http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For the first time, scientists have combined genomic and proteomic analysis of blood plasma to enhance identification of genetically regulated protein traits. This could be applied to any large association study of civilization diseases where blood plasma has been collected, vastly improving a clinician's ability to identify disease susceptibility in individuals and populations. This advance is published in the February 2013 issue of the journal Genetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-combining-plasma-screening-methods-diagnostic.html Genetics Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:34:02 EST news279538434 Researchers at the Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University and the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, along with colleagues from 9 other institutions, have identified an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia. After screening over 160 mutant mouse strains with a systematic battery of behavioral tests, they identified a mutant mouse lacking the Schnurri-2 protein (Shn-2 KO) that exhibits behavioral deficits and other brain features consistent with schizophrenia. Shn-2 is an NF-kappaB site-binding protein that binds enhancers of major histocompatibility complex class I genes and inflammatory cytokines, which harbor common variant single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with schizophrenia. The Shn-2 KO mice display behavioral abnormalities that resemble the symptoms of human schizophrenia, including working memory deficits, impaired nest building behavior (a measure of self-neglect), decreased social behaviors, and anhedonia (loss of the ability to experience pleasure). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-induction-mild-inflammation-cognitive-deficits.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:50:11 EST news279366453 Scarring of the airways can lead to long-term breathing problems for some people exposed to high levels of chlorine gas from events such as an industrial accident, chemical spill following a train derailment or terroristic chemical warfare. Household mishaps from mixing bleach with acidic cleaning products also can cause release of chlorine gas; if this occurs in a poorly ventilated space, chlorine levels could be high enough to cause lung injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientist-uncovers-airway-cells-regenerate.html Medical research Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:00:01 EST news275073447 Mice drink more alcohol during the dark cycle compared to daytime.  The discovery made by scientists from  Portland Alcohol Research Center and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at University of Illinois, led by John C. Crabbe and described in a paper published recently in Addiction Genetics by Versita – ties in with the reports describing a restricted access ethanol consumption paradigm where mice drink until intoxicated. Termed 'Drinking in the Dark' – this pattern has been used as model of binge drinking in humans. The paper demonstrates that genetic factor contributes to the drinking pattern. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-tendency-binge-blood.html Addiction Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:33:22 EST news271582372 A novel mechanism for anxiety behaviors, including a previously unrecognized inhibitory brain signal, may inspire new strategies for treating psychiatric disorders, University of Chicago researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mystery-gene-reveals-mechanism-anxiety.html Genetics Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news256299869 An intriguing clue to longevity lurks in the sexual maturation timetable of female mammals, Jackson Laboratory researchers and their collaborators report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mouse-links-female-sexual-maturity.html Genetics Mon, 07 May 2012 15:00:21 EST news255605908 For decades, laboratory mice have been widely used in research aimed at understanding which genes are involved in various illnesses. But actual variations in past gene sequences of mice were unknown. While researchers were able to determine that a variant affecting disease was in a certain region, they couldn't pinpoint the exact set of variants in that region. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-mouse-genetic-variation.html Genetics Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:57:10 EST news236264221 Laboratory research has always been limited in terms of what conclusions scientists can safely extrapolate from animal experiments to the human population as a whole. Many promising findings in mice have not held up under further experimentation, in part because laboratory animals, bred from a limited genetic foundation, don't provide a good representation of how genetic diversity manifests in the broader human population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-mouse-genome-dilemma.html Genetics Sun, 29 May 2011 13:00:01 EST news225886978