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Public Release: 3-Dec-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Malaria parasite's masquerade ball could be coming to an end
More than a million people die each year of malaria caused by different strains of the Plasmodium parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. By figuring out how the most dangerous strain evades the watchful eye of the immune system, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now paved the way for the development of new approaches to cure this acute infection.

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Genetics
Insights into the genetic causes of coronary artery disease and heart attacks
By identifying a further 15 genetic regions and 104 independent genetic variants associated with coronary artery disease, one of the most common causes of death in the worldwith, researchers have identified some of the most prominent biological pathways that underlie the disease. These pathways that control CAD could be targets for the development of new drug treatments in the future.

Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Big genomics data, big scientific impact: New challenges for further development of life science
BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, today announced its latest advances in the analysis, management and dissemination of "Big Genomics Data" at their 3rd bioinformatics software and data release conference.

Public Release: 28-Nov-2012

Nature
Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property
Many of the world's most important photosynthetic eukaryotes such as plants got their light-harnessing organelles (chloroplasts) indirectly from other organisms through endosymbiosis. In some instances, this resulted in algae with multiple, distinct genomes, some in residual organelles (nucleomorphs). To better understand why nucleomorphs persist after endosymbiosis, an international team including researchers at the DOE Joint Genome Institute collaborated to sequence and analyze two tiny algae. Their report appeared online Nov. 29, 2012 in Nature.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Human Molecular Genetics
Researchers find chemical 'switches' for neurodegenerative diseases
By using a model, researchers at the University of Montreal have identified and "switched off" a chemical chain that causes neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and dementia. The findings could one day be of particular therapeutic benefit to Huntington's disease patients.

Public Release: 25-Nov-2012

Nature Genetics
Chinese scientists decode watermelon genome, possible future benefits for crop improvement
An international team led by Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, BGI, and other institutes has completed the genomic sequence of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and the resequencing of 20 watermelon accessions. The genomic data presented in this study will shape future efforts on watermelon genetics and evolutionary research, and also provide an invaluable resource for other plants research and crop genetic improvement.

Public Release: 23-Nov-2012
An international competition reaffirms the potential of bioinformatics in the diagnosis of disease
The biosciences are generating enormous amounts of data at unprecedented speeds. Making sense of these data and extracting reliable information from databases is an increasingly difficult and complex task. Backed by the scientific community, IBM Research and PMI R&D launched IMPROVER (Industrial Methodology for PROcess VErification in Research) with the aim of challenging the world's best computational researchers to demonstrate the power of their methods to exploit genomic information to extract predictive and clinical indicators that are reliable and verifiable.

Public Release: 21-Nov-2012
New public gut bacteria study expected to reach around world
Ever wondered who is living in your gut, and what they're doing? The trillions of microbial partners in and on our bodies outnumber our own cells by as many as 10 to one and do all sorts of important jobs, from helping digest the food we eat this Thanksgiving to building up our immune systems.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 21-Nov-2012
Solving big research questions with statistics wins 2012 Victoria Prize
Professor Terry Speed, a senior researcher at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, was today awarded a 2012 Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation.

Victorian Government

Public Release: 19-Nov-2012
New Informatics and Bioimaging Center combines resources, expertise from UMD, UMB
A new center that combines advanced computing resources at the University of Maryland, College Park with clinical data and biomedical expertise at the University of Maryland, Baltimore could soon revolutionize the efficiency and effectiveness of health care in the state of Maryland and beyond.

Public Release: 15-Nov-2012
Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation grants $100,000 to TGen
The Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation has donated the funds to a research project led by Dr. Heather Cunliffe, head of TGen's Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research Unit. The research will focus on a specific and difficult-to-treat type of cancer called primary Luminal B breast cancer -- one of at least five major subtypes of breast cancer.

Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation

Public Release: 15-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Study Tracks Brain Gene Response to Territorial Aggression
With a mate and a nest to protect, the male threespined stickleback is a fierce fish, chasing and biting other males until they go away. Now researchers are mapping the genetic underpinnings of the stickleback's aggressive behavior. Armed with tools that allow them to see which genes are activated or deactivated in response to social encounters, a team from the University of Illinois has identified broad patterns of gene activity that correspond to aggression in this fish.

Public Release: 14-Nov-2012
22 young group leaders recognized as European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigators
European Molecular Biology Organization announced today the selection of 22 young researchers as EMBO Young Investigators.

