cloud and then researchers could log in to access the server remotely and use analytic tools to explore the massive data set.* Thats the only way you could access 800 genomes, much less 10,000 or a million, he says. Naturally, this gives rise to privacy concerns. When information from one million people is brought together, it would make an attractive target for a hacker working to link the data back to individuals. Such a breach could rob both patients and their families of their privacy. Data for research are typically scrubbed of identifying factors like a patients name and birth date, but someone with enough information about an individuals family tree may be able to connect some dots. Such data privacy concerns already have a track record of scaring away a segment of potential research subjects. When people agree to be part of an academic study they sign a consent form that says they consent to have their data used in specific ways. Green, for example, heads up a whole genome-sequencing project geared toward incorporating genetic data into clinical medicine. To that end, his team has sequenced the genomes of more than 100 people who agreed to have their personal data shared with large government databases as well as Greens own biobank. Thats good news for the White Houses precision medicine initiative, says Green, who would like his data sets to be folded into the effort. But getting people to sign on after they learned all the ways their data could be used did prove challenging, he says. About 25 percent of research participants that bowed out during the consent processwhen they were in the office and talking in personcited fear of health insurance discrimination as the primary reason, he says. Still other projects, like U.C. San Franciscos, would have to go through an entirely new consent process as well as the time-consuming and expensive effort of recontacting patients. Their patients, McCaleb says, did not sign up to be part of larger databases like this one. And exactly who would pay for the staff time to do that remains unclear. Moreover, with different data sources coming togethersay U.C. San Franciscos genome sequencing alongside comprehensive patient histories from the long-standing Framingham Heart Studydifferent questions were asked and the data were organized quite differently, which, in turn, raises questions about the margin of error on the info when its all mashed together, she says. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, says that a board will be formed to advise on issues such as privacy and data reliability and to decide who will oversee the initiative and its details. Federal agencies, if awarded the $215 million outlined in the president's 2016 budget request, would be tasked with creating an easily accessible database with needed privacy protections and streamlining the regulatory approval process for the instruments that would help scientists find the data. Moreover, patient advocates and privacy experts will be at the table, Obama said in his public remarks on January 30. They wont be on the sidelines, it wont be an afterthought and we will protect patients in a responsible way, he said. Further details of the proposal, whenever they are released, could help patients decide how protected they should feel.

*Clarification (2/3/14): This sentence was edited after posting to more precisely describe how data from the large Alzheimer's study is currently shared.

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Big Precision Medicine Plan Raises Patient Privacy Concerns

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The order in which genetic mutations are acquired determines how an individual cancer behaves, according to research from the University of Cambridge, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Most of the genetic mutations that cause cancer result from environmental 'damage' (for example, through smoking or as a result of over-exposure to sunlight) or from spontaneous errors as cells divide. In a study published today, researchers at the Department of Haematology, the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and the Wellcome Trust/Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute show for the first time that the order in which such mutations occur can have an impact on disease severity and response to therapy.

The researchers examined genetically distinct single stem cells taken from patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of bone marrow disorders that are characterised by the over-production of mature blood cells together with an increased risk of both blood clots and leukaemia. These disorders are identified at a much earlier stage than most cancers because the increased number of blood cells is readily detectable in blood counts taken during routine clinical check-ups for completely different problems.

Approximately one in ten of MPN patients carry mutations in both the JAK2 gene and the TET2 gene. By studying these individuals, the research team was able to determine which mutation came first and to study the effect of mutation order on the behaviour of single blood stem cells.

Using samples collected primarily from patients attending Addenbrooke's Hospital, part of the Cambridge University Hospitals, researchers showed that patients who acquire mutations in JAK2 prior to those in TET2 display aberrant blood counts over a decade earlier, are more likely to develop a more severe red blood cell disease subtype, are more likely to suffer a blood clot, and their cells respond differently to drugs that inhibit JAK2.

Dr David Kent, one of the study's lead authors, says: "This surprising finding could help us offer more accurate prognoses to MPN patients based on their mutation order and tailor potential therapies towards them. For example, our results predict that targeted JAK2 therapy would be more effective in patients with one mutation order but not the other."

Professor Tony Green, who led the study, adds: "This is the first time that mutation order has been shown to affect any cancer, and it is likely that this phenomenon occurs in many types of malignancy. These results show how study of the MPNs provides unparalleled access to the earliest stages of tumour development (inaccessible in other cancers, which usually cannot be detected until many mutations have accumulated). This should give us powerful insights into the origins of cancer."

Work in the Green Lab is supported in party by Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Cancer Research UK.

Dr Matt Kaiser, Head of Research at Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, said: "We are becoming more and more aware that a cancer's genetic signature can vary from patient to patient, and we are becoming better at personalising treatment to match this. The discovery that the order in which genetic errors occur can have such a big impact on cancer progression adds an important extra layer of complexity that will help tailor treatment for patients with MPNs. The technology to do this sort of study has been available only recently and it shows once again how pioneering research into blood cancers can reveal fundamental insights into cancer in general."

