Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Raw fruits and veggies may offset genetic risk for heart disease: Study

In a new study a team of researchers looked at the genotypes of 27,243 people from two separate studies to see if they had a certain gene variant. Earlier studies including a 2010 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. found that the 9p21 gene is associated with a higher risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease.

13 Oct 2011

Skin cell to liver cell shows promise for genetic liver disease

In a new scientific breakthrough, researchers have taken skin cells from a patient with liver disease and turned them into replacement liver cells. Although the procedure is years before it can be used in humans, but if approved, it could launch a new era of personalized therapies for serious genetic disorders.

13 Oct 2011

NanoString introduces nCounter Analysis System

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, today announced the launch of its second generation nCounter Analysis System.

From NanoString Technologies 13 Oct 2011

Breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics

A breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics could open the way to new treatments and the development of a vaccine for this sexually transmitted disease.

13 Oct 2011

Pfizer, deCODE genetics collaborate to discover sequence variants linked with SLE

deCODE genetics today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., the objective of which is to discover sequence variants associated with specific clinical phenotypes related to Systemic Lupus Erythematosis by utilizing deCODE's expertise in gene discovery.

13 Oct 2011

Intellikine commences INK1117 Phase I dose escalation study in cancer

Intellikine, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of innovative, small molecule drugs targeting the PI3K/mTOR pathway, announced today that the first patient has been treated in a Phase I dose escalation study of INK1117 in patients with advanced solid malignancies.

12 Oct 2011

Incoming dean of Weill Cornell receives 2011 ICS Honorary Lifetime Membership

Dr. Laurie Glimcher, the incoming dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, has received the 2011 International Cytokine Society (ICS) Honorary Lifetime Membership, the Society's highest honor, for her pivotal contributions to cytokine research, particularly as it relates to immune response.

12 Oct 2011

CU Cancer Center test identifies key biomarkers in advanced lung cancer

Researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have developed a test that identifies key biomarkers in advanced lung cancer that helped reduce the risk of death by 36 percent over a 30- month period in a recent clinical trial.

12 Oct 2011

Neuroscience 2011 conference to held in Washington

New research findings about the brain, nervous system, and related disorders will be presented at Neuroscience 2011 in Washington, Nov. 12-16. Among the many findings are how the brain adapts during development, learning, and decision-making; how genes and the environment work in tandem to influence behavior and disease; and how novel science is changing the understanding of pain, mental illness, and aging.

12 Oct 2011

FDA grants Advaxis pre-IND meeting for ADXS-HER2 cancer immunotherapy

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, has been granted a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on November 22nd, 2011 to discuss the initial clinical development plan for ADXS-HER2, a construct for the treatment of HER2 expressing cancers.

12 Oct 2011

Idera announces new data on novel gene-silencing oligonucleotide technology

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented new data on its novel gene-silencing oligonucleotide (GSO) technology at the Cell Symposium on Regulatory RNAs in Chicago, IL.

12 Oct 2011

Life Technologies launches Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel, enabling scientists to sequence dozens of genes in cancer research samples using a simple workflow.

12 Oct 2011

ASHG to honor U of U geneticist with William Allan Award

As a teenager just moved to Iowa from war-ravaged Germany in 1951, John M. Opitz, M.D., wanted to study developmental biology, but his "very Prussian" mother insisted he go to medical school instead.

12 Oct 2011

Two-gene DNA urine test for prostate cancer

In the current debate sparked by the recent USPSTF recommendation on PSA screening, it is clear that better biomarkers than PSA are urgently needed. One new biotechnology that may go a long way in detecting only prostate cancer and reducing unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies and possible subsequent overtreatment, is the development of a new urine test for prostate cancer.

12 Oct 2011

Isis designates ISIS-AATRx candidate in collaboration with GSK

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has designated the second development candidate, ISIS-AATRx, in its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline

12 Oct 2011

UCLA's screening system can target stem cells responsible for glioblastoma

Researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed and used a high-throughput molecular screening approach that identifies and characterizes chemical compounds that can target the stem cells that are responsible for creating deadly brain tumors.

12 Oct 2011

Study: Emerging pharmaceutical platform may produce undesirable effects on eye function

According to new research by University of Kentucky investigators, an emerging pharmaceutical platform used in treating a variety of diseases may produce unintended and undesirable effects on eye function.

12 Oct 2011

New robust technique holds promise for identifying trace mutant DNA sequences

Molecular DNA testing methods offer clinicians powerful tools that serve to confirm or identify disease diagnoses. High sensitivity and high specificity, however, are frequently a challenge to achieve with these methods. In a study scheduled for publication in the November issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, researchers describe a new, robust technique that holds promise for identifying trace mutant DNA sequences in an overwhelming population of unmutated DNA.

12 Oct 2011

Novel link between cell surface sugars, Darwinian sexual selection, and immune function

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo.

11 Oct 2011

Receptor tyrosine kinases control PI3K signaling in human KRAS mutant colorectal cancers

Some cancers can be effectively treated with drugs inhibiting proteins known as receptor tyrosine kinases, but not those cancers caused by mutations in the KRAS gene. A team of researchers led by Jeffrey Engelman, at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, has now identified a potential way to effectively use receptor tyrosine kinases inhibitors to treat individuals with KRAS mutant colorectal cancers - combine them with inhibitors of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

11 Oct 2011