Researchers Create New System to Decode Genetic Risk for Psychiatric Disorders

The lab of Jason Stein, PhD, associate professor of genetics and member of the UNC Neuroscience Center, has created a controlled model system that could help researchers know more about the genetic variants that increase one’s risk for developing a psychiatric disorder.

Sequencing of the developing human brain uncovers hundreds of thousands of new gene transcripts

Using new sequencing technologies, UCLA and University of Pennsylvania researchers uncovered 214,516 unique isoforms in the developing neocortex — over 70% of which have not been previously studied.

Faster progression of multiple sclerosis associated with newly identified genetic variant

In a new study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an international team identified for the first time a genetic variant associated with faster progression of the disease and accumulation of disability. Despite the development of effective…

CHOP Researchers Develop New Computational Tool to Interpret Clinical Significance of Cancer Mutations

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a new tool to help researchers interpret the clinical significance of somatic mutations in cancer. The tool, known as CancerVar, incorporates machine learning frameworks to go beyond merely identifying somatic cancer mutations and interpret the potential significance of those mutations in terms of cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and targetability. A paper describing CancerVar was published today in Science Advances.

Study Identifies Genetic Anomaly Associated with Poor Response to Common Asthma Treatment

A new Cleveland Clinic study has uncovered a genetic anomaly associated with poor response to a common asthma treatment. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that asthmatic patients with the gene variant are less likely to respond to glucocorticoids and often develop severe asthma.

Genetic Variant Largely Found in Patients of African Descent Increases Risk for Heart Failure

A genetic variant in the gene transthyretin (TTR) is a more significant cause of heart failure than previously believed. The study also revealed that a disease caused by this genetic variant, called hereditary transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, is significantly underdiagnosed.