Jun 30 2009
Study after study has shown that high blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. But what hasn’t been clear is whether CRP actually causes heart disease, or just indicates the presence of artery-blocking atherosclerosis.
Researchers from Imperial College London set out to answer this question [...]
Jun 29 2009
Much to the surprise of many scientists, a lot of the SNPs identified in genomewide association studies have not been in the parts of genes that encode the molecular machinery of a cell.
Instead, many SNPs have been found on the edges of genes, in regions of DNA that control when the genes get turned on [...]
Jun 26 2009
Not surprisingly, there has been intense interest in the genetics of obesity in recent years. Obesity is a major health problem, resulting in tens of thousands of premature deaths and billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year in the United States, and it is known from twin and family studies that weight is a [...]
Jun 25 2009
It’s not enough to teach genetics, says Michael Dougherty, director of education for the American Society for Human Genetics. It has to be taught in the right way.
“Current teaching practices may be producing a public that is unprepared to participate effectively as medical consumers in a world where personalized medicine will rely increasingly on genetic [...]
Jun 24 2009
Malaria, a strong evolutionary pressure in humans, has also shaped the baboon genome, new research says.
Each year at least 350 million people around the world are infected by malaria parasites. More than one million people, mainly young children, succumb to the disease. But these numbers would be even higher if it weren’t for genetic adaptations [...]
Jun 23 2009
Genomewide association studies have had some success in finding DNA variants associated with increased risk for bipolar disorder. But researchers from the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University in England have taken these studies a step further by looking for common functional themes running through the GWAS data. Their results, published [...]
Jun 22 2009
Each one of us carries in our cells the vital genetic data, compliments of our parents, that code for many of our traits and attributes. Whether it’s our eye color, height or the ability to consume dairy products, the variations in our genes contribute to making us ‘one of a kind’. Unfortunately, these variations can [...]
Jun 19 2009
Only 250 miles separates the island of Madagascar from the southeast coast of Africa. The short distance between the two land masses traditionally led the outside world to assume that the native inhabitants of Madagascar – known as the Malagasy – originally came from the west, probably from the present day southeast African nation of [...]
Jun 18 2009
It’s no secret that obesity rates are rising — quickly. Between 2000 and 2005 the prevalence of obesity rose by 24%. Extreme obesity increased by more than 50%. If current trends continue, more than half of all Americans will be clinically obese by the year 2030.
Rapid changes in the prevalence of a disorder suggest that [...]
Jun 12 2009
SNPwatch gives you the latest news about research linking various traits and conditions to individual genetic variations. These studies are exciting because they offer a glimpse into how genetics may affect our bodies and health; but in most cases, more work is needed before this research can provide information of value to individuals. For that [...]
