Non-invasive genetic test for Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome highly accurate
13 June, 2012Current screening strategies for Down syndrome, caused by foetal trisomy 21 (T21), and Edwards syndrome, caused by foetal trisomy 18 (T18), have false positive rates of 2 to 3%, and false negative rates of 5% or higher. Now an international, multicentre cohort study finds that a genetic test to screen for trisomy 21 or 18 from a maternal blood sample is almost 100% accurate.
Genetic Code is completed with the ‘Proteomic Code’ and ‘Nucleic Acid Assisted Protein Folding’
13 June, 2012A major development has begun in the molecular biology and biotechnology industry, with the discovery of the ‘Proteomic Code’ and ‘Nucleic Acid Chaperons’. A US patent has recently been granted for biotechnological application of the Proteomic Code for design and ‘to Obtain Oligo-peptides Oligo-peptides with High Affinity to Query Proteins’.
Mystery of Tasmanian devil tumour deepens
07 June, 2012The degree of genetic difference to a tumour rapidly decimating the ranks of Tasmanian devils is not a factor in their likelihood of contracting the disease, according to research led by the University of Sydney.
Gene discovery to improve drug safety
06 June, 2012Researchers from Murdoch University have assisted in a groundbreaking discovery which could lead to the dramatic improvement of drug safety.
DNA discovery key to drought-resistant crops
05 June, 2012Scientists have pinpointed the ‘stay green’ DNA in barley in new research that may help farmers to grow better crops in areas of drought, heat and salinity.
Howzat work? The science of swing debunked
01 June, 2012 by Lauren Davis“The atmosphere feels very heavy, so you will have to wonder if the new ball will swing.” These are the words of former English cricket captain Michael Atherton, stating the commonly-held belief that high humidity equals high swing. But as researchers from the UK and NZ recently discovered, this is not the case - in fact it’s rather the opposite.
The smell of age
31 May, 2012Apparently humans can identify the age of other humans based on differences in body odour. Much of this ability is based on the capacity to identify odours of elderly individuals and, contrary to popular supposition, the so-called ‘old-person smell’ is rated as less intense and less unpleasant than body odours of middle-aged and young individuals.
Dual SKA site welcomed by CSIRO
30 May, 2012The international SKA Organisation in Manchester, UK, has announced that the AU$2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array radio telescope will be deployed in Australia-New Zealand, as well as South Africa.
Moon research to shed light on Earth’s development
29 May, 2012Researchers from Curtin University have received a three-year Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project grant to further investigate the early history of the moon. The work builds on previous uranium-lead dating of moon rocks from NASA’s Apollo 14 and 17 missions, adding samples from Apollo 12, 15 and 16.
Cancer treatment discovery opens tumours to immune cells
28 May, 2012Scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) have made exciting progress in their quest to help patients fight cancer using the body’s own immune system.
An antidote to ageing
26 May, 2012Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells’ surroundings, known as their ‘niche’, as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to ageing. Their findings have implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Genetic safety in numbers, platypus study finds
22 May, 2012Platypuses on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania are fighting fit but those on small islands are at high risk of being wiped out from disease, according to a University of Sydney study.
Tropical fruit’s role as skin cancer weapon
22 May, 2012An exciting breakthrough on the potential anti-skin-cancer properties of the tropical fruit mangosteen has earned its researcher, Flinders University PhD candidate Jing Jing Wang, a seat in the finals of a prestigious medical prize.
The Hall effect: demonstrate relativistic effects on your mobile phone
21 May, 2012The relativistic Hall effect, describing objects rotating at speeds comparable with the speed of light, has now been reported. The work sheds light on aspects of fundamental physics, and you can demonstrate some aspects of this with your mobile phone.
‘Next generation’ cancer treatment ready for clinical trials
21 May, 2012A new class of anticancer drugs which control the growth and spread of cancers and do so with minimal side effects is being developed by researchers at the University of Sydney.
