News

What if the key to a better understanding of schizophrenia has been here all along--but researchers haven't had the resources to study it?

Now, thanks to the pooled data and insights from researchers around the world, USC researchers have the clearest picture yet of brain abnormalities associated with the serious mental illness that impacts 20 million people worldwide.

Now a new NIPT has been reported in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics in February 2020, which provides evidence that single cell whole DNA analysis using rarely occurring live fetal cells in the maternal circulation, based on a modified PCR technique, has high sensitivity and specificity in picking up DNA abnormalities. This enhances the chances of detecting fetal genetic anomalies.

The scientists from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute and Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, (USA) analyzed the risks of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) depending on the particular variant in the APOE gene.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan and colleagues at Osaka University have found genetic variations in humans related to specific dietary habits. The genome-wide association study found 9 gene locations associated with eating and drinking foods like meat, tofu, cheese, tea, and coffee. Among them, three were also related to having particular diseases such as cancer or diabetes.

Duchenne type muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common hereditary muscular disease among children, leaving them wheelchair-bound before the age of 12 and reducing life expectancy. Researchers have developed a gene therapy that may provide permanent relief for those suffering from DMD.

In China, the medical guidelines recommend performing noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) with caution for pregnant women aged 35 years or older. However, the Mother and Child Health Care Law suggests that all primiparous women whose age is older than 35 years undergo prenatal diagnosis. Chinese researchers (Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University) conducted a retrospective study of 189,809 NIPT samples collected from 28 provincial-leveled administrative units in China and proved the effectiveness of the method.