Public release date: 14-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Renatt Brodsky Renatt.Brodsky@mountsinai.org 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

(New York, NY April 14, 2013) Through a collaborative genome-wide study on individuals, researchers have discovered 14 new genetic variations that are associated with heart rate. Since heart rate is a marker of cardiovascular health, these findings could provide a better understanding of genetic regulation of heart beat and is a first step towards identifying targets for new drugs to treat cardiovascular disease.

The study, titled, "Identification of Heart Rate-Associated Loci and Their Effects on Cardiac Conduction and Rhythm Disorders," was published online this week in the April issue of Nature Genetics. Led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK, the collaboration involved 268 researchers from 211 institutions, as well as six large research consortia joined forces.

In order to gain new insights into the genetic regulation of heart rate, Dr. Ruth Loos, Director of the Genetics of Obesity and Related Metabolic Traits Program at the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at Mount Sinai and honorary investigator at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and her team, spent three years working on a genome-wide association study using data from 181,171 participants from 65 studies during 2009-2012. "Without any prior hypothesis, we studied the entire human genome hoping to identify new genetic variations that no one before had even imagined would play a role in the regulation of heart rate," said Dr. Loos, senior author of the study. "This discovery is just the beginning of something new and exciting and can hopefully be used to identify new drugs that can be used for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders."

In a follow-up study, experimental down-regulation of gene expression was then conducted on fruit flies and zebra fish, to better understand how genetic variations might affect heart rate. These experiments identified 20 genes with a role in heart rate regulation, signal transmission, embryonic development of the heart, as well as cardiac disorders, such as dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and sudden heart failure. "Our findings in humans as well as in fruit flies and zebrafish provide new insights into mechanisms that regulate heart rate," said Dr. Marcel den Hoed, post-doctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and lead author of the study.

The follow-up study also showed that a genetic susceptibility for higher heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and a reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, a common indicator for pacemaker implantation. "Our study tripled the number of genetic variations that are known to be associated with heart rate, some of which are also associated with other cardiovascular risk factors and with heart rhythm disorder," said Dr. Loos.

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About The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine

The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine (IPM) drives innovation in the data-driven and gene-based individualization of healthcare. The Institute's groundbreaking work led to the creation of the BioMeBiobank Program to enable innovation in personalized healthcare. Over 23,000 Mount Sinai patients have enrolled in the BioMe program, which helps them receive more targeted, personalized care in real-time based on their own DNA through Mount Sinai's electronic medical record (EMR) system. The EMR-linked personalized medicine system empowers participating BioMe patients by providing tailored information in data-driven, gene-based personalized healthcare. This information includes each enrolled patient's unique genetic information and clinical data.

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Mount Sinai study identifies new gene variations associated with heart rate

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Washington, April 15 (ANI): In a collaborative genome-wide study on individuals, researchers have discovered 14 new genetic variations that are associated with heart rate.

Since heart rate is a marker of cardiovascular health, these findings could provide a better understanding of genetic regulation of heart beat and is a first step towards identifying targets for new drugs to treat cardiovascular disease.

Led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK, the collaboration involved 268 researchers from 211 institutions, as well as six large research consortia joined forces.

In order to gain new insights into the genetic regulation of heart rate, Dr. Ruth Loos, Director of the Genetics of Obesity and Related Metabolic Traits Program at the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at Mount Sinai and honorary investigator at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and her team, spent three years working on a genome-wide association study using data from 181,171 participants from 65 studies during 2009-2012.

"Without any prior hypothesis, we studied the entire human genome hoping to identify new genetic variations that no one before had even imagined would play a role in the regulation of heart rate," said Dr. Loos, senior author of the study.

"This discovery is just the beginning of something new and exciting and can hopefully be used to identify new drugs that can be used for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders," the researcher added.

In a follow-up study, experimental down-regulation of gene expression was then conducted on fruit flies and zebra fish, to better understand how genetic variations might affect heart rate.

