Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers find link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans

Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming genes interact, and may offer a drug target for cancer treatment.

11 Nov 2009

Researchers identify new mechanism to create lasting memories; findings may yield potential treatment for memory impairments

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal PNAS, are of potential significance to the future treatment of Alzheimer's and stroke.

11 Nov 2009

AMT's gene therapy successful in treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that it has successfully treated Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in an animal model with its proprietary gene therapy. The proof of concept studies were performed in collaboration with the group of Professor Irene Bozzoni (University of Rome, La Sapienza, Italy) and demonstrated effectiveness in the heart as well as in skeletal muscles.

11 Nov 2009

Sprycel holds hope for treating Src dependent ovarian cancer

The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found.

11 Nov 2009

Life Technologies to acquire BioTrove

Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BioTrove, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

10 Nov 2009

NIH awards $6.8 million subcontract to Kineta to develop vaccine immune boosters

Kineta, Inc. announced today it has been awarded a $6.8 million subcontract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop novel vaccine adjuvants (agents that help boost the immune system). The Kineta subcontract is part of a larger $13 million award to the University of Washington.

10 Nov 2009

AMP's four-day event on the latest advances in clinical molecular diagnostics

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) invites the media to follow its upcoming 2009 Annual Meeting and Exhibits and learn about the latest advances in clinical molecular diagnostics.

10 Nov 2009

Study suggests a new improved treatment option for children with Hurler's syndrome

Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme - preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome.

10 Nov 2009

UCSD findings may help scientists to design better drugs to kill pathogenic strains

Over the last 20 years, the sequencing of the human genome, along with related organisms, has represented one of the largest scientific endeavors in the history of mankind. The information collected from genome sequencing will provide the raw data for the field of bioinformatics, where computer science and biology meet.

10 Nov 2009

Activating TAp63 protein, a viable anti-cancer strategy

Oncologists have had their hands tied because more than half of all human cancers have mutations that disable a protein called p53. As a critical anti-cancer watchdog, p53 masterminds several cancer-fighting operations within cells. When cells lose p53, tumors grow aggressively and often cannot be treated.

10 Nov 2009

Scientists find way to splice cell networks down to their genesis

On Noah's Ark animals came in twos: male and female. In human bodies trillions of cells are coupled, too, and so are the molecules from which they are composed. Yet these don't come in twos, they are regrouped into indistinguishable clusters. Because these complex cell networks are the backbone of life - and illness - scientists have long searched for ways to splice cell clusters down to their original pairs.

10 Nov 2009

Dark side of compulsive eating

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that intermittent access to foods rich in fat and sugar induces changes in the brain which are comparable to those observed in drug dependence. The findings, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may explain how abstinence from these foods contributes to relapse eating among dieters as well as related eating disorders.

10 Nov 2009

University of Michigan to develop novel therapy for neuropathic pain

Researchers from the University of Michigan Department of Neurology have received a $1.8 million dollar grant to develop a novel therapy for neuropathic pain, a difficult to treat condition in which patients experience pain because of damage to nerve without obvious tissue injury.

10 Nov 2009

Alzheimer's disease research draws national attention

Research that is targeting the early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease has drawn national attention to the work of Michael Seidenberg, PhD, a faculty member at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

10 Nov 2009

New technique to identify patients more likely to survive advanced melanoma

Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs. Now it may be possible to identify which patients are more likely to survive by analyzing the activity of hundreds of genes involved in the immune response and gene proliferation, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

10 Nov 2009

Chinese SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' Leukemia BCR/ABL fusion gene detection FISH Probe

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced in-vitro diagnostic products, today announced that the Company has received approval for its Leukemia BCR/ABL fusion gene detection FISH Probe (the "Leukemia BCR/ABL FISH Probe") from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

9 Nov 2009

Experts gather to outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding

The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.

7 Nov 2009

Researchers discover a fungal protein that causes disease in plants and animals

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.

7 Nov 2009

Researchers find compound that reverses type 1 myotonic dystrophy

A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease, according to researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.

7 Nov 2009

Genetix Pharmaceuticals develops a gene therapy product to treat ALD

Genetix Pharmaceuticals, a leader in gene therapy of somatic stem cells, announced today the company’s clinical program to treat Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). The company is developing a gene therapy product in collaboration with Professor Patrick Aubourg and Doctor Nathalie Cartier of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM).

7 Nov 2009