Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Genentech's Lucentis Phase III trials in DME meets primary endpoints

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that the second of two Phase III trials evaluating Lucentis in patients with diabetic macular edema met its primary endpoint.

28 Mar 2011

Biognosys brings proteomic breakthroughs to mainstream users

Biognosys, a leading provider of targeted proteomics solutions, announces the software platform mProphet for large-scale applications in industrial and academic research. The software was recently published in «Nature Methods»: With the new tool researchers can analyze complex proteomics data and generate statistically validated results.

From Biognosys 25 Mar 2011

HIV uses base excision repair pathway to insert DNA into host-cell genome

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.

25 Mar 2011

CPRIT awards Bellicum $5.7 million to advance CaspaCIDe therapy for late stage cancer

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company received notice of a $5.7 million company commercialization award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas ("CPRIT"). Bellicum was the only company recommended for funding in this second round of the commercialization award program.

25 Mar 2011

Study explains how genetic mutations lead to development of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a way that mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause the most common inherited form of Parkinson's disease. The study, published online this month in the journal Public Library of Science, shows that upon specific modification called phosphorylation, LRRK2 protein binds to a family of proteins called 14-3-3, which has a regulatory function inside cells.

25 Mar 2011

New Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has established a Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, led by Dr. Heakyung Kim. In this role, Dr. Kim will provide specialized care for children with neuromuscular disorders and other special needs at the Hospital's two major centers for pediatric care: Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and the Komansky Center for Children's Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

25 Mar 2011

AssureRx closes $11 million Series B financing

AssureRx Health, Inc. today announced the closing of an $11 million Series B financing. The personalized medicine company, which provides clinically-relevant information to help physicians select the right drug and the right dose for individual neuropsychiatric patients, will use the funds to expand direct sales and marketing for its first product, GeneSightRx®, and for second generation product development activities.

25 Mar 2011

Study: Short telomeres may predispose people to age-related diabetes

New evidence has emerged from studies in mice that short telomeres or "caps" at the ends of chromosomes may predispose people to age-related diabetes, according to Johns Hopkins scientists.

25 Mar 2011

Researchers identify gene that can predict hypersensitivity to epilepsy drug

Research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. A multinational team of scientists led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the University of Liverpool has identified a gene that could indicate if epilepsy patients starting a common drug treatment are likely to experience side-effects ranging from a mild skin irritation to the potentially fatal Steven-Johnson Syndrome.

25 Mar 2011

New study implicates microRNAs in panic disorder

A new study published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry now implicates one type of molecular switch, microRNAs, in panic disorder.

25 Mar 2011

Serotonin influences sexual preference: Study

Researchers from Beijing's National Institute of Biological Sciences, China have found a chemical in the brain controls sexual preference in mice. The study published in the journal Nature said that male mice bred without serotonin lose their preference for females. This is the first study that shows that a neurotransmitter plays a role in sexual preference in mammals. However it is still a long way before similar conclusions can be drawn for humans the experts believe.

24 Mar 2011

DNA "end-caps" length linked to diabetes risk: New role for short telomeres

New evidence has emerged from studies in mice that short telomeres or “caps” at the ends of chromosomes may predispose people to age-related diabetes, according to Johns Hopkins scientists.

24 Mar 2011

MMRF hails new publication of multiple myeloma genome analysis in Nature journal

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation today hailed a new publication in Nature as a major step forward in the organization's efforts to advance a personalized medicine approach in multiple myeloma.

24 Mar 2011

Molecular Therapy journal publishes Mirna's new tumor suppressor miRNA mimics data

Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the publication of new results in the journal Molecular Therapy demonstrating how a neutral lipid emulsion facilitates the systemic delivery of tumor suppressor miRNA mimics and reduces the tumor burden in the lungs of mice.

24 Mar 2011

Mother's gene variation can influence alcohol-related disorders in fetus

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?

24 Mar 2011

Resveratrol can provide resistance before and after hazardous radiation exposure

Clinical studies of Resveratrol--recognized for its proven role in activating the longevity gene to inhibit age-related diseases--have shown that its antioxidant power provides resistance before and after exposure to hazardous radiation.

24 Mar 2011

New insights into multiple myeloma research

Scientists have unveiled the most comprehensive picture to date of the full genetic blueprint of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. A study of the genomes from 38 cancer samples has yielded new and unexpected insights into the events that lead to this form of cancer and could influence the direction of multiple myeloma research.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create new computational model to understand animal cell behavior

Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment.

24 Mar 2011

Sequencing mouse cancer genome reveals mutations driving cancer in humans

Scientists who pioneered sequencing the genomes of cancer patients to find novel genetic changes at the root of the disease now have turned their attention to a laboratory workhorse — a mouse.

24 Mar 2011

Low ghrelin levels in obese women may affect reproduction in female progeny

Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.

24 Mar 2011