http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/Metabolic-Defects-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 06:35:13 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/sex-chromosomes-are-here-for-the-long-haul-research-101176-1.htm The way in which genes on sex-linked chromosomes are passed down generations and linked to fertility has been clarified by researchers who used a specific example of the W chromosome in female chickens. The results confirm that although these chromosomes have shrunk over millions of years, and have lost many of their original genes, those that remain are extremely important in predicting fertility and are, therefore, unlikely to become extinct. "Y chromosomes are here to stay, and are not ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/sex-chromosomes-are-here-for-the-long-haul-research-101176-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/scientists-discover-reason-behind-chromosome-number-of-sperm-and-egg-100169-1.htm In what could prove to be a major breakthrough in treating fertility related disorders, a new study conducted by researchers from University of California has found out why a sperm and an egg develop exactly 23 chromosomes each. The work, which could lead to insights into fertility, spontaneous miscarriages, cancer and developmental disorders, is published April 13 in the journal ICell/I. Healthy humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from the sperm and 23 from the egg. An embryo with the wrong ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/scientists-discover-reason-behind-chromosome-number-of-sperm-and-egg-100169-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/new-findings-on-the-y-chromosome-97902-1.htm A gene study has rubbished theories that men will eventually become extinct because the Y chromosome which determines maleness is shrinking. The men-are-doomed scenario leapt to prominence nearly a decade ago when scientists found that the male chromosome had dramatically shrivelled. It had plummeted from a super-Y of more than 1,400 genes, several hundred million years ago, to a nubby little stump with just several dozen. That discovery triggered opinion that the Y was on the skids....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-findings-on-the-y-chromosome-97902-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/fathers-pass-on-heart-disease-risk-to-sons-via-genetic-variation-on-the-y-chromosome-97290-1.htm A new study published in the journal The Lancet suggests that men may inherit the risk of heart disease from their fathers if they have a common genetic variation on the Y chromosome. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Leicester's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences who analyzed data from three different studies; the British Heart Foundation Family Heart Study, the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study and the Cardiogenics Study, which involved more than 3,000 men....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/fathers-pass-on-heart-disease-risk-to-sons-via-genetic-variation-on-the-y-chromosome-97290-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/association-between-genetic-defect-and-heart-malformation-97274-1.htm Mutations in SHP-2 gene disrupts the shape of cardiac muscle cells and thereby result in heart malformation, shows research. The study also shows that treatment with a drug that regulates cell shape rescues the cardiac defect, pointing to therapeutic avenues that could one day benefit Noonan syndrome patients. The results, which were produced in a frog model of the disease, appeared online January 25, 2012, in the journal IDevelopment/I. Genetic studies have shown that SHP-2 plays a critical role in human physiology and disease....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/association-between-genetic-defect-and-heart-malformation-97274-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Abnormal-Chromosome-Has-Prognostic-Value-in-Rare-Brain-Tumor-96492-1.htm A chromosomal abnormality has definitive prognostic and predictive value for managing the treatment of adult patients with a a rare type of brain tumor, a recent analysis of clinical trial results performed by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) has demonstrated. The presence of the chromosomal abnormality was associated with a substantially better prognosis and near-doubling of median survival time when treatment with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy was compared to treatment with radiation therapy alone....