Genetic Testing Before Pregnancy Detects up to Half of the Risk

Are would-be parents carrying a genetic risk of serious illnesses that they could potentially pass on to their children?

01-Sep-2022 - In the USA, doctors recommend that couples have genetic screening before trying to conceive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that a maximal variant of this test detects the risk in 44 percent of couples who are related by blood, and in just 5 percent of other couples. ...

Unraveling a genetic network linked to autism

06-Nov-2018 - Donnelly Centre researchers have uncovered a genetic network linked to autism. The findings will facilitate developing new therapies for this common neurological disorder. As part of a collaborative research program focusing on autism led by Benjamin Blencowe, a professor in the University of ...

Analysis method of metabolites accurately predicts whether a child has autism

17-Mar-2017 - Scientists have developed a new, highly accurate method that analyzes metabolic biomarkers to assess whether a child is on the autism spectrum. Autism spectrum disorder affects about 1.5 percent of all children, but its exact cause remains unknown, and diagnosis requires a multidisciplinary team ...

New brain target for potential treatment of social pathology in autism spectrum disorder

09-Feb-2017 - Researchers at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have induced empathy-like behavior by identifying then manipulating a brain circuit in an experimental model, an indication that new strategies may help people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) gain social abilities. According ...

Neuroscientists discover a gene that controls worms’ behavioral state

Gene required for the control of behavioral state is also found in humans, may be linked to autism

07-Mar-2016 - In a study of worms, MIT neuroscientists have discovered a gene that plays a critical role in controlling the switch between alternative behavioral states, which for humans include hunger and fullness, or sleep and wakefulness. This gene, which the researchers dubbed vps-50, helps to regulate ...

Gene found to be crucial for formation of certain brain circuitry

Identified using new technique that can speed identification of genes, drug candidates

09-Dec-2013 - Using a powerful gene-hunting technique for the first time in mammalian brain cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins report they have identified a gene involved in building the circuitry that relays signals through the brain. The gene is a likely player in the aging process in the brain, the ...

Brain imaging gives new insight into mental disorders

27-Aug-2010 - A new kind of psychiatry built on objective measures derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (or fMRI) of the brain performed while patients play economic games could provide new insight into the diagnosis and, eventually, treatment of mental disorders, said researchers from Baylor ...

Researchers eyeing new way to measure elusive zinc

29-Jan-2010 - A team of Florida State University researchers will use a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a way to measure levels of the trace metal zinc in the human body. Scientists have long known that zinc plays a critical role in numerous biochemical ...

Researchers develop 'brain-reading' methods

Rutgers research discovery sets direction for decoding large-scale structure of brain

29-Jul-2009 - It is widely known that the brain perceives information before it reaches a person's awareness. But until now, there was little way to determine what specific mental tasks were taking place prior to the point of conscious awareness. That has changed with the findings of scientists at Rutgers ...

Agilent Technologies, Signature Genomic Laboratories Announce Long-Term Supply Agreement for Oligo Microarrays

19-May-2008 - Agilent Technologies Inc. and Signature Genomic Laboratories LLC announced they have signed a long-term supply agreement in which Agilent will supply custom oligonucleotide microarrays to Signature and its customers based on the Signature-designed SignatureChip Oligo Solution (SignatureChipOS). ...