Tag Archives: Gene
Software Allows Medical Practitioners To Add Genetic Info
A new database, called PhenoDB, has been developed to help track the genetic roots of every disorder that is caused by a single, rogue gene. Scientists developed the database for the Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics (BHCMG) initiative. This initiative seeks to track the roughly 3,000 inherited disorders that are attributed to genetic causes. This new tool makes use of … [ Read more ]
Several Mutations In One Gene Leads To Evolutionary Change
Genetic scientists studying deer mice in Nebraska have determined that changes in the the color of their coats can be attributed to nine small changes in one specific gene over the course of the species’ evolution. This finding explains how organisms are able to fine-tune their bodies to their habitat over an extended period of time. This also opens the … [ Read more ]
Gene That Causes Obesity Isolated In Mice
Scientists have been searching for a way to help people lose unwanted weight without altering their diet or activity level for years. Now, it seems that doctors from the University of Colorado School of Medicine have isolated a gene that can be turned off and prevents mice from getting fat, even if they eat an unhealthy diet! The gene is … [ Read more ]
BPA Found To Be Worse Than We Thought
The FDA banned BPA, or Bisphenol A, in baby bottles in July of 2012. The chemical is known to disrupt the normal functioning of sex hormones in both humans and animals. New research reports that BPA is much worse for the body that we previously thought. It has been shown to impair the development of the central nervous system. It … [ Read more ]
Protein May Explain Why Women Talk More Than Men
Many people believe that women talk more than men do. Now, a new study from the University of Maryland reports that a specific protein within the brains of women might be the reason why. Psychiatrists have estimated that women speak about 20,000 words a day and men only say about 7,000 words per day. This could be why female students … [ Read more ]
Common Protein Tied To ALS And Dementia
Two neurodegenerative disorders, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia, have been linked to the same abnormal protein, report researchers from the Mayo Clinic. The protein, called C9RANT, clumps together in patients with mutations in the C9ORF72 gene. Epigenetic expression in this gene is credited with causing both ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Doctors believe that clumps of C9RANT lead … [ Read more ]
New Fertility Gene Identified
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have identified a particular gene that is crucial in creating healthy, fertile eggs. This gene, known as SRPK, facilitates the huddling of chromosomes within the person’s DNA. Scientists believe that this huddling effect is what secures the egg’s healthy and continual development and fertilization. the absence of SRPK indicates sterility and low fertility. The … [ Read more ]
New, Rare Gene Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease
The first significant discovery in ten years has been made regarding a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease. An international team of researchers found a rare genetic mutation within a gene known as TREM2 causes people to be four times as likely to develop the degenerative disease. However, this new gene is ten times more rare than the gene most commonly … [ Read more ]
School District Kicks Student Out Because He Carries Gene for Cystic Fibrosis
Colman Chadman, 11 years old, seemed to fit right into his new school, Palo Alto’s Jordan Middle School. But seven weeks into the school year, the school provided Chadman and his family for a shock when they asked the family to transfer to another middle school three miles away. The school district told the family that the decision was made … [ Read more ]