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Abnormal-Chromosome-Has-Prognostic-Value-in-Rare-Brain-Tumor-96492-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-may-be-Caused-by-Pulverized-Chromosomes-96425-1.htm Lone chromosomes stranded outside the nucleus where their fellow chromosomes reside are thought to be the Robinson Crusoes of the intracellular world. Such castaways, each confined to its own "micronucleus," are often found in cancer cells, but scientists haven't known what role, if any, they play in the cancer process. In a paper published online on Jan. 18 by the journal INature/I, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have mapped out a mechanism by which micronuclei could potentially ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-may-be-Caused-by-Pulverized-Chromosomes-96425-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Transplanted-Embryonic-Neurons-may-Rectify-Metabolic-Defects-in-Mice-93936-1.htm Immature neurons from healthy mouse embryos can repair damaged brain circuitry and partially normalize metabolism when transplanted into adult mice, a new study has said. This experiment was conducted in mice that had grown morbidly obese due to a genetic deficiency. This proof-of-principle discovery represents one step down a long road toward neuronal replacement therapy, which researchers hope might one day be used to repair brains that have been injured by trauma or disease. Artur Czupryn ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Transplanted-Embryonic-Neurons-may-Rectify-Metabolic-Defects-in-Mice-93936-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Pure-Maple-Syrup-Keeps-Liver-Healthy-90552-1.htm University of Tokyo scientists have fresh findings from an animal study that suggest pure maple syrup may promote a healthy liver. The pilot study, conducted by Dr. Keiko Abe of the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, showed that healthy laboratory rats fed a diet in which some of the carbohydrate was replaced with pure maple syrup from Canada yielded significantly better results in liver function tests than the control groups fed a diet with a syrup mix containing a similar sugar content as maple syrup....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Pure-Maple-Syrup-Keeps-Liver-Healthy-90552-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Identify-Mutant-Gene-That-Causes-Abnormal-Chromosome-Number-Leading-to-Cancer-89450-1.htm A gene that is commonly mutated in human cancers and have demonstrated its direct role in causing aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes, has been identified by researchers. The researchers at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Centre, a part of Georgetown University Medical Centre, found that 20 percent of the brain cancer, skin cancer and bone cancer samples they examined made no STAG2 protein, often due to a missing or mutated STAG2 gene. The STAG2 gene encodes a component ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Identify-Mutant-Gene-That-Causes-Abnormal-Chromosome-Number-Leading-to-Cancer-89450-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/UTHealth-Researchers-Link-Chromosome-Region-to-Thoracic-Aortic-Disease-86665-1.htm Patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms that lead to acute aortic dissections are 12 times more likely to have duplications in the DNA in a region of chromosome 16 (16p13.1) than those without the disease, according to a study led by genetic researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results of the innovative study, which included researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, are published in the June 16 issue of the open-access journal iPLoS Genetics/i....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/UTHealth-Researchers-Link-Chromosome-Region-to-Thoracic-Aortic-Disease-86665-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Utility-of-Genetic-Counseling-in-Tackling-Fear-of-Cancer-Measured-by-Scale-86195-1.htm It is very clear that when a person has a family history of cancer, their worry about developing the disease may lead to them refusing to have preventive tests. Advice from genetic counselling units reduces their anxiety but, until now, nobody knew how much. Now, a scientific team has validated the 'Escala de Preocupacion por el Cancer - EPC' (equivalent of the Cancer Worry Scale), the first of its kind in the Spanish language, in order to evaluate it. "Excessive concern about cancer can result in two kinds of behaviour....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Utility-of-Genetic-Counseling-in-Tackling-Fear-of-Cancer-Measured-by-Scale-86195-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/A-Rare-Chromosome-Disorder-83550-1.htm Alfie Clamp, a British toddler has an extra strand of DNA that has baffled doctors who have been confronted with this extremely rare genetic disorder for the first time. /FONT/H2 P style="MARGIN: 10pt 0in 0pt"FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"Alfie has gone through a long chain of problems in his brief life. He was born blind, with severe disabilities, including learning difficulties. He continues to suffer from stomach problems, and is on several drugs to help his body to absorb nutrients....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/A-Rare-Chromosome-Disorder-83550-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/European-wide-Study-Confirms-Benefits-of-D-penicillamine-and-Trientine-for-Wilson-Disease-83174-1.htm Results from the first ever European-wide retrospective analysis presented today at the International Liver CongressTM have shown both D-penicillamine and trientine continue to be effective treatments, providing positive survival rates in patients with Wilson disease free from a liver transplant. Wilson disease is a rare genetic storage disorder in which copper is not excreted by the body effectively, leading to excess copper build up, liver failure and damage to the brain (neurological problems)....