These experiments identified 20 genes with a role in heart rate regulation, signal transmission, embryonic development of the heart, as well as cardiac disorders, such as dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and sudden heart failure.

"Our findings in humans as well as in fruit flies and zebrafish provide new insights into mechanisms that regulate heart rate," said Dr. Marcel den Hoed, post-doctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and lead author of the study.

The follow-up study also showed that a genetic susceptibility for higher heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and a reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, a common indicator for pacemaker implantation.

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14 new genetic targets for treating heart disease identified

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NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Rainbow BioSciences, the biotech division of Rainbow Coral Corp. (RBCC), today announced that it is wrapping up negotiations toward a definitive agreement with a leading, Texas-based genetic testing laboratory.

The genetic testing sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global biotech industry, with some market experts expecting it to reach $2.2 billion by 2017. RBCC is nearing a deal with a company that specializes in the cutting-edge science of pharmacogenomics, a field of study resulting from the Human Genome Project that seeks to help doctors assess genetic variations in patients in order to create more effective, optimized drug treatment plans.

Pharmacogenomics could be the key to truly personalized medicine, which RBCC views as the future of healthcare.

For more information on Rainbow BioSciences personalized medicine initiatives, please visitwww.rainbowbiosciences.com/investors.html.

Rainbow BioSciences will develop new medical and research technology innovations to compete alongside companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY),Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN).

About Rainbow BioSciences

Rainbow BioSciences, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (OTCBB:RBCC). The Company continually seeks out new partnerships with biotechnology developers to deliver profitable new medical technologies and innovations. For more information on our growth-oriented business initiatives, please visitwww.RainbowBioSciences.com. For investment information and performance data on the Company, please visitwww.RainbowBioSciences.com/investors.html.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipate" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, description of anyone's past success, either financial or strategic, is no guarantee of future success. This news release speaks as of the date first set forth above and the Company assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof.

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RBCC Nears Deal With Leading Genetic Testing Lab

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By Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News

In a Supreme Court test of whether a company can be granted a patent on the genes in the human body, a majority of the justices indicated during Monday's oral arguments that the court is likely to rule that a human gene cant be patented.

It would be one thing, several of the justices said during Mondays oral arguments, for a company to seek a patent on a test for breast cancer that was developed by analyzing a human gene, but it would be going too far to be awarded a patent on the gene itself.

"What's the difference between snipping off a piece of the liver or kidney, and seeking a patent on that, and seeking a patent on a piece of a gene?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Justice Samuel Alito made a different analogy, to someone seeking a patent on a plant found in the Amazon rain forest that bore leaves containing a cancer cure. "You could patent the process used to get the chemical out and the use of the result, but you cannot patent the plant," he said.

Stelios Varias / Reuters file photo

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington

The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, involves a test that has helped guide more than a million women in their medical decisions. The test can determine whether the composition of their genes makes them more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.

Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, owns patents on two parts of human genes known as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, named for the first two letters of the words breast and cancer.

Women with mutations in those genes face up to an 85 percent risk of getting breast cancer and up to a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Because of the patents, Myriad has a monopoly on performing all diagnostic tests related to BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.

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Patents for human genes?

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By Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News

In a Supreme Court test of whether a company can be granted a patent on the genes in the human body, a majority of the justices indicated during Monday's oral arguments that the court is likely to rule that a human gene cant be patented.

It would be one thing, several of the justices said during Mondays oral arguments, for a company to seek a patent on a test for breast cancer that was developed by analyzing a human gene, but it would be going too far to be awarded a patent on the gene itself.

"What's the difference between snipping off a piece of the liver or kidney, and seeking a patent on that, and seeking a patent on a piece of a gene?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Justice Samuel Alito made a different analogy, to someone seeking a patent on a plant found in the Amazon rain forest that bore leaves containing a cancer cure. "You could patent the process used to get the chemical out and the use of the result, but you cannot patent the plant," he said.

