Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Experimental vaccine appears to protect against pneumonia

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed an experimental vaccine that appears to protect against an increasingly common and particularly deadly form of pneumococcal pneumonia. Details of the new vaccine, which was tested in an animal model, are reported in a paper published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

22 Feb 2011

New study: Rapamycin reverses cardiac muscle damage in LEOPARD syndrome mouse model

Congenital heart diseases affect approximately one in 100 patients, making them the most common type of birth defect and the number-one cause of pediatric deaths.

21 Feb 2011

Advancell announces positive results from Acadra clinical study in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

ADVANCELL, an emerging biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive results from a clinical study conducted with Acadra (Acadesine) in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia patients resistant to current therapies. The company also announced promising non-clinical results in Multiple Myeloma (MM), Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) and other lymphoproliferative disorders. Synergism of Acadra in combination with current treatment in these indications has been demonstrated.

21 Feb 2011

Scientists decode DNA of parasitic worm that causes trichinosis

Scientists have decoded the DNA of the parasitic worm that causes trichinosis, a disease linked to eating raw or undercooked pork or carnivorous wild game animals, such as bear and walrus.

20 Feb 2011

Gene that causes rare breast cancer identified

Researchers have found that a rare but hard-to-treat form of breast cancer is driven by a newly discovered gene. The gene ZNF703 is the first oncogene to be discovered in five years, and it could lead to more effective treatments down the road, Cancer Research UK said.

20 Feb 2011

A special type of Dwarfism protects against cancer & diabetes: Study

Researchers have found that some individuals living in remote villages in Ecuador have a mutation that could throw light on human longevity and ways to increase it. These villagers, all dwarfs with heights less than three and a half feet, have a rare condition called Laron syndrome or Laron dwarfism.

20 Feb 2011

Research cuts could mean ongoing cancer deaths

In a guest column for the New Jersey Star-Ledger, a former White House spokesman and Chief-of-Staff for the House Aging Committee and Health Subcommittee, Robert Weiner, a George Washington University breast cancer laboratory director and professor, Dr. Patricia Berg, and policy analyst, James Lewis assert that "as the government keeps funding two wars and ongoing tax breaks, curing diseases like cancer is being threatened in the budget debates underway.

19 Feb 2011

Biologist investigates CAPV-EAE population for hereditary breast and ovary cancer

Between 5 % and 10 % of breast cancer cases are hereditary, arising because the patient inherits from the father or mother a mutation in a gene that is susceptible to causing the illness. BRCA1 and BRCA2 have already been identified as two of the genes to be monitored. It is estimated that 30 % of hereditary breast cancer cases are due to mutations in one of these two genes.

19 Feb 2011

Cutting of funds for Planned Parenthood long overdue, says ACLJ

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, today called the House vote approving the Pence Amendment stripping Planned Parenthood of all federal funding long overdue and sends a message: Americans don't want their tax dollars used to support the nation's largest abortion provider. In less than a week, the ACLJ has heard from nearly 55,000 people who urged the House to defund Planned Parenthood by signing on to a petition demanding action.

19 Feb 2011

Biocare, HJF sign license agreement to distribute antibody against prostate cancer

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with Biocare Medical, a biotechnology company based in Concord, Calif., for the exclusive worldwide sales and distribution rights for the immunohistochemistry of an antibody designed to detect tumor prevalence in prostate cancer patients.

18 Feb 2011

USPTO issues two patents to VIRxSYS SMaRT RNA platform technology

VIRxSYS Corporation, a privately-held biotechnology company with proprietary RNA payload and lentiviral vector delivery platform technologies, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the Company two patents for its SMaRT RNA platform technology, capable of reprogramming or repairing genes to create, increase or change protein expression.

18 Feb 2011

Researchers discover new 'driver gene' in oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have pinpointed a key cancer-causing gene that, when overactive, triggers a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer to develop.

