Research proves no 2 of us are alike, even identical twins

Study tries to pinpoint the genetic determinants of schizophrenia

2011-03-29

(Press-News.org) Just like snowflakes, no two people are alike, even if they're identical twins according to new genetic research from The University of Western Ontario. Molecular geneticist Shiva Singh has been working with psychiatrist Dr. Richard O'Reilly to determine the genetic sequencing of schizophrenia using identical or monozygotic twins. The study is published in this month's PLoS ONE.

Singh looked at about one million markers of identical twins (and their two parents) where only one twin had schizophrenia. "The most informative feature of schizophrenia is that it sometimes runs in the family. So, for example, the risk of developing schizophrenia is much higher if your brother, sister, mother or father have the disease," says Singh, noting in the general population about one percent have schizophrenia. "We started with the belief that monozygotic twins are genetically identical, so if one member of identical twins has schizophrenia, then the risk for the other twin should be 100 percent, if it's all due to genes. However, studies over the years have shown that the risk of the disease in both twins is only 50 percent." That means either the twins are genetically not identical or the familial disease involves non-genetic (random) effects.

Singh and his team have now demonstrated that the monozygotic twins are not genetically identical. "So if schizophrenia is in the genes, then the difference in the genetic makeup of monozygotic twins, with only one disease twin, must have something to do with the disease." Singh found about 12 per cent of DNA can vary across individuals, "Cells are dividing as we develop and differentiate. More importantly, these cells may lose or acquire additional DNA. The genome is not static."

Dr. O'Reilly hopes this research will lead to better understanding and improved treatments for schizophrenia. "If we had a genetic test for schizophrenia, it could be applied early in the disease when it's hard to make that diagnosis," says Dr. O'Reilly.

INFORMATION:

The research was funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ontario Mental Health Foundation and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How do plants fight disease?

2011-03-29

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – How exactly bacterial pathogens cause diseases in plants remains a mystery and continues to frustrate scientists working to solve this problem. Now Wenbo Ma, a young plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside, has performed research on the soybean plant in the lab that makes major inroads into our understanding of plant-pathogen interactions, a rapidly developing area among the plant sciences. Her breakthrough research can help scientists come up with effective strategies to treat crops that have succumbed to disease or, when used ...

Total Mortgage Services Receives District of Columbia Mortgage Lender License

2011-03-29

Total Mortgage Services, LLC, a leading mortgage lender, announced today that it has received its District of Columbia Mortgage Lender License from Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and can now originate residential mortgage loans in the District of Columbia. Total Mortgage is licensed as a mortgage lender in District of Columbia and holds Mortgage Lender License NMLS2764. "We are excited about now being able to help borrowers throughout Washington DC with their current purchase and refinancing needs," commented John Walsh, President of Total Mortgage. ...

MadCap Software Wins Patent for Structure Bar Technology in XML-based MadCap Flare Publishing Software

2011-03-29

MadCap Software, Inc. (http://www.madcapsoftware.com), the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded MadCap a patent for its "Visual Document Structure Indicator" technology. The patented design provides the basis of the Structure Bars in MadCap Flare, MadCap's flagship XML-based software for single-source multi-channel publishing, which give users unprecedented ease in creating and publishing structured content. Structure ...

Indications of Alzheimer's disease may be evident decades before first signs of cognitive impairment

2011-03-29

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that patients with Alzheimer's disease have lower glucose utilization in the brain than those with normal cognitive function, and that those decreased levels may be detectable approximately 20 years prior to the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This new finding could lead to the development of novel therapies to prevent the eventual onset of Alzheimer's. The study is published online in the journal Translational Neuroscience. Using mice modified to develop Alzheimer's disease, the research team found that ...

Icebergs in the Antarctic play important role in carbon cycle

2011-03-29

Icebergs cool and dilute the ocean water they pass through and also affect the distribution carbon-dioxide-absorbing phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean, according to a team of researchers from UC San Diego and the University of San Diego. The effects are likely to influence the growth of phytoplankton in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and especially in an area known as "Iceberg Alley" east of the Antarctic Peninsula. Enhanced phytoplankton growth would increase the rate at which carbon dioxide is removed from the ocean, an important process in the carbon ...

Butterfly study reveals traits and genes associated with establishment of new populations

2011-03-29

A team of scientists has discovered that descendants of "exploratory" butterflies that colonized new habitats differ genetically from their more cautious cousins. The team, led by James Marden, a professor of biology at Penn State University, and Christopher Wheat, a post-doctoral scholar working at both Penn State and the University of Helsinki, has revealed some of the genetic bases for faster egg maturation, a higher rate of energy metabolism, and superior flight ability -- traits that provide an advantage to butterflies that stray from familiar territory to found new ...

Full Version of "Shooting Blocks" by AdoreGames.com

2011-03-29

Starting from the end of 2010 AdoreStudio Ltd has been working hard on elaborating new captivating casual games. Today the company releases their first full version of "Shooting Blocks" and invites casual game lovers to download it from the company's website www.adoregames.com. "Shooting Blocks" is a logical game which will fascinate lovers of brain teasers and those who enjoy solving challenging puzzles. Although the first levels are relatively easy, within every new level the difficulty grows, which lets the player brush up on his skills. Besides logical abilities ...

Wind can keep mountains from growing

2011-03-29

Wind is a much more powerful force in the evolution of mountains than previously thought, according to a new report from a University of Arizona-led research team. Bedrock in Central Asia that would have formed mountains instead was sand-blasted into dust, said lead author Paul Kapp. "No one had ever thought that wind could be this effective," said Kapp, a UA associate professor of geosciences. "You won't read in a textbook that wind is a major process in terms of breaking down rock material." Rivers and glaciers are the textbook examples of forces that wear down ...

DerekJay Productions Launches Amazon Promotional Codes: Never Pay Full Price On Amazon Again!

2011-03-29

For a long time, Amazon.com shoppers throughout the United States have found themselves constantly searching for promotional and discount codes for the products they wish to purchase or are interested in. Whilst there are many websites online which offer such codes, few (if any) focus solely on the Amazon market. This often results in inaccurate codes, untargeted deals and ultimately a waste of the browsers' time. Amazon Promotional Codes aims to fill this gap by providing promotional codes, vouchers, offers and news focused purely on Amazon.com. Users can search for ...

The dark side of spring? Pollution in our melting snow

2011-03-29

TORONTO, ON – With birds chirping and temperatures warming, spring is finally in the air. But for University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) environmental chemist Torsten Meyer, springtime has a dark side. "During the winter months, contaminants accumulate in the snow," says Meyer, an expert on snow-bound organic contaminants and a post-doctoral fellow at UTSC. "When the snow melts, these chemicals are released into the environment at high concentrations." In a specially designed, temperature-controlled laboratory at UTSC—which includes a homemade snow-gun and a chemical ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski