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Archive for the Genetics Category

Tempering the Immune System to Save Vision

A retina with dry AMD. The yellow spots (called drusen) accumulate and can cause damage in AMD. The human body has highly impressive mechanisms to protect itself from harm. For example, a group of molecules known as the complement system work with antibodies to kill invading bacteria by punching holes in them and letting the internal contents leak out.
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New Brand, Same Mission

Video Included:
Tom BernardinNow that VISIONS 2012 is over, we’re sharing with the world what attendees witnessed at the conference’s awards dinner Saturday night – an unveiling of FFB’s new logo:
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Your Gene is Their Business

Dr. Stephen Daiger (standing, left) and Dr. Rose speak with a Foundation member after the session. Most everyone with an inherited retinal degenerative condition eventually asks the questions, “How do I find out what gene is causing my disease, and how can that information help me today?”

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There’s More Than One Way to Correct a Genetic Defect

Video Included:
Image form Protein Simulation
We live in a time when it’s often easier and cheaper to replace something than to fix it. Whether you have a broken TV, camera or vacuum cleaner, you’re more likely to buy a new one than to take it into the shop to have it repaired. Often, you don’t have much of a choice; there aren’t many repair shops left.

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Researchers Find 50 Genes Linked to AMD, But What Does It Really Mean?

Image of blue DNA strandThanks to Paul Simon, we know there are “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” and now, thanks to research highlighted in the journal Genome Medicine, there are 50 newly identified genes that may be linked to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Back in February, some in the media covered this development because AMD affects more than 10 million people in the U.S. alone, and 50 genes, is, well, a lot of genes to be linked to one disease.
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Israel Update: Genetic Discovery Highlighted at Retinal Research Conference

Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv, Israel

Now that I’m back from my trip to Israel, I wanted to offer a couple more posts about my visit, the first covering a fascinating research conference in Tel Aviv.
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Off to the Middle East

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv, Israel

Next week is a big week for both me and the Foundation. I’ll be heading to Israel, for the first time in my life, to visit with Foundation business and research partners. So the next couple blog posts you see will come straight from places like Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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Diving Into the Gene Pool

DNAEach of our genes is like an instruction manual. It tells the body how to make the proteins that carry out a specific function. So when a gene is defective, the instructions for that function are missing. Defective genes are the cause of most of the retinal degenerations the Foundation targets. Over the last 40 years, the Foundation has helped to identify almost 200 of those genes, so, as you can imagine, we’re big on genetic testing; find the defective gene, and you can begin to learn how to treat the retinal degeneration. And because genes are shared by families, genetic histories are a must.

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