Dr ine McCarthy, Science Information Officer at Cancer Research UK, says: "The methods used in this pioneering research could help improve our understanding of how cancer cells develop mutations and when they do so. This interesting study suggests that the order in which genetic faults appear can affect how patients respond to different drugs - this insight could help doctors personalise treatment to make it more effective for each patient."

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Order matters: Sequence of genetic mutations determines how cancer behaves

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(Boston)--A new genetic discovery in the field of Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way in determining severity of this neurological disease when using specific treatments. This study may provide insight for treatments that would be effective in slowing down or postponing the death of neurons for people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease.

The work was led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and currently appears in BMC Medical Genomics.

HD is a fatal, inherited neurological disease that usually manifests between 30 and 50 years of age. The disease is caused by a genetic defect that is passed from parent to child in the huntingtin gene. Having too many repeated elements in the gene sequence causes the disease and an increasing number of repeats leads to earlier onset and increased severity of the disease.

The researchers studied the brains of people who died from HD and those who died of other, non-neurological diseases and identified a very specific genetic signal that strongly correlates disease severity and extent of neuronal, or brain cell death. The genetic signal, also called a microRNA, silences certain genes in the DNA. Genes that lead to the toxic effects of the huntingtin gene may be silenced by these microRNAs, in particular the miR-10b-5p microRNA.

"The findings that we found most interesting were the microRNAs that reflect the extent of the neuron death in the brain, since it is this process that causes the debilitating symptoms of the disease and eventually leads to the death of the individual," explained senior author Richard H. Myers, PhD, Director of the Genome Science Institute at BUSM.

According to the researchers these findings may represent a more effective way to tell whether or not HD treatments may be slowing down the pace of the death of brain cells. "If miR-10b-5p measurements can provide a faster and more effective way to determine whether or not a specific treatment is protecting brain neurons, it may be possible to study more potential treatments for HD more quickly. Equally importantly, it may become feasible to perform these trials in people who are HD gene carriers, but who do not yet show symptoms, by giving evidence for which trials may postpone onset and provide more healthy years of life," added Myers.

These findings also suggest that other microRNAs may also be important markers of severity for other neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Further research is already being conducted in Parkinson's Disease by Myers and his colleagues.

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This research was supported by the Jerry McDonald Huntington Disease Research Fund, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Genetic discovery may help determine effectiveness of Huntington's disease treatments

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im back with new genetics
im back with new genetics.

By: D Stern

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im back with new genetics - Video

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The Sims 4: Perfect Genetics Legacy [Part 22] Birthday and Promotion
The day has come for Avery to go ahead and age into a child!! This time Avery ages up and Kaydence goes to work for the first time. Just so happens that Kaydence comes home with a promotion...

By: Connor K Games

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The Sims 4: Perfect Genetics Legacy [Part 22] Birthday and Promotion - Video

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chi square genetics
how to apply chi square test in genetics.

By: Hoa Nguyen

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chi square genetics - Video

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IMAGE:This is Patrick Concannon, director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute. view more

Credit: UF Health file photo

The genes that increase the risk of Type 1 diabetes have lost their hiding place.

A research group that includes a University of Florida genetics expert has located and narrowed down the number of genes that play a role in the disease, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics. Knowing the identities and location of causative genes is a crucial development: Other researchers can use this information to better predict who might develop Type 1 diabetes and how to prevent it.

"It's a game-changer for Type 1 diabetes," said Patrick Concannon, director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute.

Researchers gathered information about the genetic makeup of 27,000 people, including those who had Type 1 diabetes and others who did not. They then began looking for individual differences in DNA that raise the risk of Type 1 diabetes. Starting with 200,000 possible locations in the genome, researchers used a technique known as fine mapping to pinpoint DNA sequence variations that can lead to diabetes. In some genomic regions, they narrowed the number of disease-causing DNA variations -- known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs -- from the thousands down to five or less.

That will make diabetes researchers' work more effective and efficient by giving them the most detailed directions yet about where to look for the genetic variations that cause Type 1 diabetes and perhaps other autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, Concannon said. Now that the group of geneticists has identified the important genes and SNPs, diabetes researchers will reap the benefits, according to Concannon.

"We've taken this genetic data which was interesting but hard to work with, and we've condensed it down into something that people can actually use to begin to explore the mechanism of the disease. It moves it out of the realm of genetics to being broadly applicable to Type 1 diabetes research," he said.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system kills off insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Some 3 million people in the United States have the disease, according to the JDRF, a group that funds Type 1 diabetes research and education. Experts don't know exactly what causes the disease but suspect that genetics and environmental factors may play a role.

The researchers' findings are the most comprehensive yet in the effort to locate and identify the genetic risk variants for Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, said Todd Brusko, a member of the UF Diabetes Institute and an assistant professor in the UF College of Medicine's department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine, part of UF Health.

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Genetics breakthrough by group that includes UF expert will boost diabetes resear

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