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/European-wide-Study-Confirms-Benefits-of-D-penicillamine-and-Trientine-for-Wilson-Disease-83174-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/54-Beneficial-Compounds-in-Pure-Maple-Syrup-Discovered-83031-1.htm University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram has discovered 34 new beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup and confirmed that 20 compounds discovered last year in preliminary research play a key role in human health. Today at the 241st American Chemical Society's National Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. the URI assistant pharmacy professor is telling scientists from around the world that his URI team has now isolated and identified 54 beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup from Quebec, five of which have never been seen in nature....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/54-Beneficial-Compounds-in-Pure-Maple-Syrup-Discovered-83031-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Defective-Chromosome-Behind-Sleepwalking-80609-1.htm Sleepwalkers' behavior is controlled by their DNA, claim scientists. Sufferers share a faulty chromosome, which is responsible for their behavior while asleep. Following a study of four generations of the same family, researchers have narrowed down the variation to a section of chromosome 20. According to their report, one copy of the defective chromosome is enough to cause sleepwalking. Having isolated the defective section of genetic code, they hope to find new treatments for the condition....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Defective-Chromosome-Behind-Sleepwalking-80609-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-is-Triggered-Rapidly-by-Humpty-Dumpty-Like-Chromosomes-79591-1.htm A single event can release a chain of hundreds of mutations, and trigger cancers much more quickly than usual, a UK scientist has discovered. Peter Campbell at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, spotted that a chromosome had apparently been smashed into hundreds of fragments and stuck back together, Humpty Dumpty-like. The result was a random mosaic of genetic material containing a number of cancer-causing mutations. "The first patient was a chance finding and we didn't ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-is-Triggered-Rapidly-by-Humpty-Dumpty-Like-Chromosomes-79591-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Marfan-Syndrome-Debated-72367-1.htm Reliable lists of tell-tale physical signs to help doctors recognize children with Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndromes have been compiled by Johns Hopkins researchers. Timely and early diagnosis of both genetic disorders can mean the difference between life and death, but some of the most common physical features are also found in people with neither of the syndromes, which can cause confusion. Published as two separate studies in the August issue of the IJournal of Bone and Joint Surgery/I, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Marfan-Syndrome-Debated-72367-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Abnormal-Chromosome-Causes-Clubfoot-70811-1.htm The most common cause of inherited clubfoot has been revealed, believe scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. By performing a routine genetic screening on 66 patients with an inherited form of clubfoot, Dr. Christina Gurnett, and her colleagues found abnormalities in a region of chromosome 17 in four patients. Three of the patients had small recurrent DNA duplications, and one had a small recurrent DNA deletion on chromosome 17. "What we're learning about ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Abnormal-Chromosome-Causes-Clubfoot-70811-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Anti-Oxidants-in-Pure-Maple-Syrup-Prevents-Cancer-Diabetes-Study-66716-1.htm University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram, who specializes in medicinal plant research, has found more than 20 compounds in maple syrup from Canada that have been linked to human health, and 13 of these compounds are newly discovered. In addition, eight of the compounds have been found in the Acer (maple) family for the first time. Several of these anti-oxidant compounds newly identified in maple syrup are also reported to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Anti-Oxidants-in-Pure-Maple-Syrup-Prevents-Cancer-Diabetes-Study-66716-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Female-Sex-Chromosomes-may-Help-in-Regulation-of-BP-66543-1.htm Something in female sex chromosomes appears to trigger a rise in blood pressure after the onset of menopause, says a study by Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) scientists. The finding challenges the current belief that sex hormones are largely responsible for regulating blood pressure. Published in Hypertension, the research is the first of its kind and involves male mice engineered to have female (XX) sex chromosomes, and female mice with male (XY) chromosomes....