Stelios Varias / Reuters file photo

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington

The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, involves a test that has helped guide more than a million women in their medical decisions. The test can determine whether the composition of their genes makes them more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.

Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, owns patents on two parts of human genes known as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, named for the first two letters of the words breast and cancer.

Women with mutations in those genes face up to an 85 percent risk of getting breast cancer and up to a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Because of the patents, Myriad has a monopoly on performing all diagnostic tests related to BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.

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Supreme Court: Can human genes be patented?

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15 April 2013 Last updated at 12:30 ET

Breakthroughs in understanding how diseases like Alzheimer's and bowel cancer take hold have been highlights of 10 years of a Welsh genetic research "hothouse," says its head.

The Wales Gene Park is marking a decade of academic developments and turning research into treatments for the NHS.

Director Julian Sampson said Wales was recognised for its genetic research.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said the park's work was modernising the health service and improving future health.

The Wales Gene Park has bases at both Cardiff and Swansea universities.

One of the centre's achievements has been the development of a drug treatment for an inherited disorder known as tuberous sclerosis.

This causes multiple tumours to grow on the body's organs and in certain serious cases can be fatal.

The pace of technological developments is very quick

"Genetic research in Cardiff identified the gene that causes inherited tuberous sclerosis and we then worked out the functions of these genes," said Prof Sampson.

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Genetic hothouse celebrates 10 years

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Officials from the Centre for Food Safety take chickens out from cages on a truck from mainland China at a border checkpoint in Hong Kong April 11, 2013. New rapid tests for the H7N9 bird flu strain have come into effect on Thursday at the border on live poultry being brought into Hong Kong, according to a government radio report. ( Bobby Yip / Reuters)

CHICAGO -- Even as U.S. officials this week awaited the arrival of a sample of the new bird flu virus from China -- typically the first step in making a flu vaccine -- government-backed researchers had already begun testing a "seed" strain of the virus made from the genetic code posted on the Internet.

This new, faster approach is the result of a collaboration among the U.S. government, vaccine maker Novartis and a unit of the J. Craig Venter Institute, which is using synthetic biology -- in which scientists take the genetic code of the virus and use it as a recipe to build the virus from scratch.

It was an idea born in the aftermath of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, in which production delays and poor-quality seed strain slowed delivery of the vaccine until October, late enough that people were already sick with swine flu.

The new method has shaved two weeks off the vaccine-making process. It will take five to six months to ramp up production, but even weeks could make a difference in the case of a potentially deadly flu pandemic, said Robin Robinson, director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA.

"We'll take it," said Robinson, whose agency handles pandemic preparedness as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "If the virus turns out to be a tough one, that could be very important."

At least 33 people have been infected and 10 have died from the strain of bird flu known as avian influenza A (H7N9) first found in humans last month. So far, the strain does not appear capable of being passed from person to person.

But Chinese researchers, in a report published online on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, warned that the sudden emergence of this strain of flu "may pose a serious human health risk" and said "appropriate counter measures were urgently required."

Soul Searching

An especially deadly strain of bird flu in 2003 known as H5N1 had already raised the threat of a global pandemic, spurring more than $2 billion in government contracts to shore up U.S. flu vaccine manufacturing capabilities.

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Genetic code used to speed progress on bird flu vaccine

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Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The new bird flu strain that has so far killed 11 people in China has been showing signs that it is quickly adapting to mammalian (particularly human) hosts, according to a new study led by Masato Tashiro of the Influenza Virus Research Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Japan, along with Yoshiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWMadison) and the University of Tokyo.

Despite the growing fears that humans are readily being affected by this new strain, with at least 40 confirmed cases of sickness, the researchers maintain that it is still too early to predict potential for a global pandemic. The research was published April 11 in the journal Eurosurveillance.

