Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

PrimeraDx receives its fourth patent

PrimeraDx, Inc., a privately held molecular diagnostics company, announced today that it has received its fourth patent. The patent, entitled “Methods and systems for dynamic gene expression profiling”, with inventor Vladimir Slepnev, Ph.D., describes a novel method of quantitative analysis of gene expression allowing simultaneous interrogation of multiple genes in a single tube reaction.

5 Oct 2009

Sigma-Aldrich and Sangamo Biosciences extend license agreement for ZFP technology

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation and Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) today announced a major expansion of their existing license agreement to include the exclusive rights to develop and distribute zinc finger DNA binding protein (ZFP)-modified cell lines for commercial production of protein pharmaceuticals.

5 Oct 2009

Scientists uncover the role of first-responder molecule involved in repairing DNA strand breaks

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the role played by the least-understood part of a first-responder molecule that rushes in to bind and repair breaks in DNA strands, a process that helps people avoid cancer.

5 Oct 2009

Genentech announces two Phase III study results of Lucentis

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, today announced results from two Phase III studies of Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) in macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO), which showed, on average, patients given either of two doses of Lucentis had a clinically and statistically significant improvement in vision as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at six months compared to patients receiving sham injections.

5 Oct 2009

Study identifies new genes associated with head and neck cancer

A Henry Ford Hospital study has identified 231 new genes associated with head and neck cancer, one of the most deadly cancers responsible for 2.1 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States.

5 Oct 2009

Study shows that GSK-3 gene determines the total number of neurons required for brain

In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which those materials evolve into functioning neurons.

5 Oct 2009

New genetic alteration can cause familial cancers

Duke University Medical Center and National Cancer Institute scientists have discovered that a novel genetic alteration - a second copy of an entire gene - is a cause of familial chordoma, an uncommon form of cancer arising in bones and frequently affecting the nervous system.

5 Oct 2009

Retinoic acid may provide relief for ulcerative colitis

Here's another reason why you should take your vitamins. A new research report appearing in the October 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) suggests that retinoic acid, the oxidized form of vitamin A, could be a beneficial treatment for people suffering from ulcerative colitis and other irritable bowel diseases.

3 Oct 2009

GeneMedRx software warns patients and physicians if tamoxifen benefit is at risk

One hundred eighty thousand women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Eighty thousand will start taking the drug tamoxifen to prevent the recurrence of their ER (estrogen receptor) positive breast cancers. The treatment is successful in two-thirds of the women who take it. Genelex Corporation (Seattle) is now offering Tamoxitest(TM) that could improve this success rate to greater than 90% by addressing both of the common causes of tamoxifen treatment failure.

3 Oct 2009

Role of gene that could influence fertility identified in mice

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a gene in regulating molecular signals involved with ovarian follicle development, which may one day help shed light on some of the causes of fertility issues in humans.

3 Oct 2009

Cardium announces positive results from the Phase 1 / 2 clinical study of Excellarate

Cardium Therapeutics announced plans to report on preliminary safety and efficacy data from its Matrix Phase 2b Excellarate clinical study. Based on guidance from Cardium's independent clinical data management company which is currently completing the statistical analysis of all data for the Matrix clinical trial, Cardium expects to receive the locked unblinded data set and be in position to announce preliminary results on or before October 14, 2009.

3 Oct 2009

NIMH awards USC scientists $9M for mapping gene expression during human brain development

Two University of Southern California (USC) neuroscientists have been awarded nearly $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to map how genes are expressed in different regions of the human brain throughout development.

3 Oct 2009

Researchers discover that Merkel cells originate in the skin

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine assistant professor of pediatrics, neurosciences and otolaryngology, Stephen M. Maricich, M.D., Ph.D., and his team found that Merkel cells originate in the skin, not the neural crest lineage, as previously speculated.

3 Oct 2009

Research study reveals primary chemotherapy benefits

Initial chemotherapy alone after surgery is just as successful as initial radiation therapy for patients from whom a very malignant brain tumor (anaplastic glioma) was removed. With this treatment, the patients survive on average > 30 months without a recurrence. A study conducted by the Neurooncology Working Group of the German Cancer Society led by researchers from Heidelberg and Z-rich showed that patients in primary therapy benefit to the same extent from chemotherapy alone as from radiation alone.

3 Oct 2009

NEDD9 protein stimulates aggressive metastatic breast cancer

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that a protein called NEDD9 may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow. Their findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, are presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research, available on-line now.

3 Oct 2009

Researchers screen decades-old frozen infant stool samples to detect norovirus

A search through decades-old frozen infant stool samples has yielded rich dividends for scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Oct 2009

Enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human's natural defense system identified

Researchers at Iowa State University have identified an enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human's natural defense system. Researchers have also found a method to possibly neutralize that enzyme, which may someday lead to a cure for tuberculosis.

3 Oct 2009

61 institutions awarded grants for cancer research from American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 new national research and training grants totaling $45,097,000 to 61 institutions nationwide in the second of two grants cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning January 1, 2010.

3 Oct 2009

People with rare mutations of gene MUTYH at increased risk of bowel cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK funded scientists have found that people who carry rare mutations within both copies of a gene called MUTYH are 28 times more likely to develop bowel cancer compared to the general population, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

1 Oct 2009

Screening and diagnostic tests contribute to health care value across spectrum of care

Amidst ongoing debate in Congress over reforming the nation's health care system, a new report from the Lewin Group finds that screening and diagnostic laboratory tests are central to achieving some of the most important goals of health care reform.

1 Oct 2009

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

PrimeraDx receives its fourth patent

Sigma-Aldrich and Sangamo Biosciences extend license agreement for ZFP technology

Scientists uncover the role of first-responder molecule involved in repairing DNA strand breaks

Genentech announces two Phase III study results of Lucentis

Study identifies new genes associated with head and neck cancer

Study shows that GSK-3 gene determines the total number of neurons required for brain

New genetic alteration can cause familial cancers

Retinoic acid may provide relief for ulcerative colitis

GeneMedRx software warns patients and physicians if tamoxifen benefit is at risk

Role of gene that could influence fertility identified in mice

Cardium announces positive results from the Phase 1 / 2 clinical study of Excellarate

NIMH awards USC scientists $9M for mapping gene expression during human brain development

Researchers discover that Merkel cells originate in the skin

Research study reveals primary chemotherapy benefits

NEDD9 protein stimulates aggressive metastatic breast cancer

Researchers screen decades-old frozen infant stool samples to detect norovirus

Enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human's natural defense system identified

61 institutions awarded grants for cancer research from American Cancer Society

People with rare mutations of gene MUTYH at increased risk of bowel cancer

Screening and diagnostic tests contribute to health care value across spectrum of care

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