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Female-Sex-Chromosomes-may-Help-in-Regulation-of-BP-66543-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Chromosome-11-Gene-Cluster-Linked-to-Alcohol-Dependence-65819-1.htm An association between alcohol dependence (AD) and a cluster of genes on chromosome 11, has been found in a genome-wide association study. "Previous studies have looked at one or a few genes at a time, choosing the genes based upon hypotheses about possible mechanisms underlying differences in risk for alcoholism," said Howard J. Edenberg, Distinguished Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine and corresponding author for the study. "We chose ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Chromosome-11-Gene-Cluster-Linked-to-Alcohol-Dependence-65819-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Onset-of-Dementia-Predicted-by-Chromosome-Caps-64994-1.htm A sign of a cell's age could help predict the onset of dementia, a new study has said. The new research, by US researchers, has shown that elderly people are more likely to develop cognitive problems if their telomeres - the stretches of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes - are shorter than those of their peers. The shortening of telomeres is associated with reduced lifespan, heart disease and osteoarthritis, reports New Scientist. Telomeres naturally shorten with age as cells divide, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Onset-of-Dementia-Predicted-by-Chromosome-Caps-64994-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-Progression-in-Cells-With-Missegregated-Chromosomes-Prevented-by-Tumor-Suppressor-P53-64522-1.htm Tumor suppressor p53 limits the growth of cells with incorrect numbers of chromosomes and prevents their progression toward cancer, says a new study in the IJournal of Cell Biology/I. The study appears online February 1 (www.jcb.org). Tumor cells tend to missegregate chromosomes at a particularly high frequency (a condition known as chromosomal instability, or CIN), which is probably why they are often aneuploid (i.e., they carry an abnormal number of chromosomes). In 2008, Sarah Thompson ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Cancer-Progression-in-Cells-With-Missegregated-Chromosomes-Prevented-by-Tumor-Suppressor-P53-64522-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Woman-With-Genetic-Defect-Looking-For-Healthcare-Husband-64401-1.htm A US woman suffering from a serious genetic defect says she is willing to marry anyone with a good health plan. She is so desperate that she has uploaded her appeals on the You Tube and also set up a website inviting suitors. Indeed while President Obama, fighting as he does his own desperate battle for survival, has already pushed his healthcare agenda quite down his list of priorities, it is people at large who have to pay for the nasty political battles on the Capitol Hill. Terry Carlson, a 45-year-old ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Woman-With-Genetic-Defect-Looking-For-Healthcare-Husband-64401-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Understanding-Genetic-Defect-in-Myotonic-Muscular-Dystrophy-64181-1.htm In a new research on the genetic defect behind myotonic muscular dystrophy, scientists have found that the mutation disrupts an array of metabolic pathways in muscle cells through its effects on two key proteins. The study showed that the loss of a single protein accounts for most of the molecular abnormalities associated with the disease, while loss of a second protein also seems to play an important role. Co-author Manuel Ares, professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Understanding-Genetic-Defect-in-Myotonic-Muscular-Dystrophy-64181-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Researchers-Understand-Effects-of-Genetic-Defect-in-Myotonic-Muscular-Dystrophy-64141-1.htm Studies on the genetic defect behind myotonic muscular dystrophy has revealed that the mutation affects an array of metabolic pathways in muscle cells through its effects on two key proteins. A study published in INature Structural (and) Molecular Biology/I shows that the loss of a single protein accounts for most of the molecular abnormalities associated with the disease, while loss of a second protein also seems to play an important role. Each of the affected proteins interacts with an ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Researchers-Understand-Effects-of-Genetic-Defect-in-Myotonic-Muscular-Dystrophy-64141-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Y-Chromosome-in-Males-Evolving-Faster-Than-Expected-63705-1.htm The widely held scientific theory that the mammalian Y chromosome is slowly decaying or stagnating has been challenged by a new study. It has suggested that the Y chromosome, found only in males, is actually evolving quite rapidly through continuous, wholesale renovation. By conducting the first comprehensive interspecies comparison of Y chromosomes, Whitehead Institute researchers have found considerable differences in the genetic sequences of the human and chimpanzee Ys-an indication that ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Y-Chromosome-in-Males-Evolving-Faster-Than-Expected-63705-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Links-Chromosome-Changes-to-Cancer-61977-1.htm US researchers said in a study published Monday that a chromosome abnormality called aneuploidy can cause cancer. With virtually all human cancers having an abnormal number of chromosomes, scientists have "long suspected that gene mutations which promote erroneous chromosome separation during cell division are to blame for tumor