Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Life Technologies second-quarter Non-GAAP revenue increases 8% to $906 million

Life Technologies Corporation today announced results for its second quarter ending June 30, 2010. Non-GAAP revenue for the second quarter was $906 million, an increase of 8 percent over the $839 million reported for the second quarter of 2009. Excluding the impact of currency and prior acquisitions and divestitures, organic revenue for the quarter grew 6 percent over the same period in the previous year.

30 Jul 2010

Prostate basal cell can spawn tumors in prostate gland: Research

A type of prostate cell that has been largely ignored by cancer researchers can, in fact, trigger malignant prostate cancer, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists and their colleagues.

30 Jul 2010

Exact Sciences to demonstrate methylation specific technology at AACC annual meeting

Exact Sciences Corp. today announced that data being presented this afternoon at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry demonstrates that its methylation specific technology, using a combination of DNA methylation markers, detected 100 percent of colorectal cancers and precancers at a specificity cutoff of 100 percent in a preliminary study with colorectal tissue.

29 Jul 2010

FAO launches initiative to curb animal diseases

In an effort to prevent and control outbreaks of animal diseases and the associated costs, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday announced a new five-year initiative "to improve global response to disease outbreaks, implement effective prevention and containment strategies and manage risks," PANA/Afrique en ligne reports (7/28).

29 Jul 2010

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research have discovered that a particular family of enzymes are involved in the breakdown of proteins that modify the production of toxic fragments that lead to the pathology of Huntington's disease. These enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases, provide new targets for drug therapies for the disease - targets that have already been shown to respond to cancer drugs currently in clinical development.

29 Jul 2010

Genetic signals determine neurotransmitter use for communication

Cascades of genetic signals determine which neurotransmitter a brain cell will ultimately use to communicate with other cells. Now a pair of reports from biologists at the University of California, San Diego, have shown for the first time that electrical activity in these developing neurons can alter their chemical fate-and change an animal's behavior-by tweaking this genetic program.

29 Jul 2010

Quest Diagnostics' Fragile X Syndrome test receives New York State health department approval

An accurate, faster testing option to identify female carriers and other patients with genetic abnormalities that cause Fragile X Syndrome is now available to physicians in all fifty states with the recent approval in New York. Fragile X is the leading cause of inherited mental retardation and the most common known single gene cause of autism.

From Quest Diagnostics 29 Jul 2010

Increased SIRT1 protein can delay delay aging, extend lifespan

Researchers watched two groups of mice, both nearing the end of a two-day fast. One group was quietly huddled together, but the other group was active and alert. The difference? The second set of mice had been engineered so their brains produced more SIRT1, a protein known to play a role in aging and longevity.

29 Jul 2010

SurModics, EGEN continue collaboration on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry and EGEN, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing nucleic acid (DNA and RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases, are pleased to announce they have executed a continuation of their feasibility collaboration focused on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes.

28 Jul 2010

Research findings provide new insight into skeletal development

Too little of a protein called neogenin results in a smaller skeleton during development and sets the stage for a more fragile bone framework lifelong, Medical College of Georgia researchers report.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists identify genetic variants for breast cancer

Women with higher risk scores that consisted of having certain genetic variants most strongly linked to breast cancer had an associated higher risk of breast cancer, with these scores also highly predictive of estrogen receptor-positive disease, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Jul 2010

CvergenX acquires global rights to InterveneXRT technology for individualization of radiation therapy

Moffitt Cancer Center and CvergenX, Inc., announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement under which CvergenX has acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to a technology platform that individualizes radiation therapy, InterveneXRT™. Researchers at Moffitt have used gene expression analysis and systems biology to create a radio-sensitivity classification index for individual tumors.

28 Jul 2010

Affymetrix to develop, commercialize Axiom Chinese myDesign Genotyping Array

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced that it will develop and commercialize the Axiom Chinese myDesign Genotyping Array, the first product that provides maximum power for genome-wide association studies specifically on Chinese populations.

