Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Combining cell biology and molecular genetics for single-cell research

Fluidigm Corporation has announced a collaboration with BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), to co-host a public seminar series on the isolation and analysis of single cells. Entitled 'A Powerful Technique for Single-Cell Analysis', the public seminar series will showcase cell isolation using the BD FACSAria™ III Cell Sorter and analysis using the Fluidigm BioMark™ HD System.

13 Sep 2011

Cardiotrophin 1 has marked effect on fat and glucose metabolism

Scientists from the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra (Spain) have discovered that cardiotrophin 1, a protein synthesized by muscle cells and adipose tissue, has a marked effect on fat and glucose metabolism.

13 Sep 2011

Clinical trial planned in Australia and the USA to help patients with ‘orphan’ disease

Prana Biotechnology Limited announced today that researchers are planning recruitment for a phase II clinical trial of the experimental drug PBT2 in Huntington’s patients. There are currently no treatments for the genetic, neurodegenerative disease; Australia is increasingly seen as a leader in the development of therapies for neurologic disorders. Huntington’s often affects young adults and progressively impacts the body, mind and emotions. The disease causes incapacitation and death about 15-25 years after onset.

12 Sep 2011

Reducing malaria incidence could also drastically reduce deaths from bacterial infections, study says

"Reducing the incidence of malaria could also drastically reduce the number of deaths from bacterial infections among children in Africa, a study" published last week in the Lancet found, according to SciDev.Net.

12 Sep 2011

Tensha raises $15 million in Series A financing to advance bromodomains for cancer

Tensha Therapeutics announced today that it has raised $15 million in a Series A financing to advance the development of small molecule bromodomain inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and other conditions by regulating the transcription of disease-associated genes.

12 Sep 2011

Women with BRCA gene mutations at risk of developing cancers at earlier ages

A new analysis has found that women who develop certain hereditary cancers develop them at earlier ages than women in the previous generation. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the results point to the importance of tracking younger ages of cancer diagnosis to determine when to provide counseling, screening, and treatment services.

12 Sep 2011

Chromatin, Dow AgroSciences achieve first milestone in research collaboration

Chromatin Inc. announced today that they have reached the first milestone in their research collaboration with Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. This collaboration is focused on developing a novel combination of Chromatin's Mini-Chromosomes with Dow AgroSciences' EXZACT Precision Technology.

12 Sep 2011

Genentech submits vismodegib NDA to FDA for treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the company has submitted a New Drug Application for vismodegib to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of people with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) for whom surgery is considered inappropriate.

12 Sep 2011

Women with BRCA gene mutation develop breast cancer earlier than their ancestors

Women with a deleterious gene mutation are diagnosed with breast cancer almost eight years earlier than relatives of the previous generation who also had the disease and/or ovarian cancer, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

12 Sep 2011

Genetically modified ‘glow cat’ for HIV/AIDS research

U.S. researcher Eric Poeschla has produced three glowing genetically modified cats by using a virus to carry a gene, called green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the eggs from which the animals eventually grew. This method of genetic modification is simpler and more efficient than traditional cloning techniques, and results in fewer animals being needed in the process.

12 Sep 2011

IBN scientists harness ultrasmall peptides to repair spinal disc damage

New ultrasmall peptides that can be used as building blocks for a wide range of regenerative applications such as spinal disc replacement and cartilage repair have been developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. These peptides spontaneously assemble in water to form hydrogels, which resemble collagen, a major component of connective tissues found in cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone and skin.

12 Sep 2011

Chronic pain gene discovered

Scientists have found the gene responsible for chronic pain. It said that this could lead to drugs for treating long-lasting back pain.

12 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic develops genome-based immunization strategy against feline AIDS

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings -- called fascinating and landmark by one reviewer -- appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

12 Sep 2011

Scientists successfully disrupt function of MYC cancer gene

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have successfully disrupted the function of a cancer gene involved in the formation of most human tumors by tampering with the gene's "on" switch and growth signals, rather than targeting the gene itself.

12 Sep 2011

LC-MRM could provide better understanding of multiple myeloma drug resistance

"Acquired drug resistance" (ADR) is a major problem encountered in treating some forms of cancer. The ability to monitor the proteins involved in drug resistance has been a hurdle facing cancer researchers.

12 Sep 2011

Diamyd receives NIH grant to develop NTDDS for Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Diamyd Medical AB with collaborators has received a three million dollar grant from the US National Institutes of Health to develop the Company's patented Nerve Targeting Drug Delivery System (NTDDS) for prevention of Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.

12 Sep 2011

InteRNA, Silence partner to develop novel microRNA therapeutics for cancer

Silence Therapeutics plc, a leading global RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company, and InteRNA Technologies B.V., a biopharmaceutical company developing pathway targeted microRNA-based therapeutics for cancer, today announce that they have entered into an agreement to develop novel microRNA therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.

12 Sep 2011

New treatment strategy for dominant forms of muscular dystrophy

Investigators at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital are studying a potential new treatment strategy for dominant forms of muscular dystrophy, thanks to preliminary funding from The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

12 Sep 2011

Common genetic variant may predispose people to acute dissections

Richard Holbrooke, John Ritter, Lucille Ball, Jonathan Larson and Great Britain's King George II were all taken by the same silent killer: an acute aortic dissection. Now, scientists led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Baylor College of Medicine have found an association with a common genetic variant in the population that predisposes people to acute dissections and can approximately double a person's chances of having the disease.

12 Sep 2011

WSU researcher receives $418,000 NINDS grant to study spinal muscular atrophy

Graham Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of research in the Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, was awarded $418,000 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health to study how a particular gene might be involved in the progression of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - the number one genetic killer of children younger than 2 years old.

12 Sep 2011