Genetics

Mosaic mouse technique offers a powerful new tool to study diseases and genetics

A powerful laboratory technique used by fruit fly geneticists for more than a decade is now available to scientists studying genes and diseases in mice. Writing in the May 6 edition of the journal Cell, researchers from Stanford University describe a streamlined method for creating a "genetic mosaic mouse"--a rodent whose body is genetically engineered to produce small clusters of cells w...

Genetics links whale to two different ocean basins

For the first time ever, a genetic study has followed a single humpback whale from one ocean basin to another, adding to traditional notions of the migratory patterns of these majestic marine mammals in the process, according to researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and New York University. In the most recent Royal Society's Biolo...

New technique could alter field of mouse genetics

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have harnessed a mobile gene from the cabbage looper moth and modified it for routine use in mice and other vertebrates. If the new tool works as they expect, it will speed understanding of genes involved in human biology and disease and accelerate the search for effective new therapies. The researchers report their study in the August 12, 2005,...

Scientists unpick genetics of first 15 minutes of life

Scientists have identified the gene responsible for controlling a first key step in the creation of new life, according to new research published in the journal Nature tomorrow (Thursday 27 October 2005). The gene, known as HIRA, 'chaperones' the early processes that take place once a sperm enters an egg, giving it a crucial role in the most fundamental process in sexually reproducing anim...

New research examines genetics of successful aging

A study released today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's Annual Meeting revealed that scientists have identified genes related to reaching age 90 with preserved cognition. The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, is among the first to identify genetic links to cognitive longevity. "While successful...

Alcoholism, smoking and genetics among Plains American Indians

Alcoholism and smoking have a high rate of co-occurrence in the general population. Yet little is known about the co-morbidity of alcoholism and smoking among American Indians. In the March issue of , researchers examine patterns of alcohol and tobacco use among Plains American Indians, as well as the influence that a catechol-O-methyltrans...

New research examines genetics of successful aging

Scientists have identified genes related to reaching age 90 with preserved cognition, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The study, which was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh is among the first to identify genetic links to cognitive longevity. "Successful aging has been defined in many ways, however, we focused o...