Medical Science News

RSS

Pig model reveals how cystic fibrosis gene mutation causes disease

It's been more than 20 years since scientists first discovered the gene that causes cystic fibrosis (CF), yet questions about how the mutated gene causes disease remain unanswered.

17 Mar 2011

Naltrexone may be effective in women with specific genetic variation

Results from a new study suggest that one of the most prescribed medications for alcohol dependence may be more effective in some people. Preliminary results show that naltrexone, one of the only medications approved for treating people with alcohol abuse problems, may only be effective in women and those with a specific genetic variation.

17 Mar 2011

Specific type of selenium supplement may help prevent cancer

Scientists are reporting that the controversy surrounding whether selenium can fight cancer in humans might come down to which form of the essential micronutrient people take.

17 Mar 2011

Scientists to develop new universal vaccine against various flu viruses

A vaccine that helps against all types of influenza - for several years? If all goes right for Norwegian company Bionor Pharma ASA, such a vaccine could exist within a few years.

17 Mar 2011

Oxford Nanopore selects Accelrys Pipeline Pilot NGS Collection as preferred analysis platform

Accelrys, Inc., a leading scientific enterprise R&D software and services company, today announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. Under the terms of the partnership, Accelrys and Oxford Nanopore will develop software to enable complex, real-time analyses of experimental data produced by the Oxford Nanopore single molecule analysis system.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 16 Mar 2011

Scientists create new drug delivery system to treat cancer

Scientists in Syracuse University's Chemistry Department have created a new drug delivery system expected to advance the effectiveness of cancer-killing drugs. It uses gold nanoparticles with attached DNA that binds to a proven anti-cancer drug, Doxorubicin or DOX.

16 Mar 2011

NextGen Sciences introduces multiplex protein assay for oncology biomarker discovery

NextGen Group plc is pleased to announce that its subsidiary NextGen Sciences Inc, a leader in biomarker discovery, measurement and qualification, has launched its first multiple protein assay, plasmadiscovery41, for oncology biomarker discovery and qualification.

16 Mar 2011

Researcher argues against use of Cop1-inhibitory drugs for cancer treatment

Jean-Christophe Marine strongly argues against the use of Cop1-inhibitory drugs. The protein Cop1 has -for a long time - been seen as an attractive drug target for cancer. But Jean-Christophe Marine found out that Cop1 acts as a tumor suppressor, and thus inhibits tumor formation. His new data will have direct implications for the development of cancer drug targets.

16 Mar 2011

Researchers discover 3-D structure of key biological receptor

Researchers have solved the three-dimensional structure of a key biological receptor. The finding has the potential to speed drug discovery in many areas, from arthritis to respiratory disorders to wound healing, because it enables chemists to better examine and design molecules for use in experimental drugs.

16 Mar 2011

Ambry, LABS partner to offer new donor and patient screening options

LABS, Inc., the recognized leader in microbiology, infectious disease screening, cell/molecular biology and immunological testing for the transplant and biomedical sciences communities, today announced an agreement with Ambry Genetics, a global leader in molecular diagnostics and genomic services to the healthcare and life sciences industries, that will allow the organizations to provide superior testing services to a broader base of clients in the reproductive health industry.

16 Mar 2011

New study on how epoxyeicosatrienoic acids protect kidneys

Researchers at Georgia Health Sciences University are studying whether inhibiting an enzyme that reduces levels of a protective metabolite could halt the progression of diabetic nephropathy, or kidney disease resulting from diabetes.

16 Mar 2011

U-M purchases Fluxion's IonFlux system to study nanoscale membrane disruption

Fluxion Biosciences, Inc. announced today that the University of Michigan Department of Chemistry has purchased the IonFlux 16 automated patch clamp instrument.

From Fluxion Biosciences 16 Mar 2011

Ventana, CST enter license agreement for personalized cancer diagnostics

Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. of Danvers, MA, announced today that it has granted Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a worldwide non-exclusive license to CST patent rights and proprietary antibody reagents relating to the detection of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations for the field of tissue-based in vitro diagnostic testing.

From Cell Signaling Technology 16 Mar 2011

Elite controllers' T cells resist HIV-1 infection by selective upregulation of protein p21

In the years since the AIDS epidemic began, it has become clear that there is substantial variation in the way that individuals respond to HIV infection. Although most progress quickly from initial infection to immunodeficiency, a small subset survive for long periods without developing symptoms.

16 Mar 2011

NIH awards TriLink $100,000 Phase I SBIR Grant to develop Hot Start approach for Ligase Chain Reaction

TriLink BioTechnologies, Inc. was recently awarded a Phase I SBIR Grant of approximately $100,000 by the National Institutes of Health to develop a Hot Start approach for Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR). Hot Start LCR will employ chemically modified ligation components containing thermolabile protecting groups to eliminate common performance problems seen in LCR, such as false-positive signals and non-specificity.

16 Mar 2011

Experimental vaccine against human norovirus generates strong, safe immune response in mice

Scientists have shown that an experimental vaccine against the human norovirus - the bug behind about 90 percent of highly contagious nonbacterial illnesses that cause diarrhea and vomiting - can generate a strong immune response in mice without appearing to cause the animals any harm.

16 Mar 2011

Genomatix launches service model for NGS data analysis

The growing amount of data created by today's high throughput DNA sequencing technology presents a major challenge to scientists around the globe. How to handle the staggering amount of data, and, more importantly, how to answer the biological questions that initiated the experiment?

16 Mar 2011

Backscattering interferometry can precisely measure membrane protein interactions

A new laser technique has demonstrated that it can measure the interactions between proteins tangled in a cell's membrane and a variety of other biological molecules. These extremely difficult measurements can aid the process of drug discovery.

16 Mar 2011

Malaria drug shrinks, slows resistant pancreatic tumors

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report they have shrunk or slowed the growth of notoriously resistant pancreatic tumors in mice, using a drug routinely prescribed for malaria and rheumatoid arthritis.

16 Mar 2011

Protein folding may aid in developing new therapies for brain diseases

Misfold an origami swan and the worst that happens is you wind up with an ugly paper duckling. Misfold one of the vital proteins in your body - each of which must be folded in a particular way to perform its function - and the result can be a debilitating neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's or Huntington's.

16 Mar 2011