The findings were drawn from genetic analysis of the new H7N9 virus strain. Samples of the strain had been deposited into an international database by Chinese researchers hoping to get a grip on the virus early. The research results are significant, as the first cases were seen less than three weeks ago the first human cases were reported on March 31 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The research group examined the genetic sequences of H7N9 isolates from four human victims as well as samples from birds and environs of the Shanghai market where the birds were being sold.

Study coauthor Kawaoka, an avian influenza expert, said: The human isolates, but not the avian and environmental ones, have a protein mutation that allows for efficient growth in human cells and that also allows them to grow at a temperature that corresponds to the upper respiratory tract of humans, which is lower than you find in birds.

When the research news broke four days ago, human cases were at 33 illnesses with nine deaths. Todays figures confirm that cases are growing steadily, but still do not facilitate fears that a pandemic is in the making. Kawaoka said, however, that gaining access to the genetic information in the virus will help researchers understand how the virus is evolving and allowing for the development of a vaccine to prevent further infection.

Influenza depends on its ability to attach and take control of living cells in order to replicate and spread effectively. Avian bird flu rarely infects humans, but can pose a significant health risk if and when it does adapt.

These viruses possess several characteristic features of mammalian influenza viruses, which likely contribute to their ability to infect humans and raise concerns regarding their pandemic potential, Kawaoka and his colleagues said in the report.

The majority of the viruses the researchers examined in the study those that derived from both human and birds have been found to display mutations in the surface protein hemagglutinin, which the virus uses to bind to host cells. Kawaoka explained that those mutations allowed the pathogen to easily adapt to infect human cells.

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Genetic Analysis Of H7N9 Bird Flu Strain Reveals Easy Adaptation To Humans

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By Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News

In a Supreme Court test of whether a company can be granted a patent on the genes in the human body, a majority of the justices indicated during Monday's oral arguments that the court is likely to rule that a human gene cant be patented.

It would be one thing, several of the justices said during Mondays oral arguments, for a company to seek a patent on a test for breast cancer that was developed by analyzing a human gene, but it would be going too far to be awarded a patent on the gene itself.

"What's the difference between snipping off a piece of the liver or kidney, and seeking a patent on that, and seeking a patent on a piece of a gene?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Justice Samuel Alito made a different analogy, to someone seeking a patent on a plant found in the Amazon rain forest that bore leaves containing a cancer cure. "You could patent the process used to get the chemical out and the use of the result, but you cannot patent the plant," he said.

Stelios Varias / Reuters file photo

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington

The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, involves a test that has helped guide more than a million women in their medical decisions. The test can determine whether the composition of their genes makes them more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.

Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, owns patents on two parts of human genes known as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, named for the first two letters of the words breast and cancer.

Women with mutations in those genes face up to an 85 percent risk of getting breast cancer and up to a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Because of the patents, Myriad has a monopoly on performing all diagnostic tests related to BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.

Read the rest here:
Can human genes be patented? Supreme Court weighs genetic test

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Labrador CNM Genetic Marker Test Animal Genetics Tallahassee Fl
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SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2013) - Atossa Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), The Breast Health Company, today announced the launch of a new National Awareness Program, including a video to educate women and health care providers on the prevention of breast cancer by early testing for pre-cancerous breast conditions using The ForeCYTE Breast Health Test. The video is available on Atossa's home page at http://www.atossagenetics.com and is being distributed directly to healthcare providers nationwide.

As the first step in the awareness program, Atossa has released the new video to inform women and their doctors about Atossa's "Pap smear for the breast" for early detection of cancerous cells and pre-cancerous conditions. While mammograms can detect cancer, Atossa's test detects treatable pre-cancerous conditions in the breast up to eight years before cancer arises. In women with certain pre-cancerous changes, breast cancer incidence can be reduced by as much as 86 percentwith existing medical treatments.

In addition, women with dense breasts, whom research shows may be at a higher risk for breast cancer and for whom mammograms are often less reliable, can be tested easily with the ForeCYTE test in their healthcare providers' office.

