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Medical Genetics

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Showing Medical Genetics Stories 1 through 10 of 157.
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Fixing genetic breaks
 New information about DNA repair mechanism could lead to better cancer drugs

July 16,
2009 --
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| Illustration of two proteins involved in DNA repair by artist Amy VanDonsel |
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Researchers at the School of Medicine have shed new light on a process that fixes breaks in the genetic material of cells. The scientists studied protein molecules that have an important role in homologous recombination, which is one way that cells repair breaks in the DNA double helix. Their findings could lead to ways of enhancing chemotherapy drugs that destroy cancer cells by damaging their DNA.

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Human Microbiome Project
 $19 million to WU scientists to decode microbe DNA and explore links to disease

June 23,
2009 --
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| Image courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture |
| Human gut bacterium Enterococcus faecalis |
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis four grants totaling $19 million to explore the trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body and determine how they contribute to good health and disease. The grants are part of the Human Microbiome Project, an ongoing, ambitious effort to catalog the bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that naturally coexist in or on the body.

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What separates men from mice?
 Of Mice and Men: Scientists unveil complete genome sequence of the mouse

May 29,
2009 -- Genetically speaking, what distinguishes a man from a mouse? U.S. and European scientists provide the answer in this week's PLoS Biology. They have described the finished genome sequence of the mouse, which, after the human, is only the second mammal to have its complete genome decoded.

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What makes us human
 Symposium draws top geneticists to discuss unique aspects of human DNA

March 19,
2009 -- A March 30th symposium will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth by bringing together four leading geneticists whose research focuses on defining the DNA changes that distinguish humans from our closest evolutionary relatives, the non-human primates.

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Test IDs breast cancer types
 New genomic test can personalize breast cancer treatment

Feb. 9,
2009 -- A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at the School of Medicine and collaborating institutions. Using this 50-gene set, oncologists can potentially predict the most effective therapy for each breast tumor type and thereby personalize breast cancer treatment for all patients.

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Early identification of autism
 Researchers image brains of infants at risk for autism

Feb. 3,
2009 -- Autism researchers at the School of Medicine are joining other scientists to image the brains of infants and attempt to identify anatomical and behavioral changes that may be linked to the onset of autism. The $10 million, NIH-funded Infant Brain Imaging Study allows investigators to analyze early brain development in children at risk for autism spectrum disorders by virtue of having an autistic sibling.

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Researchers get to the root of serious skin condition
 Scientists uncover new genetic variations linked to psoriasis

Jan. 26,
2009 -- Two international teams of researchers have made significant gains in understanding the genetic basis of psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that can be debilitating in some patients. Their research, involving thousands of patients, is reported in two studies published this week in the advance online Nature Genetics.

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Personalized medicine hinges on understanding genetic interactions
 Genetic interactions are the key to understanding complex traits

Jan. 22,
2009 --
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| Washington University graduate student Kim Lorenz collects yeast samples from Pennsylvania oak trees as part of a project to analyze how genes interact to produce complex traits. |
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In recent years, genetic studies have uncovered hundreds of DNA variations linked to common diseases, such as cancer or diabetes, raising the prospect that scientists can gauge disease risk based on information in an individual's genome. But the variations identified to date only account for a small percentage - typically one to three percent - of the overall genetic risk of any common disease.

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'Chips off the old block'
 Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II

Jan. 6,
2009 -- It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.

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New fellows
 Six Washington University professors named AAAS fellows

Dec. 18,
2008 -- Six faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. The highest honor awarded by AAAS, the rank of fellow is bestowed upon members by their peers in recognition of scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

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