science top stories popular news  

Daily non-political popular news in brief.

UD researchers discover promising technique for repairing gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy

02-11-2008 · EurekAlert!

Researchers at the University of Delaware have discovered a novel technique -- that acts like a "spell-checker" for correcting a misspelling in the DNA code -- to repair the defective gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy. This hereditary neuromuscular disease is the number-one genetic killer of children under two years old.

Read more »

Keywords: researchers, discover, promising, technique, repairing, gene, causes, spinal, muscular, atrophy, researcher, cause

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "UD researchers discover promising technique for repairing gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy":

  1. UD researchers discover technique for repairing gene defect that causes spinal muscular atrophy
    02-11-2008 · EurekAlert!
    Researchers at the University of Delaware have discovered a novel technique -- that acts like a "spell-checker" for correcting a misspelling in the DNA code -- to repair the defective gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy. This hereditary neuromuscular disease is the number-one genetic killer of children under two years old.
    Similar news · Read more »
  2. Lupus gene finding prompts call for more DNA samples
    12-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Wellcome Trust researchers have identified a key gene involved in the disease lupus, which affects around 50,000 people in the UK, mostly women. The lead researcher behind the study has called for more patients to volunteer DNA samples to enable them to further study the underlying causes of the disease.
    Similar news · Read more »
  3. Drug blocks lethal motor-neuron disease in mice
    02-22-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a motor-neuron disease caused by mutations in the gene SMN1 that prevent it producing the protein SMN. New research shows that in a lethal mouse model of SMA the drug trichostatin A (TSA), which is a hydroxamic acid HDAC inhibitor, can improve survival and attenuate disease, indicating that hydroxamic acid HDAC inhibitors might be potential therapeutics for the treatment of individuals with SMA.
    Similar news · Read more »
  4. RNAi shows promise in gene therapy, Stanford researcher says
    02-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Three years ago Mark Kay, MD, PhD, published the first results showing that a biological phenomenon called RNA interference could be an effective gene therapy technique. Since then he has used RNAi gene therapy to effectively shut down the viruses that cause hepatitis and HIV in mice.
    Similar news · Read more »
  5. Rare mutation causes early heart disease and metabolic syndrome
    03-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Yale School of Medicine researchers have identified a rare defect in a single gene that poses a substantial risk for metabolic syndrome and early heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.
    Similar news · Read more »
  6. Penn researchers discover new molecular path to fight autoimmune diseases
    03-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis are among a variety of autoimmune diseases that are aggravated when one type of white blood cell, called the immune regulatory cell, malfunctions. In humans, one cause of this malfunction is when a mutation in a gene called FOXP3 disables the immune cells’ ability to function. Penn researchers have discovered how to modify enzymes that act on the FOXP3 protein, in turn making the regulatory immune cells work better.
    Similar news · Read more »
  7. If air gets scarce -- new gene causes asthma in children
    08-20-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Usually harmless external stimuli like animal hair, pollen and house dust cause a life-endangering narrowing of the bronchi in asthma patients. An international team of scientists headed by researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, and Oxford University, UK, have now been able to identify a gene that clearly increases the risk for asthma in childhood.
    Similar news · Read more »
  8. Molecular medical research points to treatment of spinal muscular atrophy
    11-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, UK, have carried out studies into one of the two survival motor neuron genes that set suffers from SMA apart from the rest of the population.
    Similar news · Read more »
  9. New research to help fight widespread potato disease
    11-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Scientists have made a key discovery into the genetics of the bacteria that causes blackleg, an economically-damaging disease of potatoes, that could lead to new ways to fight the disease. The researchers at the University of Cambridge, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, found that if a particular gene is inactivated in the bacterium Erwinia carotovora, its ability to damage the plant and cause disease is severely impeded.
    Similar news · Read more »
  10. UT rheumatologists discover 2 genes related to disabling form of arthritis
    10-21-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Work done in part by researchers at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston has led to the discovery of two genes that cause ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory and potentially disabling disease. The findings are published in the Oct. 21 online edition of Nature Genetics, a journal that emphasizes research on the genetic basis for common and complex diseases.
    Similar news · Read more »