birth defect
The first genetic link in the evolution of the heart from three-chambered to four-chambered has been found, illuminating part of the puzzle of how birds and mammals became warm-blooded.
Frogs have a three-chambered heart. It consists of two atria and one ventricle.
Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have traced the evolution of the four-chambered human heart to a common genetic factor linked to the development of hearts in turtles and other reptiles.
The research, published in the September 3 issue of the journal Nature, shows how a specific protein that turns on genes is involved in heart formation in turtle
A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and sometimes autism, providing a new mechanism and potentially improving treatment for the disorder.
New research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center highlights the critical role a certain gene and its protein play during early embryonic development on formation of a normal heart and skull.
Gregg Duester, Ph.D., professor of developmental biology at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), along with Xianling Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues, have clarified the role that retinoic acid plays in limb development.
LA JOLLA, Calif., June 9, 2009 -- Gregg Duester, Ph.D., professor of developmental biology at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), along with Xianling Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues, have clarified the role that retinoic acid plays in limb development.
Dr. Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded the Institut de France’s prestigious Lefoulon-Delalande Foundation Grand Prize for his work on gene regulation in the cardiovascular system.
The prize has an international reputation as the most prestigious award in cardiovascular research.
TORONTO, Ont., April 16 2009 -- Immigrant women are less likely to use folic acid supplements before pregnancy to prevent spina bifida, particularly those who recently immigrated to the country, according to a new study led by a St. Michael's Hospital physician in collaboration with Statistics Canada, Health Canada and the University of Toronto.
Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.
A system of opposing genetic forces determines why mammals develop a single row of teeth, while sharks sport several, according to a study published today in the journal Science. When completely understood, the genetic program described in the study may help guide efforts to re-grow missing teeth and prevent cleft palate, one of the most common birth defects.
Researchers have found a way to mimic epileptic seizures in the tiny roundworm C. elegans. The finding could make the worm a powerful model for unraveling the molecular regulation of epilepsy, a condition that affects two percent of the population. Researchers studied worms with a mutation in the LIS1 gene. In its human form, the gene has been linked to a rare birth defect called lissencephaly, which affects one out of every 30,000 children born. In children with lissencephaly, the normally wrinkled surface of the brain's cortex is smooth. They also have mental retardation and severe epilepsy, the causes of which are not well understood.