28 Jul 2010

New study reveals potential role of TGF-β1 in kidney disease

Fibrosis in the kidney is one of the key causes of progressive renal failure. High levels of the inflammatory molecule TGF-β1 in the kidney tubules due to tissue damage can cause fibrosis as well as nephron degeneration, resulting in loss of kidney function. To clarify the mechanisms regulating TGF-β1-mediated renal fibrosis, Koesters et al expressed high levels of TGF-β1 in renal tubules of mice. Nephron degeneration in this system was mediated by decomposition of the tubular cells. These data suggest that TGF-β1 may play a novel role in cell death of renal cells, thus contributing to renal fibrosis.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists develop laser activated carbon nanoparticles for drug, gene delivery

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells.Carbon nanoparticles activated by bursts of laser light trigger the tiny blasts, which open holes in cell membranes just long enough to admit therapeutic agents contained in the surrounding fluid. By adjusting laser exposure, the researchers administered a small-molecule marker compound to 90 percent of targeted cells - while keeping more than 90 percent of the cells alive.

28 Jul 2010

Dopamine-releasing cells essential for detected odor to be associated with negative experience: Study

It is common sense that it's worth learning what things and situations are harmful to us if we want to have a long and healthy life. For example, after getting a nasty sunburn, we learn our lesson, and apply sun cream before going sunbathing next time. The importance of such learned avoidance strategies is reflected by the fact that even fruit flies possess them.

27 Jul 2010

Scientists discover mechanism behind flushing reaction caused by nicotinic acid treatment

Cholesterol influences the health of our hearts and blood vessels. Conventional treatment attempts to reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, in the blood plasma. The opposite approach, which involves increasing the concentration of "good" HDL cholesterol using nicotinic acid, has proven unpopular among patients up to now. The reason for this is that treatment with nicotinic acid has an unpleasant but harmless side-effect: the drug makes patients turn quite red in the face. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered the mechanism behind this effect, which is known as flushing. This will enable the development of flush inhibitors and thereby the more effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

27 Jul 2010

Circle Biologics introduces single device Autologous Platelet Concentrator Platform

Circle Biologics, Inc. has announced a technological break-through in regenerative medicine – its Autologous Platelet Concentrator Platform. This innovative single device platform is the first of its kind to incorporate both autologous cell concentration and protein concentration in one point-of-care device.

27 Jul 2010

PIK3CA, KRAS mutations in tumor can predict patients’ response to treatment: Research

Drugs such as everolimus that target the protein mTOR are used to treat several forms of cancer, but not all patients respond to the treatment. A team of researchers, led by Alberto Bardelli, at the University of Turin Medical School, Italy, has now identified a way to help predict which patients will respond to such drugs.

27 Jul 2010

Clontech Laboratories, TET Systems expand license agreement

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., and TET Systems (TET), a privately-held German biotech company based in Heidelberg, today announced that they have signed an amendment to their existing license agreement. Under the expanded license agreement, Clontech obtains rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize novel Tet Systems products as the Tet-On® 3G™ Inducible Expression System.

26 Jul 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Life Technologies second-quarter Non-GAAP revenue increases 8% to $906 million

Prostate basal cell can spawn tumors in prostate gland: Research

Exact Sciences to demonstrate methylation specific technology at AACC annual meeting

FAO launches initiative to curb animal diseases

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Genetic signals determine neurotransmitter use for communication

Quest Diagnostics' Fragile X Syndrome test receives New York State health department approval

Increased SIRT1 protein can delay delay aging, extend lifespan

SurModics, EGEN continue collaboration on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes

Research findings provide new insight into skeletal development

Scientists identify genetic variants for breast cancer

CvergenX acquires global rights to InterveneXRT technology for individualization of radiation therapy

Affymetrix to develop, commercialize Axiom Chinese myDesign Genotyping Array

New study reveals potential role of TGF-β1 in kidney disease

Scientists develop laser activated carbon nanoparticles for drug, gene delivery

Dopamine-releasing cells essential for detected odor to be associated with negative experience: Study

Scientists discover mechanism behind flushing reaction caused by nicotinic acid treatment

Circle Biologics introduces single device Autologous Platelet Concentrator Platform

PIK3CA, KRAS mutations in tumor can predict patients’ response to treatment: Research

Clontech Laboratories, TET Systems expand license agreement

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