"Early testing for certain pre-cancerous conditions of the breast that, if left untreated, can lead to breast cancer, is immensely valuable to patients and their loved ones," said Chris Destro, Vice President. "Our video(s), website, blog and interactive National Awareness Program are designed to be a new source of information for consumers and healthcare providers seeking to learn about new, non-invasive detection options, like the ForeCYTE test."

In the video, Kathryn J. Wood, M.D., F.A.C.O.G, a Board Certified OB/GYN who now uses Atossa's ForeCYTE Breast Health Test in her practice in the Dallas area, notes that early detection is key to saving lives and encourages her patients to be tested for pre-cancerous changes, which Atossa believes is important in reducing the incidence of breast cancer.

Updates to the Atossa National Awareness Program will be announced periodically and on CEO Dr. Steven Quay's blog, which can be accessed through Atossa's website at http://atossagenetics.com/blog/.

About the ForeCYTE Breast Health Test

The ForeCYTE Breast Health Test, intended for the 110 million women in the U.S. ages 18 to 73, is a painless, quick and non-invasive procedure that can be done in a physician's office. A small sample of fluid, aspirated from the nipple of each breast with the Company's modified breast pump, can provide vital early detection of cancer or pre-cancerous conditions that may progress to cancer over an approximately eight year period and before cancer can be detected by mammography or other means and without the risks of radiation, especially in women younger than age 50. No invasive biopsy needles or open surgical incisions are used in the Atossa test and the test is painless.

Just as the Pap smear has reduced cervical cancer rates by over 70 percent, becoming the most successful screening test in medicine, the goal of Atossa Genetics is to reduce the stubbornly high rate of breast cancer through the early detection of the precursor changes that can lead to breast cancer and the treatment of those early changes.

About Atossa Genetics, Inc.

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Atossa Genetics Launches Nationwide Awareness Program for Breast Cancer Prevention Test

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Is Autism ready for personalized medicine? Clinical Seminar with Dr. Peter Szatmari
Date: Monday, January 28, 2013 Location: McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada Dr. Peter Szatmari, Professor and Head, Division of Child a...

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Is Autism ready for personalized medicine? Clinical Seminar with Dr. Peter Szatmari - Video

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Is Autism ready for personalized medicine? Research Seminar with Dr. Karun Singh
Date: Monday, January 28, 2013 Location: McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada Dr. Karun Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochem...

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Spinal cord injury,weight lifting,
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1. Introduction and About this Video - Spinal Cord Injury 101
Judy Fortin welcomes you and introduces Spinal Cord Injury 101. This video, created by KPKinteractive for Shepherd Center and its project partners, uses simp...

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3. Understanding Spinal Cord Injury- Spinal Cord Injury 101
Explanations of the causes, effects, and classifications of spinal cord injury. This video, created by KPKinteractive for Shepherd Center and its project par...

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5A. Levels of Injury Explained - High Cervical- Spinal Cord Injury 101
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Spinal Cord Injury with IVDD
In his introduction to "Common Sense Approach to the #39;Back #39; Patient," Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS explains that there are primary and secondary injuries sustai...

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Vatican hosts conference on advancements in stem cell therapy
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Washington, April 14 (ANI): Some sexual assault victims who report having severe pain across multiple body regions, experience stress-induced hyperalgesia, resulting from release of endogenous opioids.

Now, a new study has shown that the presence of a genetic variant could significantly reduce pain severity associated with assault.

An initial period of analgesia is followed by delayed onset of persistent and widespread hyperalgesia. Gene variants have been associated with the u-opioid receptor and the most common variant is the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) A118G. Individuals with one or more copies of variant gene (allele) at the A118G have shown poor analgesic response to opioids.

A research team at the University of North Carolina hypothesized that activation of u-opioid receptors causes stress-induced hyperalgesia after a sexual assault and survivors with one or more copies of the variant gene at the A118G receptor would experience less receptor-mediated hyperalgesia and less pain in the initial weeks following the assault.

