Abnormalities in Biological News

'Normal' cells far from cancer give nanosignals of trouble

... the microscope, share very similar structural abnormalities on the nanoscale level. The findings, ... once optimized, could be used to detect cell abnormalities early and help physicians assess who might be at ... researchers made another important discovery: the abnormalities found in the nanoarchitecture of the colon cells ...

Chromosomal problems affect nearly all human embryos

... time, scientists have shown that chromosomal abnormalities are present in more than 90% of IVF embryos, even ... previously, and hence identify more chromosomal abnormalities than has been possible using the current ... technique has enabled us to show that chromosomal abnormalities are far more common and complex than previously ...

New test can detect both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities in embryos

... screening for both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities has come a stage closer as scientists announced ... of both single gene defects and chromosomal abnormalities can be detected simultaneously at the single cell ... abnormal chromosome number, structural chromosome abnormalities and HLA [human leukocyte antigen] matching in ...

Protein linked to mental retardation controls synapse maturation, plasticity, CSHL team finds

... recent years in the identification of chromosomal abnormalities and genetic changes involved in mental ... we have not done, to date, is connect the genetic abnormalities associated with MR to biological processes that ... known if its absence or loss of function causes abnormalities in other parts of the brain. ...

Taste, odor intervention improves cancer therapy, according to Virginia Tech, Wake Forest study

... Forest. Their joint paper, "Taste and Odor abnormalities in Cancer Patients", reports the "alteration of ... management strategies to improve taste and odor abnormalities for cancer patients. These include: avoiding ... the types and causes of taste and olfactory abnormalities may be better prepared to discuss and empathize ...

Nearly a century later, new findings support Warburg theory of cancer

... edition of the Journal of Lipid Research . abnormalities in cardiolipin can impair mitochondrial function ... normal and the tumor mitochondria samples. Major abnormalities in cardiolipin content or composition were ... production. The results suggest that cardiolipin abnormalities "can underlie the irreversible respiratory injury ...

Microarray analysis improves prenatal diagnosis

... or other diseases associated with chromosomal abnormalities proved an effective tool in prenatal diagnosis in ... used as a first line measure to detect chromosome abnormalities in fetuses," said Beaudet, chair of molecular and ... the size, shape and number of chromosome and any abnormalities in them)," said Dr. Ignatia B. Van den Veyver, ...

Monitoring outcomes of suicide attempts in pregnancy can better assess drug dangers

... researchers reasoned that if no congenital abnormalities occur in children born to women who ingest very ... they discovered that most of the congenital abnormalities could not be considered a teratogenic effect of ... observed," note the authors. "Thus congenital abnormalities in the offspring of pregnant women with ...

Rhode Island Hospital study finds link between obesity, type 2 diabetes and neurodegeneration

... shrinks and several biochemical and molecular abnormalities found in patients with AD, including brain ... obesity and T2DM. However, the extent of the abnormalities in no way matches AD." Researchers note that the neuropathological abnormalities were mild and the associated brain insulin ...

New study points to agriculture in frog sexual abnormalities

... less likely to suffer from reproductive system abnormalities than toads near farms where some had both testes ... herbicides commonly used in farming and sexual abnormalities in tadpoles and frogs. Such deformities may be ... study is the first peer-reviewed study to compare abnormalities in wild toads toads are a variety of frogs -- ...

Study examines genetic defects linked to body abnormalities in patients with childhood cancer

... the prevalence of morphological (body structure) abnormalities in a large group of childhood cancer patients. ... a physical examination for morphological abnormalities (such as differing length in limbs; broad hands ... The researchers found that both major abnormalities and minor anomalies were significantly more ...

Ultraconserved elements in the genome: Are they indispensable?

... only viable and fertile but showed no critical abnormalities in growth, longevity, pathology, or metabolism." ... that when mutated lead to severe developmental abnormalities or fertility problems. For example, noncoding ... the genes themselves leads to lethality or sexual abnormalities in mice, and sometimes other problems," says ...

Researchers develop 'brain-reading' methods

... autism and schizophrenia, by offering a means for identifying very subtle abnormalities in brain activity and synchrony. The research showing that specific ... and his team plan to develop a system for identifying neural connectivity abnormalities to assist with the study of such mental disorders as attention-deficit ...

