Washington, April 15 (ANI): In a collaborative genome-wide study on individuals, researchers have discovered 14 new genetic variations that are associated with heart rate. Since heart rate is a marker of cardiovascular health, these findings could provide a better understanding of genetic regulation of heart beat and is a first step towards identifying targets for new drugs to treat cardiovascular disease. Led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK, the collaboration involved 268 researchers from 211 institutions, as well as six large research consortia joined forces. In order to gain new insights into the genetic regulation of heart rate, Dr. Ruth Loos, Director of the Genetics of Obesity and Related Metabolic Traits Program at the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at Mount Sinai and honorary investigator at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and her team, spent three years working on a genome-wide association study using data from 181,171 participants from 65 studies during 2009-2012. "Without any prior hypothesis, we studied the entire human genome hoping to identify new genetic variations that no one before had even imagined would play a role in the regulation … Continue reading →

15 April 2013 Last updated at 12:30 ET Breakthroughs in understanding how diseases like Alzheimer's and bowel cancer take hold have been highlights of 10 years of a Welsh genetic research "hothouse," says its head. The Wales Gene Park is marking a decade of academic developments and turning research into treatments for the NHS. Director Julian Sampson said Wales was recognised for its genetic research. First Minister Carwyn Jones said the park's work was modernising the health service and improving future health. The Wales Gene Park has bases at both Cardiff and Swansea universities. One of the centre's achievements has been the development of a drug treatment for an inherited disorder known as tuberous sclerosis. This causes multiple tumours to grow on the body's organs and in certain serious cases can be fatal. The pace of technological developments is very quick "Genetic research in Cardiff identified the gene that causes inherited tuberous sclerosis and we then worked out the functions of these genes," said Prof Sampson. Link: Genetic hothouse celebrates 10 years … Continue reading →

Officials from the Centre for Food Safety take chickens out from cages on a truck from mainland China at a border checkpoint in Hong Kong April 11, 2013. New rapid tests for the H7N9 bird flu strain have come into effect on Thursday at the border on live poultry being brought into Hong Kong, according to a government radio report. ( Bobby Yip / Reuters) CHICAGO -- Even as U.S. officials this week awaited the arrival of a sample of the new bird flu virus from China -- typically the first step in making a flu vaccine -- government-backed researchers had already begun testing a "seed" strain of the virus made from the genetic code posted on the Internet. This new, faster approach is the result of a collaboration among the U.S. government, vaccine maker Novartis and a unit of the J. Craig Venter Institute, which is using synthetic biology -- in which scientists take the genetic code of the virus and use it as a recipe to build the virus from scratch. It was an idea born in the aftermath of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, in which production delays and poor-quality seed strain slowed delivery of the vaccine until … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today announced that earlier this month, its wholly owned subsidiary, the Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM), surpassed 100,000 MaterniT21 PLUS test samples processed since the launch of its laboratory developed test (LDT) in October of 2011. The MaterniT21 PLUS test was the first commercial non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) of its kind for the detection of a genetic chromosomal anomaly known as Trisomy 21, the most common cause of Down syndrome. "There has been a significant clinical benefit of incorporating NIPT technology, such as the MaterniT21 PLUS test, into my practice, and I expect to see this technology utilized as a best practice tool among women at high risk of fetal aneuploidy," said Arnold Cohen, MD, Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. "The MaterniT21 PLUS test has enabled me to provide more accurate prenatal test results in a timely manner. It's reliability and ease of use is of great value to my patients and their families." The MaterniT21 PLUS test has shown high accuracy, precision and sensitivity, and it is offered by Sequenom CMM … Continue reading →

NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rainbow BioSciences, the biotech division of Rainbow Coral Corp. (RBCC), today announced that it is wrapping up negotiations toward a definitive agreement with a leading, Texas-based genetic testing laboratory. The genetic testing sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global biotech industry, with some market experts expecting it to reach $2.2 billion by 2017. RBCC is nearing a deal with a company that specializes in the cutting-edge science of pharmacogenomics, a field of study resulting from the Human Genome Project that seeks to help doctors assess genetic variations in patients in order to create more effective, optimized drug treatment plans. Pharmacogenomics could be the key to truly personalized medicine, which RBCC views as the future of healthcare. For more information on Rainbow BioSciences personalized medicine initiatives, please visitwww.rainbowbiosciences.com/investors.html. Rainbow BioSciences will develop new medical and research technology innovations to compete alongside companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY),Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). About Rainbow BioSciences Rainbow BioSciences, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (OTCBB:RBCC). The Company continually seeks out new partnerships with biotechnology developers to deliver profitable new medical technologies and innovations. For more … Continue reading →

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online The new bird flu strain that has so far killed 11 people in China has been showing signs that it is quickly adapting to mammalian (particularly human) hosts, according to a new study led by Masato Tashiro of the Influenza Virus Research Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Japan, along with Yoshiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWMadison) and the University of Tokyo. Despite the growing fears that humans are readily being affected by this new strain, with at least 40 confirmed cases of sickness, the researchers maintain that it is still too early to predict potential for a global pandemic. The research was published April 11 in the journal Eurosurveillance. The findings were drawn from genetic analysis of the new H7N9 virus strain. Samples of the strain had been deposited into an international database by Chinese researchers hoping to get a grip on the virus early. The research results are significant, as the first cases were seen less than three weeks ago the first human cases were reported on March 31 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The research group examined the genetic … Continue reading →

Public release date: 15-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Mark Couch mark.couch@ucdenver.edu 303-724-5377 University of Colorado Denver AURORA, Colo. (April 15, 2013) A newly published study of patients with pulmonary fibrosis has discovered multiple genetic variations that should help with future efforts to treat the disease. Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where lung tissue becomes thickened, stiff and scarred. Currently in the United States, there are no drugs approved for use in cases of the condition's most common and severe form, which is known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) because the cause of the disease is not known. In those cases, the median survival time after diagnosis is two to three years and lung transplants are the only intervention known to prolong life. This new study found evidence that common genetic variation is an important contributor to the risk of developing IPF, accounting for approximately one-third of the risk of developing disease. The study identified seven novel genetic risk loci that include genes involved in host defense, cell-cell adhesion, and DNA repair. These findings suggest that the disease is primarily initiated by defects in the lung's ability to defend against internal and environmental challenges. This international collaborative research … Continue reading →

By Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News In a Supreme Court test of whether a company can be granted a patent on the genes in the human body, a majority of the justices indicated during Monday's oral arguments that the court is likely to rule that a human gene cant be patented. It would be one thing, several of the justices said during Mondays oral arguments, for a company to seek a patent on a test for breast cancer that was developed by analyzing a human gene, but it would be going too far to be awarded a patent on the gene itself. "What's the difference between snipping off a piece of the liver or kidney, and seeking a patent on that, and seeking a patent on a piece of a gene?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Samuel Alito made a different analogy, to someone seeking a patent on a plant found in the Amazon rain forest that bore leaves containing a cancer cure. "You could patent the process used to get the chemical out and the use of the result, but you cannot patent the plant," he said. Stelios Varias / Reuters file photo The U.S. Supreme Court in … Continue reading →