University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Florida used gene therapy to cure two squirrel monkeys of color blindness — the most common genetic disorder in people.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — While studying a way to more safely and effectively collect snake venom, University of Florida researchers have noticed the venom delivered by an isolated population of Florida cottonmouth snakes may be changing in response to their diet.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When it comes to health disparities between different groups, how society sees people in terms of race might play a greater role than genetics, according to a new University of Florida study.
The study also showed that taking stock of socio-cultural factors might improve our understanding of how genes influence individual health — [...]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Just in time for what federal authorities warn could be an extremely severe flu season, University of Florida research has revealed a fundamental mechanism behind zinc’s immune-boosting power—it ramps up one of the body’s primary lines of defense, white blood cells known as T-cells.

GAINESVILLE — A common antibiotic can function as an “off switch” for a gene therapy being developed for Parkinson’s disease, according to University of Florida researchers writing online in advance of September’s Molecular Therapy.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As many as one in five alcohol-consuming customers in bars is underage, and underage patrons tend to stay later at night, according to a new University of Florida study.

GAINESVILLE — A multicenter team of childhood cancer researchers has discovered two genetic variations linked to an increased risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, the most common childhood cancer in the United States.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Scientists have discovered that even in adults born with extremely impaired sight, the brain can rewire itself to recognize sections of the retina that have been restored by gene therapy.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Three patients, apparently for [...]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida was one of five schools to be named a 2009 Model of Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse Prevention Program on College Campuses by the U.S. Department of Education. This distinction comes with a $100,000 grant for the College of Health and Human Performance to continue its campuswide alcohol abuse prevention program.