development," researchers at the Mayo Clinic said in a statement. "By using a combination of new and established mouse models for human cancer, we were able to prove ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Links-Chromosome-Changes-to-Cancer-61977-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Research-Team-Links-Genetic-Defect-to-Vitamin-A-Deficiency-in-Women-61141-1.htm Nearly half of the British women might be lacking an important source of vitamin A due to previously undetected genetic defect. The vitamin helps the immune system ward off common infections such as flu and is important for healthy skin. Although dairy products and eggs are known as a rich source of vitamin A, another key source is beta-carotene, the orange pigment in carrots, which is converted into the vitamin by the body. However, University of Newcastle team has identified a genetic ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Research-Team-Links-Genetic-Defect-to-Vitamin-A-Deficiency-in-Women-61141-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Chromosome-Mutation-That-Dramatically-Increases-Schizophrenia-Risk-Identified-60033-1.htm An international team of scientists has identified a mutation on human chromosome 16 that dramatically raises risk for schizophrenia. The mutation in question is what scientists call a copy number variant (CNV). CNVs are areas of the genome where the number of copies of genes differs between individuals. The CNV is located in a region referred to by scientists as 16p11.2. By studying the genomes of 4,551 patients and 6,391 healthy individuals, the team, led by geneticist Jonathan Sebat, Ph....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Chromosome-Mutation-That-Dramatically-Increases-Schizophrenia-Risk-Identified-60033-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Queen-Victorias-Royal-Family-Was-Plagued-By-Haemophilia-B-59260-1.htm The identity of the "cursed blood" disorder that troubled the British Royal Family in the 19th and early 20th centuries has been revealed. DNA analysis show that the disease inherited by Queen Victoria's descendants was probably a severe form of the blood clotting disorder haemophilia B, according to the study published in journal Science. To reach the conclusion, scientists examined DNA samples extracted from the skeletal remains of Russia's Romanov family and also of Queen Victoria's great ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Queen-Victorias-Royal-Family-Was-Plagued-By-Haemophilia-B-59260-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Biologists-Identify-Mechanism-For-Evolution-of-New-Sex-Chromosomes-58969-1.htm After a recent research in which biologists genetically mapped the sex chromosomes of several species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi, East Africa, they have identified a mechanism by which new sex chromosomes may evolve. The research, by biologists Thomas Kocher, Reade Roberts and Jennifer Ser of the University of Maryland describe the genetic basis for two co-existing systems of sexual determination in cichlid fish from Lake Malawi. "This study marries two evolutionary ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Biologists-Identify-Mechanism-For-Evolution-of-New-Sex-Chromosomes-58969-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vertebrate-Species-Formed-Due-To-Sex-Chromosome-Evolution-58749-1.htm Studies say experiments in stickleback fish have shown for the first time that the evolution of new sex chromosomes is the driving force behind the formation of a new vertebrate species. Up until now, most evidence has shown that new species arise because they have adapted to new environments. But, according to a report in Nature News, scientists found that the emergence of new sex chromosomes caused a population of threespine stickleback fish in the Japan Sea, to diverge from its Pacific ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vertebrate-Species-Formed-Due-To-Sex-Chromosome-Evolution-58749-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/X-And-Y-Chromosome-Can-Converse-With-Each-Other-57971-1.htm University of Leicester's Department of Genetics scientists have for the first time revealed that the male and female do truly communicate, at least at the fundamental genetic level. The research counters scientific theory that the X and Y chromosomes - that define the sexes - do not communicate at all. In the study, Dr. Zoe Rosser and colleagues have shown that exchange of DNA does actually occur between the X and Y in the regions previously thought to be completely isolated. "Recently ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/X-And-Y-Chromosome-Can-Converse-With-Each-Other-57971-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Finds-Achilles-Heel-in-Y-Chromosome-Linked-to-Sex-Disorders-57550-1.htm A new study says that the unique mechanism behind the evolutionary survival of the human Y chromosome may also be responsible for a range of sex disorders, from failed sperm production to sex reversal to Turner Syndrome. Roughly six years ago, David Page's lab at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research reported the discovery of eight large areas of mirror-imaged genetic sequences, or palindromes, along the Y chromosome. Because the Y chromosome essentially has no partner with which to swap ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Finds-Achilles-Heel-in-Y-Chromosome-Linked-to-Sex-Disorders-57550-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Full-Chromosome-Analysis-Leads-To-IVF-Birth-After-13-Failed-Attempts-57400-1.htm Full chromosome analysis, called array Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (CGH), is believed to have led to the birth of a baby in Britain. The couple, screened at Care Fertility in Nottingham, find themselves lucky after 13 failed IVF attempts. Experts hail the event as a landmark. This is now the first time the whole process has been carried out within the UK and the first time in the world the eggs have been used fresh instead of frozen and thawed. The test involves taking a sample of a 'spare' ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Full-Chromosome-Analysis-Leads-To-IVF-Birth-After-13-Failed-Attempts-57400-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/The-Female-XIST-X-Chromosome-Coating-Question-Answered-By-Aurora-B-57041-1.htm Early in development, mammalian female cells counteract their double dose of X chromosomes by coating one of them with a large RNA named XIST. The RNA binds to the same X chromosome from which it is transcribed and initiates a series of events leading to the chromosome's permanent silencing. In the August 24, 2009 issue of the IJournal of Cell Biology/I (A HREF="http:www.jcb.org"www.jcb.org/A), Hall et al. exploit the fact that XIST temporarily dissociates from the X chromosome during mitosis ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/The-Female-XIST-X-Chromosome-Coating-Question-Answered-By-Aurora-B-57041-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Says-Male-Sex-Chromosome-Facing-Extinction-Due-to-Rapid-Evolution-54930-1.htm The sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear within a few million years, new research has warned. Scientists at Penn State University (PSU) found that the male Y chromosome evolved at a much more rapid pace than X chromosome, which both males and females carry. This rapid evolution of the Y chromosome has led to a dramatic loss of its genes at a rate that could eventually lead to its disappearance. The team includes Kateryna Makova, associate professor ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Says-Male-Sex-Chromosome-Facing-Extinction-Due-to-Rapid-Evolution-54930-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Researcher-Provides-New-Insights-Into-Chromosome-Segregation-And-Cell-Division-53996-1.htm Lars Jansen has worked on the formation of the centromere, a key cellular structure in powering and controlling chromosome segregation and accurate cell division. Jansen's work has just earned him a paper in Nature Cell Biology and a prestigious EMBO installation grant, of 50,000 euro per year, for a maximum of five years. Lars Jansen moved from California to the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC), in Portugal, last year to head the Epigenetic Mechanisms group. The Nature Cell Biology ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Researcher-Provides-New-Insights-Into-Chromosome-Segregation-And-Cell-Division-53996-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Balance-of-X-Chromosomes-is-Adjusted-Before-Implantation-by-Female-Embryos-53830-1.htm The first evidence that a process of inactivating the X chromosome during embryo development and implantation takes place in human female embryos prior to implantation in the womb has been uncovered by Dutch researchers. Ms Ilse van den Berg told the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam today (Monday) that her findings may have implications for the laboratory cultures that embryos are grown in before transfer to a woman's womb during fertility ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Balance-of-X-Chromosomes-is-Adjusted-Before-Implantation-by-Female-Embryos-53830-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Says-Mice-With-Extra-Chromosome-Region-Show-Many-Autistic-Signs-53612-1.htm Researchers report in the June 26th issue of the journal ICell/I, a Cell Press Publication that mice who inherit a particular chromosomal duplication from their fathers show many behaviors associated with human autism. The duplicated chromosomal region in mice is the equivalent of human chromosome 15q11-13, the most frequent cytogenetic abnormality observed in autism, accounting for some five percent of all cases. The engineered mice validate the human chromosome abnormality as one cause of the disease, the researchers said....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Says-Mice-With-Extra-Chromosome-Region-Show-Many-Autistic-Signs-53612-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Intestinal-Inflammation-Linked-to-Systemic-Chromosome-Damage-52315-1.htm Intestinal inflammation has been linked with systemic chromosome damage for the first time by UCLA scientists in mice. This finding may lead to the early identification and treatment of human inflammatory disorders, some of which increase risk for several types of cancer. Researchers found that local intestinal inflammation induced DNA damage to lymphocytes of the peripheral blood circulating throughout the body. This means that chromosome damage was not limited to the intestine, but involved ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Intestinal-Inflammation-Linked-to-Systemic-Chromosome-Damage-52315-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Switch-That-Turns-on-X-Chromosome-Matchmaking-Discovered-45689-1.htm Scientists at the University of Warwick have discovered the switch that pulls together X chromosomes in female cells at a crucial stage of embryo development. The discovery could offer new insights into how other similar chromosomes spontaneously recognize each other and are bound together at key parts of analogous cell processes. The discovery holds importance as the binding together of too many or too few of a particular chromosome can cause a number of medical conditions such as Down's Syndrome or Turner's Syndrome....