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FDA-approved anti-parasite drug blocks Wnt signaling pathway in colon cancer

An old pinworm medicine is a new lead in the search for compounds that block a signaling pathway implicated in colon cancer. The findings, reported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology, suggest a fresh approach for developing therapeutics that target the pathway.

20 Nov 2010

FibroGen to present FG-4592 phase 2a study of patients with stage 3-4 Chronic Kidney Disease and anemia

FibroGen, Inc., today announced that new data from a phase 2a study of patients with stage 3-4 Chronic Kidney Disease and anemia will be presented demonstrating that its first-in-class, investigational oral anemia therapy FG-4592 works differently than erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) to increase hemoglobin.

19 Nov 2010

Cold Spring releases new series of laboratory manuals

Sophisticated techniques that permit the visualization of dynamic processes in cells, tissues, and organ systems at extraordinary levels of resolution have become tremendously valuable in biological research. However, finding the right imaging method and optimizing it for data collection can be a daunting process, even for an established imaging laboratory. To fill this need, a new series of laboratory manuals has been developed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. The first volume in this series, Imaging: A Laboratory Manual, has just been released.

19 Nov 2010

Glenn Foundation awards $60,000 grant to Scripps' scientist for biomedical research

While scientists depend on grants for their research, applying for them is a long and frequently frustrating process. For one Scripps Research Institute scientist, however, the process was shorter.

19 Nov 2010

Stromedix obtains license from UCSF for integrin αvβ5 antibody

Stromedix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on innovative therapies for fibrosis and organ failure, announced today that it has exclusively licensed the rights to a monoclonal antibody to integrin αvβ5 from the University of California. This compound is the second Stromedix pipeline asset to be sourced from the laboratory of Dean Sheppard, M.D., at University of California, San Francisco.

19 Nov 2010

Fifth gene defect, 47 DNA regions linked to thoracic aortic disease: Researchers

Discovery of a fifth gene defect and the identification of 47 DNA regions linked to thoracic aortic disease are the subject of studies released this month involving researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

19 Nov 2010

ZIOPHARM announces data on darinaparsin efficacy for solid tumors at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today important new preclinical data on the efficacy of darinaparsin (ZinaparTM, or ZIO-101) in various solid tumor models delivered at the EORTC-NCI-AACR International Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics being held in Berlin, Germany.

19 Nov 2010

Research suggests new therapeutic approach to prevent transplant rejection

UCLA researchers have pinpointed the culprit behind chronic rejection of heart, lung and kidney transplants. Published in the Nov. 23 edition of Science Signaling, their findings suggest new therapeutic approaches for preventing transplant rejection and sabotaging cancer growth.

19 Nov 2010

Researchers document novel form of splicing in nerve cell cytoplasm

Cells have their own version of the cut-and-paste editing function called splicing. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have documented a novel form of splicing in the cytoplasm of a nerve cell, which dictates a special form of a potassium channel protein in the outer membrane.

19 Nov 2010

New direct labeling system for oocytes, embryos

Researchers from the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have developed an identification system for oocytes and embryos in which each can be individually tagged using silicone barcodes.

19 Nov 2010

CNS-ASU book explores relationship between nanotechnology and equity

Scientists and policymakers both contend that investments in nanoscale science and engineering will create revolutions in areas as diverse as materials, drug delivery, cancer treatment, and space travel. The hope is that many of the problems of today can be addressed using nanotechnology enabled products.

19 Nov 2010

Study suggests pomegranate juice can ward-off complications in kidney disease patients

Studies in recent years have claimed multiple health benefits of pomegranate juice, including that it is a good source of antioxidants and lowers both cholesterol and blood pressure, especially in diabetic and hypertensive patients.

19 Nov 2010

Toxic darts may yiled new strategies to control disease-causing pathogens

In nature, it's a dog-eat-dog world, even in the realm of bacteria. Competing bacteria use "toxic darts" to disable each other, according to a new study by UC Santa Barbara biologists.

19 Nov 2010

Mouse study finds blocking GnT-V enzyme delays breast cancer growth

New University of Georgia research, published this week in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found that blocking the action of an enzyme called GnT-V significantly delays the onset and spread of tumors in mice with cancer very similar to many cases of human breast cancer.

19 Nov 2010

Genetic alterations may lead to thoracic aortic disease

19 Nov 2010

Improving immune system to defend against HIV infection

Researchers have been stymied for years over the fact that people infected with the AIDS virus do indeed produce antibodies in response to the pathogen - antibodies that turn out to be ineffective in blocking infection.

19 Nov 2010

Transplantation of gene-modified hematopoietic stem cells eliminates cancer: Research

A potent anti-tumor gene introduced into mice with metastatic melanoma has resulted in permanent immune reconfiguration and produced a complete remission of their cancer, according to an article to be published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

19 Nov 2010

Multinational team identifies novel retinal disease gene

A multinational team effort of Regensburg's Institute of Human Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, other partners and Genomatix elucidated a transcriptional network in photoreceptors and thereby identified a novel retinal disease gene

19 Nov 2010

Glutaminase inhibitor: New potential target for brain tumors

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified a compound that could be used to starve cancers of their sugar-based building blocks. The compound, called a glutaminase inhibitor, has been tested on laboratory cultured, sugar-hungry brain cancer cells and, the scientists say, may have the potential to be used for many types of primary brain tumors.

19 Nov 2010

Scientists solve receptor structure that responds to neurotransmitter dopamine

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved the structure of one of the receptors that responds to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Although dopamine transmission is essential to normal brain functioning, the biological assembly of the molecules involved in this crucial neuronal interplay had not been known until now.

19 Nov 2010