Common allergy drug reduces obesity and diabetes in mice

... . Molecular garbage Type 1 and type 2 diabetes both involve abnormalities in the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, but their root causes ... "Now we're seeing that Tregs may be needed to prevent metabolic abnormalities as well," says Mathis. She adds, half joking, "As an immunologist, I ...

Mystery E. coli genes essential for survival of many species

... one out of the three could also be implicated in cancer or developmental abnormalities in humans. These mystery genes are also found in numerous other ... then any problems with these genes could easily lead to developmental abnormalities or cancer." Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive said: "This ...

New, less invasive genetic test greatly improves pregnancy rates in older women with poor prognosis

... prognosis patients. It is also likely to achieve a reduction in congenital abnormalities such as Down's syndrome, as well as a reduction in the frequency of spontaneous miscarriage." The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in human eggs is closely related to maternal age, and can affect more than ...

Muscular dystrophy diagnosis delayed almost 2.5 years in boys

... blood test for any boy with symptoms and signs of motor delays and abnormalities could speed up the process while pilot studies on newborn screening are ... more than 4 years old. "We need to educate families to bring delays or abnormalities in motor skill such as frequent falls, difficulty jumping, running or ...

February 2009 highlights from Biology of Reproduction

... of prime reproductive age. The offspring from the elderly males exhibit abnormalities not only in several behavioral traits, but also in reproductive fitness ... males: an apparent transgenerational effect. The defects causing the abnormalities in offspring are unknown and should be the objective of intriguing studies ...

Apple or pear shape is not main culprit to heart woes -- it's liver fat

... liver fat appears to be the real key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. ... The researchers determined that children with fatty liver disease also had abnormalities in glucose and fat metabolism, including lower levels of HDL cholesterol, ...

When cells go bad

... that losing just one telomere the end of a chromosome can lead to many abnormalities in a cell's chromosomes, which are strands of DNA that carry genes. ... percent of their genes with humans, and it is unethical to cause genetic abnormalities in humans. Also, the process by which fly cells grow and divide are ...

Rare genetic disorder gives clues to autism, epilepsy, mental retardation

... into a possible cause of some neurodevelopmental disorders: structural abnormalities in neurons, or brain cells. Researchers in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology ... "These findings provide a potential explanation for neurological abnormalities in TSC patients and perhaps in people without TSC," says He. "The ...

Aberrations in region of chromosome 1q21.1 associated with broad range of disorders in children

... genes that contribute to the differences in the types of developmental abnormalities that occur in children with the deletion. Supposedly unaffected deletion ... that clinicians caring for patients who have unexplained developmental abnormalities consider the identification of a 1q21.1 rearrangement in a patient a ...

TGen and Washington University researchers discover new approach to treating endometrial cancer

... when treated with an FGFR2 inhibitor - even when they carry other genetic abnormalities common in uterine cancers - suggests anti-FGFR2 therapies have great ... new approach to cancer treatment that is based on identifying the abnormalities in cancer cells that cause them to grow uncontrollably. It involves ...

Scientists dig deeper into the genetics of schizophrenia by evaluating microRNAs

... at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous ... chromosome, we have been able to see at the gene expression level that abnormalities in microRNAs can be linked to the behavioral and cognitive deficits ...

Cells lining milk ducts hold key to spread of common form of breast cancer

... in situ, or DCIS -- is likely to spread beyond the ducts, based on genetic abnormalities in cells in the ducts' lining. And it sets the stage for treatments that, ... The discovery suggests that by scanning myoepithelial tissue for abnormalities in these key genes, doctors may be able to identify which women with DCIS ...

Veterinary college researcher studying brain tumors in people and animals

... and colleagues most are called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Oncogenic abnormalities associated with each of these can lead to cancers called astrocytomas and ... target, so perfecting approaches that exclusively target the molecular abnormalities present in each individuals cancer cells and spare healthy cells is a ...

LDL particle measurement by NMR recognized by ADA, ACC

... than LDL cholesterol or non-HDL cholesterol. Subsequently, lipoprotein abnormalities are commonly found in patients with CMR. According to the consensus ... studies have shown that LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) poorly characterizes lipid abnormalities in patients with cardiometabolic risk," says Robert S. Rosenson, MD, ...

