Washington: DNA may be the building block of life, but can something taken from it also be the building block of a multimillion-dollar medical monopoly?
The US Supreme Court grapples with the question of whether human genes can be patented. Its ultimate answer could reshape US medical research, the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer and the multi-billion dollar medical and biotechnology business.
"The intellectual framework that comes out of the decision could have a significant impact on other patents - for antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, stem cells and diagnostics on infectious microbes that are found in nature," Robert Cook-Deegan, director for genome ethics, law & policy at Duke University, said in a statement.
"This could affect agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, green-tech, the use of organisms to produce alternative fuels and other applications," he said....
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02:30 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Latha Nair in Kerala is making a difference by helping patients suffering from an incurable genetic bone disease lead a normal life. Along with her friend, her organisation, Amrithavarshini is helping hundreds of patients today. ...
09:04 AM, Jan 10, 2013
London: Scientists have discovered that genetic 'switches', which regulate the expression of genes, play a major role in the development of cancer. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Helsinki in Finland investigated a gene region that contains a particular single nucleotide variant associated with increased risk for developing colorectal and prostate cancers. The study found that removing this region caused dramatic resistance to tumour formation....
04:23 AM, Nov 04, 2012
The Saba Karim Genesis Pro Cricket Centre was inaugurated by Virender Sehwag on Friday. ...
03:45 PM, Jul 06, 2012
Washington: Scientists have discovered a gene which they claim can determine more accurately whether a woman has an increased risk of developing breast cancer. An international team, led by University of Melbourne, says its has used new technology to fast track the discovery of the breast cancer risk gene, called XRCC2, which could in turn assist in the discovery of other cancer genes. Prof Melissa Southey, who led the study,...
12:07 PM, Apr 02, 2012
London: Scientists have found that people may be genetically inclined to becoming alcoholics at birth. Researchers studying the brainwaves of problem drinkers have discovered a gene which may be linked to drinking, a Daily Mail report said. In a study, the researchers carried out a brain scan of people who are alcoholic, and discovered patterns common to those at risk of dependence. It was found that children of problem drinkers...
04:22 PM, Nov 25, 2011
A new study finds eating the right food can override a natural risk someone may carry for heart attack. ...
04:39 PM, Oct 15, 2011
Washington: Scientists have identified at least 16 new genes which are linked to blood pressure, a key breakthrough they claim could pave the way for new treatments for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. An international team, led by the University of Western Australia, says that out of the 16, 10 genes could provide new clues to how the blood is regulated, the 'Nature' journal reported in its latest edition. The research...
03:12 PM, Sep 16, 2011
New Delhi: Scientists have finally cracked the reason as to why Indians and South Asians are more prone to diabetes. Six new genes have been identified that trigger diabetes and make Indians and South Asians four times more likely than Europeans to develop type 2 diabetes. Dr V Mohan, the author of a study on diabetes, said, "For the first time people of South Asian ancestry have been studied. Interestingly...
09:18 AM, Sep 07, 2011
London: People with extra copies of certain genes are much more likely to be very skinny, scientists said on Wednesday in the first finding of a genetic cause for extreme thinness. In a study in the journal Nature, researchers from Britain's Imperial College London and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland found that a duplication of a part of chromosome 16 is associated with being underweight. Previous research has found...
12:19 PM, Sep 01, 2011
Washington: Scientists claim to have found a previously unrecognised layer of gene regulation associated with fear extinction, a finding which may have implications in conditions such as phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. An international team, led by University of Queensland, says that this is an inhibitory learning process thought to be critical for controlling fear-related behaviour when the fear response is no longer required. Lead researcher Dr Timothy Bredy said...
01:11 PM, Aug 16, 2011
Chicago: Boy or girl? A simple blood test in mothers-to-be can answer that question with surprising accuracy at about seven weeks, a research analysis has found. Though not widely offered by U.S. doctors, gender-detecting blood tests have been sold online to consumers for the past few years. Their promises of early and accurate results prompted genetics researchers to take a closer look. They analyzed 57 published studies of gender testing...
12:14 PM, Aug 10, 2011
Los Angeles Scientists who hunt for "intelligence genes" used to think there were fewer than half a dozen of them. In recent years, they determined there may be at least 1,000 - each with just a tiny effect on the differences in people's IQ. A study released Tuesday found new evidence that many genes play a role in intelligence, but scientists still couldn't pinpoint the specific genes involved. "It's been...
12:07 PM, Aug 10, 2011
London: Up to 70 percent of British men and half of all Western European men are related to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, geneticists in Switzerland said. Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy centre, iGENEA, reconstructed the DNA profile of the boy Pharaoh, who ascended the throne at the age of nine, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III, based on a film that was made for the Discovery Channel. The results...
11:46 AM, Aug 02, 2011
Toronto: With the help of a new sequencing technology, scientists have isolated a gene linked to mental retardation. Mental retardation, also called intellectual disability, denotes certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of oneself, and social skills. John Vincent, senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and colleagues, identified defects on the gene MAN1B1, among five families having children with...
12:02 PM, Jul 18, 2011
Washington: DNA, the twisty molecule of life, has an alter ego, a new study has revealed. Researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of California have also found that on rare occasions, its building blocks 'rock and roll', deforming the familiar double helix into a different shape. "We show that the simple DNA double helix exists in an alternative form - for one percent of the time -...
04:10 PM, Jan 29, 2011
London: A Briton, who works as a surveyor for a local council, has been on the job for 43 years, but has never taken a single day off! Jim Owen, 66, has turned up for work without fail since he started as a surveyor at the Basildon Council in Essex, back in 1968. He puts it down to 'good genes and strong work ethic', according to the Daily Mail. Jim...
12:13 PM, Jan 29, 2011
London: British scientists have discovered a 'rogue gene' which helps cancer spread around the body and say blocking it with the right kind of drugs could stop many types of the disease in their tracks. Researchers from the University of East Anglia said their findings could lead within a decade to the development of new medicines to halt a critical late stage of the disease known as metastasis, when cancer...
05:42 PM, Jan 25, 2011
Washington: Scientists have issued a stark warning about smoking - it begins to damage your genes within mere minutes and not years after it reaches your lungs. Their report is the first study to detail the way certain substances in tobacco cause DNA damage linked to cancer, reports the journal Research in Toxicology. University of Minnesota's Stephen S Hecht, professor in medicinal chemistry, who conducted the study, and his colleagues...
04:26 PM, Jan 16, 2011
Washington: Being around the opposite sex activates genes to perform certain courtship rituals, says a new study. Scientists have edged closer to understanding our mating behaviour by studying how genes interact in fruit flies during such interactions. This research by Texas A&M University shows that courtship behaviours may be far more influenced by genetics than previously thought, the journal Genetics reports. Besides, understanding why and how these genes become activated...
02:13 PM, Jan 13, 2011