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Switch-That-Turns-on-X-Chromosome-Matchmaking-Discovered-45689-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/How-Do-Males-Make-Up-for-Their-X-Chromosome-Shortage-37396-1.htm Researchers at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK have revealed that males to make up for their X chromosome shortage because an enzyme called MOF binds differently to the X chromosome in males and females. This, chromatin modifying enzyme aids in compensating for the fact that males have only one copy of the sex chromosome X, while females have two, by distinguishing between male and female ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/How-Do-Males-Make-Up-for-Their-X-Chromosome-Shortage-37396-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Counseling-and-Testing-for-Breast-Cancer-Affected-by-Family-Communication-Study-34491-1.htm A recent preliminary study that was presented at the American Society for Preventive Oncology meeting in Bethesda, Md has said that willingness of relatives to talk about their family's cancer history affects the attitude and knowledge about genetic counselling apart from the testing for those who are at moderate risk for developing breast cancer. Prior research has shown that African Americans participate less often in genetic counseling and testing for the genes that put women at risk for breast cancer than Caucasians....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Counseling-and-Testing-for-Breast-Cancer-Affected-by-Family-Communication-Study-34491-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Cause-Of-Infertility-Linked-To-Sex-Chromosome-Gene-Identified-For-The-First-Time-34230-1.htm The researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that the mutations in the human TEX11 gene may be a genetic cause of infertility in men. According to Jeremy Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Biology at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues, their study of the genetic causes of infertility is the first of its kind to link a particular sex chromosome meiosis-specific gene to sterility. The TEX11 gene, just like mice, is also located on the human X chromosome....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Cause-Of-Infertility-Linked-To-Sex-Chromosome-Gene-Identified-For-The-First-Time-34230-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Defect-Raises-Heart-Attack-Risk-Among-Smokers-32997-1.htm A new study has unearthed evidence that a common genetic defect significantly increases a smoker's risk of an early heart attack. Dr. Arthur Moss, director of the Heart Research Follow-up Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center, says that as much as 60 to 70 per cent of the population has a gene defect that makes smokers vulnerable to a heart attack. Among the study participants, said the researcher, heavy smokers with the same common gene variant experienced a heart attack when they were around 52 years old....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Defect-Raises-Heart-Attack-Risk-Among-Smokers-32997-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Link-Mutation-in-Sex-Chromosome-to-Mental-Defects-32493-1.htm Mutations in a key section of a human sex chromosome appear to be able to cause mental retardation, an Australian researcher said Thursday. A change involving duplication of a small part of the 'X' chromosome was discovered in six families out of more than 550 in a worldwide study of mental health problems, geneticist Jozef Gecz said. He said that although the figure sounded relatively low, because of the complexity of the change the number was actually 'very high'. Another three families ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Link-Mutation-in-Sex-Chromosome-to-Mental-Defects-32493-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Biological-Clocks-Influence-Genes-by-Controlling-Chromosome-Coiling-29812-1.htm A new study has provided direct evidence that biological clocks can influence the activity of a large number of different genes in an ingenious fashion, just by causing chromosomes to coil more tightly during the day and to relax at night. Previous studies have discovered that biological clocks help organize a dizzying range of biochemical processes in the body. However, despite a number of hypotheses, exactly how the microscopic pacemakers in every cell in the body exert such an extensive influence has remained a mystery so far....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Biological-Clocks-Influence-Genes-by-Controlling-Chromosome-Coiling-29812-1.htm