Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

New reference material to standardize gene therapy protocols in clinical trials

The introduction of a new, fully characterized viral vector for use as reference material to help standardize gene therapy protocols in research applications and human clinical trials is described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The article, which is published online ahead of print, is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/hum

7 Oct 2010

Immune reaction to dystrophin may contribute to muscle disease: Study

An immune reaction to dystrophin, the muscle protein that is defective in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, may pose a new challenge to strengthening muscles of patients with this disease, suggests a new study appearing in the October 7, 2010, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

Patients with muscular dystrophy mount immune response to dystophin protein prior to gene therapy: Study

A clinical trial designed to replace the genetic defect causing the most common form of muscular dystrophy has uncovered an unexpected aspect of the disease. The trial, based on therapy designed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, showed that some patients mount an immune response to the dystrophin protein even before they have received the gene therapy.

7 Oct 2010

Congress scientific program to highlight new developments in Parkinson's disease

The 7th International Congress on Mental Dysfunction & Other Non-Motor Features in Parkinson's Disease (MDPD 2010), to be held in Barcelona, December 9 - 12, 2010, aims to provide specialists with the latest developments in the understanding of cognitive and psychiatric aspects of the disease.

7 Oct 2010

Democrats gain in polling, but health care helps GOP hold 'enthusiasm' edge

Democrats are gaining ground in campaign polling, but Republicans still hold a lead, buoyed in part by their stance on health care as the November midterm elections near.

6 Oct 2010

microRNA miR-33 may help control blood cholesterol level

Thanks to a discovery by a Saint Louis University researcher, scientists have identified an important microRNA that may allow us to better control cholesterol levels in blood.

6 Oct 2010

Elsevier launches new version of BrainNavigator online research tool

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced a new version of its online research tool BrainNavigator.

6 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate whole-genome data to uncover new mutations for CAD risk

The Coronary ARtery DIsease Genome-wide Replication And Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) published in Circulation Cardiovascular Genetics, an American Heart Association journal consists of data from every published whole-genome study on genetic mutations in heart attack or CAD risk. Researchers are also pooling data from several unpublished genome-wide association studies to see if any new mutations can be uncovered.

6 Oct 2010

Amino acid mixture increases survival in mice

When mice are given drinking water laced with a special concoction of amino acids, they live longer than your average mouse, according to a new report in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The key ingredients in the supplemental mixture are so-called branched-chain amino acids, which account for 3 of the 20 amino acids (specifically leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that are the building blocks of proteins.

6 Oct 2010

Researchers find exposure to air pollution increases severity of asthma symptoms

Exposure to dirty air is linked to decreased function of a gene that appears to increase the severity of asthma in children, according to a joint study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

6 Oct 2010

Knome announces winners of KnomeDISCOVERY Awards

Knome, Inc. today announced the winners of its inaugural KnomeDISCOVERY Awards, a program designed to spur new genetic insights into health.

6 Oct 2010

Celgene announces pricing of senior unsecured notes

Celgene Corporation today announced the successful pricing of three series of senior unsecured notes for an aggregate principal amount of $1.25 billion.

5 Oct 2010

Merck Serono to present Erbitux data at ESMO Congress

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany announces today that it will be presenting new data from several studies of Erbitux (cetuximab) in a range of solid tumor types including the first Phase II data in breast and prostate cancers. These data will be presented at the forthcoming 35th European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO) in Milan, October 8-12, 2010.

5 Oct 2010

Natural variation shows promise for increasing provitamin A in cassava roots

The roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta) serve as the primary source of carbohydrates in the diets of people in many arid regions of the world, including more than 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately the roots of commercial cassava cultivars are quite low in micronutrients, and micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in these regions.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers reveal ways to halt Rett Syndrome

In a study published today in the Journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers based in the U.S. and UK revealed that they were able to halt the potentially lethal, breath holding episodes associated with the neurological disease Rett syndrome.

5 Oct 2010

NIH awards $4 million grant to develop novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis

William R. Jacobs, Jr., Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, has been awarded a three-year, $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis (TB). TB causes almost two million deaths each year, making it the world's most deadly bacterial infection.

5 Oct 2010

CardioDx publishes PREDICT trial results

CardioDx, a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, today announced publication of results from the Personalized Risk Evaluation and Diagnosis In the Coronary Tree (PREDICT) trial in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the journal of the American College of Physicians.

5 Oct 2010

Maternal serotonin deficiency linked to development of ADHD in children

Children whose mothers are genetically predisposed to have impaired production of serotonin appear more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) later in life, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

5 Oct 2010

Study finds BRACAnalysis vital for triple negative breast cancer patients

Myriad Genetics, Inc. announced today that results from a preliminary study indicate that BRCA germline mutations occur at a high frequency in women with triple negative breast cancer, sufficiently high enough to justify screening of all women with TNBC.

5 Oct 2010