Hearing loss can be caused by advancing years, or by head injuries or loud noises, all of which lead to loss of the sensory hair cells. A new gene therapy could have potential to replace the damaged hair cells, but isn’t likely to be the answer by itself. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
gene archive.
Naturally blond hair is found almost entirely in Northern Europe and Oceania – but is it from the same gene? In the Solomon Islands, 5-10% of the population is blond and research led by Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that the mutation leading to blond hair arose separately here. The research was published in Science.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disorder that leads to scaly patches on the skin, causing itching and pain. Around 30% of people develop arthritis, and the disorder can have a severe impact on patients’ quality of life. Psoriasis is inherited, and researchers have linked a gene and an environmental factor with plaque psoriasis, the most common form of the disorder, as well as with pustular psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The research was published in two papers in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Two studies in Nature Genetics, including researchers from UC Davis, have looked at the genetics of brain size, and have linked these with Alzheimer’s disease and brain development.
Researchers from around the world, including the Stanford Prevention Research Center, have linked 32 genetic variations with bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis and bone fractures. The research, published in Nature Genetics, carried out a meta-analysis of studies involving 32,961 people of European and east Asian ancestry, looking at bone mineral density on the lumbar spine (lower back) and femoral neck (hip).
An international team of researchers led by the University of Melbourne has used new technology to fast track the discovery of a breast cancer risk gene which could assist in the discovery of other cancer genes. This is the first breast cancer risk gene to be found using massively parallel sequencing, which enables sequencing of large amounts of human DNA at high speed. The research was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder after a stressful event such as assault or terrorist attacks, but some people seem to develop it while others don’t. Why? It seems to be in their genes. UCLA scientists have linked two genes involved in serotonin production to a higher risk of developing PTSD, in a paper published in the April 3 online edition of the Journal of Affective Disorders.
There are lots of things that influence a baby’s weight, including the mother’s diet and weight, but it seems that a gene, known as PHLDA2, could also play a part too. Researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health have found a single genetic variant, inherited by the baby from the mother (or even the grandmother) significantly increases a baby’s birth weight.
There’s been a lot of research on the genetics of obesity, and it’s likely that more than one gene will be involved. And it’s important to know – as well as the effect that obesity has on the heart and the risk of cancer and diabetes, it may also affect brain function in later life.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the commonest lethal inherited disease in the UK, affecting around 9,500 people nationally and over 90,000 worldwide. But there may be hope – a UK gene therapy trial for cystic fibrosis is expected to begin in March, in 130 adults and children. This is the largest …