18 Feb 2011

Scientists establish biomarker strategy to diagnose variety of cancer types

A team of biologists, clinical oncologists, pathologists and information scientists has established a strategy for identifying biomarkers. If a particular pattern of these biomarkers can be detected in the blood, this indicates a cancerous disease. An interdisciplinary research breakthrough that opens many doors.

18 Feb 2011

Cyclacel's CYC065 CDK inhibitor demonstrates potential against breast cancer resistant to trastuzumab

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the publication of preclinical data in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), demonstrating that cyclin E plays a major role in making Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast cancer resistant to trastuzumab (Herceptin®), a widely used medicine for breast cancer patients who test positive for HER2.

18 Feb 2011

DiaGenic fourth quarter operating revenue increases to NOK 1,078 thousand

DiaGenic has significantly altered its business strategy during 2010 to leverage more effectively its commercial potential, and strengths in Intellectual Property (IP). The Company has made significant progress in its business activities towards big pharma since implementation of the new strategy. DiaGenic is well positioned as a multimodal partner with large pharma and imaging companies.

18 Feb 2011

Avenir team discovers how Neisseria meningitidis disseminates into bloodstream

Although, in the majority of cases, the localized presence of Neisseria meningitidis in the throat has no consequence, it can sometimes lead to meningitis or septicaemia. The seriousness of these two infections is driving researchers from around the world to improve their understanding of the mode of operation of this bacterium, which, once it leaves its favourite location becomes extremely dangerous.

18 Feb 2011

FDA grants miRagen's MGN-4893 orphan drug designation for treatment of polycythemia vera

miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company's compound MGN-4893 for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a myeloproliferative disease characterized by an overabundance of blood cells and platelets in the body.

18 Feb 2011

Benitec strengthens patent position in RNAi

Benitec Limited (ASX: BLT), (PINK:BNIKF), a world leader in expressed gene silencing for human therapeutics, is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has today indicated that it is issuing the Re-examination Certificate, the formal final step in the USPTO’s confirmation of patentability of claims in the key ‘099 Graham Patent [US Patent No. 6,573,099] "Genetic Constructs for Delaying or Repressing the Expression of a Target Gene", the wide-ranging platform technology patent covering the use of expressed RNA interference (RNAi) in human therapeutic applications.

17 Feb 2011

Two researchers receive Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2011

Today, the Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2011 goes to two researchers who have contributed to better understanding of the genetics underlying the growth of tumors.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers find blue-green algae may be responsible for producing estrogen-like compound in water

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers have found that blue-green algae may be responsible for producing an estrogen-like compound in the environment which could disrupt the normal activity of reproductive hormones and adversely affect fish, plants and human health.

17 Feb 2011

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Experimental vaccine appears to protect against pneumonia

New study: Rapamycin reverses cardiac muscle damage in LEOPARD syndrome mouse model

Advancell announces positive results from Acadra clinical study in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Scientists decode DNA of parasitic worm that causes trichinosis

Gene that causes rare breast cancer identified

A special type of Dwarfism protects against cancer & diabetes: Study

Research cuts could mean ongoing cancer deaths

Biologist investigates CAPV-EAE population for hereditary breast and ovary cancer

Cutting of funds for Planned Parenthood long overdue, says ACLJ

Biocare, HJF sign license agreement to distribute antibody against prostate cancer

USPTO issues two patents to VIRxSYS SMaRT RNA platform technology

Researchers discover new 'driver gene' in oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer

Scientists establish biomarker strategy to diagnose variety of cancer types

Cyclacel's CYC065 CDK inhibitor demonstrates potential against breast cancer resistant to trastuzumab

DiaGenic fourth quarter operating revenue increases to NOK 1,078 thousand

Avenir team discovers how Neisseria meningitidis disseminates into bloodstream

FDA grants miRagen's MGN-4893 orphan drug designation for treatment of polycythemia vera

Benitec strengthens patent position in RNAi

Two researchers receive Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2011

Researchers find blue-green algae may be responsible for producing estrogen-like compound in water

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre