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Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome.

8 Feb 2010

Gene variants associated with human biological ageing identified

Scientists announced today (7 Feb) they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC.

7 Feb 2010

Investigational drug for osteoporosis inhibits serotonin synthesis in the gut

An investigational drug that inhibits serotonin synthesis in the gut, administered orally once daily, effectively cured osteoporosis in mice and rats reports an international team led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center, in the Feb. 7 issue of Nature Medicine.

7 Feb 2010

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

In the 7 Feb. 2010 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), report that a genetic molecule, called Tbx3, which is crucial for many aspects of early developmental processes in mammals, significantly improves the quality of stem cells that have been reprogrammed from differentiated cells.

7 Feb 2010

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that a research team in Washington, D.C. has found that dystrophin-deficient Mdx mice, treated twice a week for six months with Tβ4, showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle regenerating fibers compared to untreated mice. No effects related to muscle function or fibrosis and no adverse reactions were observed in the mice.

6 Feb 2010

Study may provide new intervention strategies for esophageal adenocarcinoma

Barrett's epithelium is recognized as a complication of erosive esophagitis and is the pre-malignant condition for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

6 Feb 2010

Study shows cellular circuitry is more complex than previously thought

Using an elaborate sleuthing system they developed to probe how cells manage their own division, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that common but hard-to-see sugar switches are partly in control.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Groundbreaking research done at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) School of Biological Sciences (SBS) could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and kills up to three million people each year.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning it into a virus factory.

6 Feb 2010

Biochemists identify a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle

Monash University biochemists have found a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle that explains how life on Earth evolved millions of centuries ago.

6 Feb 2010

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released today a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the potentially harmful recommendations of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) in its Report on Gene Patents and Licensing Practices and Their Impact on Patient Access to Genetic Tests.

6 Feb 2010

Scientists employ new approach to understand metabolic changes of TB bacteria

The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) may be better understood using mathematical models, according to an article published in the February issue of Microbiology Today.

5 Feb 2010

Biotechnology: The next medical revolution

A recent article in the Scandia Journal reported that biotechnology is helping to improve our knowledge of many devastating illnesses, and has armed patients and their doctors with exciting new diagnostics and treatments to battle disease.

5 Feb 2010

EBMT honours abstract on Defibrotide in Hepatic VOD prevention with the Van Bekkum Award

Gentium S.p.A. today announced that the abstract titled, "Defibrotide prevents hepatic VOD and reduces significantly VOD-associated complications in children at high risk: final results of a prospective phase II/III multicentre study," has been awarded the Van Bekkum Award for the best abstract submitted to the physician's program for the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation's (EBMT) 36th Annual Meeting, to be held in Vienna, March 21-24, 2010.

5 Feb 2010

Research could help in developing protein-based vaccine against maternal malaria

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have become the first in the world to synthesize the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant women and their unborn children.

5 Feb 2010

"Kin selection hypothesis" may explain homosexuality from an evolutionary point of view

Male homosexuality doesn't make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view. It appears that the trait is heritable, but because homosexual men are much less likely to produce offspring than heterosexual men, shouldn't the genes for this trait have been extinguished long ago? What value could this sexual orientation have, that it has persisted for eons even without any discernible reproductive advantage?

5 Feb 2010

Plants too can make progesterone

In a finding that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting the first discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant. Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. A synthetic version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications. The discovery is reported in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products, a monthly publication.

5 Feb 2010

Making relationship between evolution and ecology - a model of reciprocity, say experts

In the natural stream communities of Trinidad, guppy populations live close together, but evolve differently. Upstream, fewer predators mean more guppies but less food for each; they grow slowly and larger, reproduce later and less, and die older. Downstream, where predators thrive, guppies eat more, grow rapidly, stay small, reproduce quickly and die younger.

5 Feb 2010

EVMS researchers identify source that causes Type 1 diabetes

Doctors at Eastern Virginia Medical School's Strelitz Diabetes Center have been stalking the culprit responsible for Type 1 diabetes. Now, they are one step closer.

5 Feb 2010

Results validating performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental Support technology published

Gene Security Network, Inc (GSN) today announced that Human Reproduction published results validating the exceptional performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental SupportTM technology over existing methods to detect chromosome abnormalities during in vitro-fertilization (IVF).

5 Feb 2010

Medical Science News

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Gene variants associated with human biological ageing identified

Investigational drug for osteoporosis inhibits serotonin synthesis in the gut

GIS: Tbx3 gene improves quality of stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Study may provide new intervention strategies for esophageal adenocarcinoma

Study shows cellular circuitry is more complex than previously thought

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Biochemists identify a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

Scientists employ new approach to understand metabolic changes of TB bacteria

Biotechnology: The next medical revolution

EBMT honours abstract on Defibrotide in Hepatic VOD prevention with the Van Bekkum Award

Research could help in developing protein-based vaccine against maternal malaria

"Kin selection hypothesis" may explain homosexuality from an evolutionary point of view

Plants too can make progesterone

Making relationship between evolution and ecology - a model of reciprocity, say experts

EVMS researchers identify source that causes Type 1 diabetes

Results validating performance of GSN’s proprietary Parental Support technology published

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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