European Molecular Biology Organization

Public Release: 13-Nov-2012

Lancet Infectious Diseases
Bacterial DNA sequence used to map an infection outbreak
This study used DNA sequencing to examine an outbreak of MRSA in a hospital, to uncover new cases and, as the study developed, to intervene in the outbreak to end it more quickly. Sequencing illuminated each person infected and described the transmission of MRSA between people coming to the hospital and within the hospital. This is believed to be the first time that sequencing has been used to close an infectious outbreak and will be published in Lancet Infectious Diseases.

UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative, Wellcome Trust, Health Protection Agency

Public Release: 12-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Study offers new tool for incorporating water impacts into policy decisions
A new policy-making framework published in the Nov. 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a tool for assessing and valuing the many services clean water provides -- from recreation and beauty to navigation and hydropower -- and incorporating them into policy decisions.

Public Release: 7-Nov-2012

American Society of Human Genetics 2012 Annual Meeting
CeGaT and Genomatix finalists of Boston Children's Hospital's CLARITY challenge
CeGaT GmbH, the Department of Prostate Cancer Research at the University Hospital Bonn and Genomatix Software GmbH were announced as finalist of the CLARITY challenge today. CeGaT and Genomatix will now offer their complete genetic analysis service to another six families (six trios or 18 exomes) for free. Genomatix also announced the pre-release of GeneGrid, a tool designed to help medical researchers identifying pathogenic genomic variations in humans.

Public Release: 6-Nov-2012
Global metabolomic initiative announced
Investigators at Washington University and The Scripps Research Institute have announced the launch of a "Global Metabolomic Initiative" to facilitate meta-analyses on studies of the metabolism of bacteria, yeast, plants, animals and people. Although metabolomics has existed as a discipline for only a decade, it has already provided insights into many difficult-to-treat diseases, including chronic pain. Many more are expected to fall out of the meta-analyses.

National Institutes of Health, US Department of Energy, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Public Release: 6-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A new computational method for timing the tree of life
Sudhir Kumar, director of the Center for Evolutionary Medicine and Informatics at ASU's Biodesign Institute has developed a new method for calculating species divergence, delivering accurate results at 1,000 times the speed of conventional techniques.

Public Release: 5-Nov-2012

Genome Research
Computers 'taught' to ID regulating gene sequences
Johns Hopkins researchers have succeeded in teaching computers how to identify commonalities in DNA sequences known to regulate gene activity, and to then use those commonalities to predict other regulatory regions throughout the genome. The tool is expected to help scientists better understand disease risk and cell development.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH/National Library of Medicine, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Science Foundation, Searle Scholars

Public Release: 2-Nov-2012

Biophysical Society 57th Annual Meeting
Biophysical Society names 5 2013 award recipients
The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of four of its 2013 Society awards. These individuals will be honored at the Awards Symposium at the Society's 57th Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. In addition to receiving their awards at that time, each will give a presentation.

Public Release: 2-Nov-2012

Biophysical Society 57th Annual Meeting
Biophysical Society names 2013 Distinguished Service, Emily M. Gray, and Founders awardees
The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 Distinguished Service Award, the Emily M. Gray Award, and the Founders Award. These Society members will be honored at the National Lecture on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa. The Emily M. Gray Awardee will also give a presentation at the Undergraduate Student Symposium on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013.

Public Release: 1-Nov-2012

Nature
Bigger human genome pool uncovers rarer variants
Thanks to powerful computational tools developed at Simon Fraser University, more than 100 scientists from around the world have genetically mapped the largest and most varied number of human genomes to date. The researchers used computational tools to discover many variants in those genomes. Their findings have just been published in the Nature journal article An integrated map of genetic variation from 1,092 human genomes now online.

Public Release: 1-Nov-2012

Journal of Clinical Investigation
Congenital diarrheal disorder linked to a mutation in DGAT1
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Robert Farese and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, identified a family with two of three children affected by CDD.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Gladstone Institutes, Pediatric IBD Foundation, Martin Schlaff

Public Release: 31-Oct-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Cellular landscaping: Predicting how, and how fast, cells will change
A NIST research team has developed a model for making quantifiable predictions of how a group of cells will react and change in response to a given environment or stimulus, and how quickly. The NIST model could have application in biomanufacturing and stem cell-based therapies, among other fields.

Public Release: 31-Oct-2012

Nature
Spot the difference
Scientists at EMBL and colleagues present the first map of human genetic variation that combines everything from tiny changes in the genetic code to major alterations in our chromosomes, based on the genomes of 1,092 healthy people from Europe, the Americas and East Asia. Their results, published in Nature, open new approaches for research on the genetic causes of disease.


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