Women 18 years and older presenting for treatment by sexual assault nurse examiners working in ten different health systems were recruited for the study. The women were interviewed after one week and six weeks for evaluation of their pain symptoms. Genotyping was performed on all 52 study participants. The gene variant was found in 12 women (23%) and all were Caucasian.

The study results showed that the women with the gene variant resulting in reduced response to u-opioid receptor binding had clinically relevant reductions in pain severity.

The findings suggest that women with one of more alleles at A118G may experience both a reduced analgesic response to endogenous opioids and a reduction in delayed-onset, more long-lasting opioid mediated hyperalgesia.

The finding suggests that endogenous opioid-mediated hyperalgesia may contribute to pain symptoms after sexual assault.

The study has been published in The Journal of Pain. (ANI)

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Gene predicts pain recovery after sexual assault

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A team of researchers, led by a UC Davis plant scientist, has identified a lettuce gene and related enzyme that put the brakes on germination during hot weather -- a discovery that could lead to lettuces that can sprout year-round, even at high temperatures.

The study also included researchers from Arcadia Biosciences and Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, India.

The finding is particularly important to the nearly $2 billion lettuce industries of California and Arizona, which together produce more than 90 percent of the nation's lettuce. The study results appear online in the journal The Plant Cell.

"Discovery of the genes will enable plant breeders to develop lettuce varieties that can better germinate and grow to maturity under high temperatures," said the study's lead author Kent Bradford, a professor of plant sciences and director of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center.

"And because this mechanism that inhibits hot-weather germination in lettuce seeds appears to be quite common in many plant species, we suspect that other crops also could be modified to improve their germination," he said. "This could be increasingly important as global temperatures are predicted to rise."

Most lettuce varieties flower in spring or early summer and then drop their seeds -- a trait that is likely linked to their origin in the Mediterranean region, which, like California, characteristically has dry summers. Scientists have observed for years that a

In the California and Arizona lettuce industries, lettuce seeds are planted somewhere every day of the year -- even in September in the Imperial Valley of California and near Yuma, Ariz., where fall temperatures frequently reach 110 degrees.

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Gene discovery may yield hot weather lettuce, according to UC Davis research

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Scientists have identified a group of patients with a genetic predisposition to mental illness, opening up for the first time the prospect of personalised medicine in psychiatry.

Personalised medicine involves identifying groups of patients whose genes make them susceptible to certain diseases and responsive to certain drugs.

Researchers from University College, London (UCL) studied 1,000 patients with bipolar disorder and found 1.7 per cent carried a mutation in an important brain receptor gene putting them at increased risk of the disease.

The findings suggest the patients with the mutation, called GRM3, could be treated with existing drugs which are not currently used for bipolar disorder.

Hugh Gurling, a molecular psychiatry professor at UCL, who led the study published in JAMA Psychiatry, said many different genes were involved in causing bipolar disorder. These were the first mutations increasing susceptibility to the illness to be identified.

Examining the underlying genetics of the disease enabled psychiatrists to predict who would respond to different drugs. Two drugs trialled for schizophrenia and anxiety disorder could be effective in bipolar disorder, Professor Gurling said.

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Genetic tests may help bipolar disorder patients

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Genetics of Bitter Taste Perception
Holiday Lectures On Science 2011 Genetics of Bitter Taste Perception Afternoon Discussino with Sarah Tishkoff and Michael Campbell.

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Vaults of Terra - (Space Marine) Chapters - Blood Angels Pt.2 - Genetics and Culture
The second Blood Angels Chapter video detailing the nature of their genetic quirks and how it has and effect on their culture, As always, votes below or via ...

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2012-06-19T190639Z_1_LOVE85I1H329J_RTRMADV_STREAM-700-16X9-FLV_TAIWAN-GENE-THERAPY-TRACKED-O
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