Global breast cancer research makes significant findings

A global study led by the University of Otago has discovered a gene, that when modified, could reduce the risk of breast cancer

03-Jan-2023 - The discovery, led by Associate Professor Logan Walker, of the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, Christchurch, also opens the door to the development of a risk-reducing drug – a project which has already received funding and will also be led by Otago University. The initial study ...

Information about a gene that helps define us as humans

07-Dec-2018 - University of Otago researchers have discovered information about a gene that sets primates - great apes and humans - apart from other mammals, through the study of a rare developmental brain disorder. Dr Adam O'Neill carried out the research as part of his PhD at the University of Otago, under ...

Researchers probe secrets of bacterial immune system

05-Oct-2016 - Scientists from New Zealand's University of Otago and the Netherlands are continuing to unlock the secrets of a surprisingly flexible bacterial immune system, called CRISPR-Cas. Just like humans, bacteria are constantly under attack by viruses that try to infect them by injecting viral DNA. This ...

'Hunger hormone' may treat severe peripheral artery disease

18-Dec-2015 - A new study by a team of researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago and Japan suggests that the appetite-regulating hormone ghrelin could be used clinically for the early treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI), an advanced form of peripheral artery disease. CLI is the severe ...

New light shed on key bacterial immune system

09-Apr-2014 - New insights into a surprisingly flexible immune system present in bacteria for combating viruses and other foreign DNA invaders have been revealed by researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago and the Netherlands. A team led by Dr Peter Fineran of the Department of Microbiology and ...

Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients

17-May-2013 - Despite previous studies touting its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout. Vitamin C supplementation, alone or in combination ...