March
March 30, 2008:
Major Collaboration Uncovers Surprising New Genetic Clues to Diabetes
An international team that included scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reports it has identified six more genetic variants involved in type 2 diabetes, boosting to 16 the total number of genetic risk factors associated with increased risk of the disease. Intriguingly, the new variant most strongly associated with type 2 diabetes also was recently implicated in a very different condition: prostate cancer. The unprecedented analysis was published in the advance online edition of Nature Genetics.
March 17, 2008:
NIH Launches Center to Study
Genomics and Health Disparities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the establishment of the NIH Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities (NICGHD), a new venue for research about the way populations are impacted by diseases, including obesity, diabetes and hypertension. NICGHD will employ a genomics approach, collecting and analyzing genetic, clinical, lifestyle and socio-economic data to study a range of clinical conditions that have puzzled and troubled public health experts for decades.
March 16, 2008:
Scientists Identify New Leads for Treating Parasitic Worm Disease
A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health Roadmap and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases identifies chemical compounds that hold promise as potential therapies for schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts more than 200 million people worldwide.
March 4, 2008:
Genome-Wide Association Study on Parkinson's Disease
Finds Public Home at NIH
Data from one of the first genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which focused on Parkinson's diseases and was funded in part by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF), is now available to researchers through the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), both of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
February
February 14, 2008:
NIH Collaborates with EPA to Improve the Safety Testing of Chemicals
Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who have announced a new toxicity testing agreement.
January
January 22, 2008:
International Consortium Announces the 1000 Genomes Project
An international research consortium announces the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least a thousand people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.
January 13, 2008:
International Effort Finds New Genetic Variants Associated with Lipid Levels, Risk for Coronary Artery Disease
In an international collaboration supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists discover more than 25 genetic variants in 18 genes connected to cholesterol and lipid levels. In the investigation, published online January 13 and in the February print issue of Nature Genetics, the associated genes were found through studies of more than 20,000 individuals and more than 2 million genetic variants, spanning the entire genome.
January 13, 2008:
Researchers Uncover New Piece to the Puzzle of Human Height
In studies involving more than 35,000 people and a survey across the entire human genome, an international team supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found evidence that common genetic variants recently linked to osteoarthritis may also play a minor role in human height. The findings were released in the advance online publication of the journal Nature Genetics.
Last Updated: May 7, 2008
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