Overeating and obesity triggered by lack of BDNF

... site-specific perturbation of BDNF expression did not exhibit behavioral abnormalities typically observed in mice with global deletion of the Bdnf gene ... by the obesity exhibited by certain humans carrying mutations or abnormalities in the genes coding for BDNF or its receptor. This is bound to be an ...

HGS announces positive Phase 2 LymphoStat-B at ACR meeting

... events, serious adverse events, malignancies, infections and laboratory abnormalities remaining comparable to placebo or decreasing through 2.5 years of ... over time. The overall incidence of adverse events and laboratory abnormalities remained stable or decreased from Week 52 to Week 128. The evidence of ...

Simons Foundation awards Emory scientists $3M for autism gene research

... the ability to comprehensively examine the entire X chromosome for abnormalities has not been technically feasible until now. Using technologies ... the Emory scientists will carry out a comprehensive search for genetic abnormalities of the X chromosome in 330 patients with autism. The first project ...

UC San Diego engineer provides insights to decades-old DNA squabble

... up and regulates chromatin," he explained. "You could have mutations in the oncogenic or tumor suppressor genes that lead to cancer or you could have abnormalities in the proteins that regulate chromatin around these genes leading to cancer." The next step for Arya and his team is to study the mechanisms by ...

Stress signals link pre-existing sickness with susceptibility to bacterial infection

... range of symptoms including diabetes, blindness, deafness, stroke-like episodes, epilepsy, ataxia, muscle weakness and kidney disease. The metabolic abnormalities that cause these effects also induce a stress signal intended to help the body overcome its energy deficit. The stress-signal induces the production ...

ICSI or IVF: Babies born from frozen embryos do just as well

... associated with higher rates of malformations, or, if they were, what mechanism might be responsible. "Our study reported none of the specific abnormalities linked to male factor infertility, medications or other environmental triggers such as extended in vitro culture, which have been reported by other ...

High carbon dioxide levels cause abnormally large fish ear bones

... professor and lead author of the new study. "The assumption is that anything that departs significantly from normality is an abnormality and abnormalities at least have the potential for having deleterious effects." With carbon dioxide levels rising due to human activities, particularly fossil fuel ...

DNA template could explain evolutionary shifts

... genome," said Dr. Feng Zhang, a postdoctoral associate in Lupski's laboratory and the first author of the report. In studies of subjects with abnormalities in the gene associated with Charcot-MarieTooth type 1A (PMP22), the researchers found that the fork stalling, template switching phenomenon explained ...

Scientists discover new genetic immune disorder in children

... When her colleague, Dr. Ivona Aksentijevich, tested the first patient for genetic abnormalities, their suspicions were confirmed, and ultimately abnormalities were found in a number of other cases. All the children had inherited mutations in IL1RN, a gene that encodes a protein known as interleukin-1 ...

Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro

... at the CMRB, and the CIEMAT in Madrid, Spain, decided to focus on Fanconi anemia (FA), a genetic disorder responsible for a series of hematological abnormalities that impair the body's ability to fight infection, deliver oxygen, and clot blood. Caused by mutations in one of 13 Fanconi anemia (FA) genes, the ...

Yeast missing sex genes undergo unexpected sexual reproduction

... which we can explore the mechanisms of sexual reproduction," Reedy said. "This provides a new way to study sexual reproduction and how chromosomal abnormalities arise." Heitman said that Candida 's meiosis without meiotic genes may be what gives rise to the progeny with unusual numbers of chromosomes. "Or ...

Identification of a key molecular pathway required for brain neural circuit formation

... Connecting axons with an appropriate set of targets is very complex. Inappropriate wiring or damage to these neuronal connections leads to severe abnormalities of the nervous system. "Knowing the effectors of axon guidance molecules such as Shh", adds Dr. Charron, "helps us to understand the molecular ...

First neuroimaging study examining motor execution in children with autism reveals new insights

... between the different brain regions involved in motor planning and execution. These results add to increasing evidence that autism is related to abnormalities in structural and functional brain connectivity, which makes it difficult for distant regions of the brain to learn skills and coordinate activities. ...