Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Benitec receives exclusive rights to use DNA technology pioneered at Stanford University for all RNAi therapeutic uses

Benitec has announced an exclusive licensing deal with Stanford University. Under the license, Benitec receives exclusive rights to use the Minicircle DNA technology pioneered at Stanford University for all RNAi therapeutic uses, with sub-licensing rights.

18 Oct 2004

Cyclopamine, derived from the corn lily may treat and prevent basal cell carcinoma

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have demonstrated in laboratory animals that a compound derived from a common plant can be used to treat and prevent the most widespread form of cancer in people

18 Oct 2004

We are at the very beginning of 'gene finding' for alcohol response

Alcoholism is a complex, genetically influenced disorder. Multiple phenotypes – measurable and/or observable traits or behavior – contribute to the risk of developing alcoholism, particularly disinhibition, alcohol metabolizing patterns, and a low level of response (LR) to alcohol.

16 Oct 2004

Significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer

University of Utah scientists have taken significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer by identifying some of the genetic events that cause the disease and then engineering mice that develop the tumors.

16 Oct 2004

Genetic science gaining momentum by silencing genes

Along with five European academic laboratories, researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to Ghent University are accelerating the study of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

16 Oct 2004

Asthma research company Synairgen to float on London's Alternative Investment Market

A spin-out company from the University of Southampton specialising in finding and out-licensing treatments for chronic bronchitis (COPD) and the severest forms of asthma, is about to seek a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

13 Oct 2004

Laboratory test of evolutionary theory confirms the importance of connections between populations

Researchers studying the evolutionary dynamics of bacteria and viruses in bubbling glass tubes have confirmed an evolutionary theory of central importance to ecologists studying more familiar flora and fauna in the wild.

13 Oct 2004

University of Cambridge executes exclusive patent licences and collaborative research and development agreement with Gene Networks International

The University of Cambridge has entered into two licence agreements with Gene Networks International (GNI), granting exclusive rights to Cambridge's intellectual property related to angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels) and inflammation that may have implications in the identification of new drug targets for a range of diseases.

13 Oct 2004

Robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's disease protein affects neurons

Using a specially designed robotic microscope to study cultured cells, researchers have found evidence that abnormal protein clumps called inclusion bodies in neurons from people with Huntington's disease (HD) prevent cell death.

13 Oct 2004

Researchers stimulate the body to repair tissue damaged by peripheral arterial obstructive disease

Duke University Medical Center researchers have shown that they can stimulate the body to produce its own naturally occurring growth factors to promote blood vessel growth into tissue damaged by peripheral arterial obstructive disease (PAOD).

13 Oct 2004

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels that is already being investigated to prevent cardiovascular disease also may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

13 Oct 2004

Discovery of compound that renders the MRSA superbug vulnerable to antibiotics

MRSA- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus- is defined by its ability to resist the antibiotic methicillin. Like penicillin, methicillin works by blocking bacterial enzymes called PBPs, which normally strengthen cell walls by forming cross links.

13 Oct 2004

Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer

The condition of mice with a genetic blood disease called beta-thalassemia improved significantly following treatment of their blood forming cells with a gene that enabled them to produce the type of hemoglobin normally found only in the fetus.

12 Oct 2004

Some people who chew betel nut may be genetically more prone to mouth cancer

The nut of the betel or areca palm tree contains a mild, central nervous system stimulant called arecoline. Chewing the nut on its own or with a mixture of tobacco, lime and betel leaf is a popular habit in Asian countries and among British Asians.

12 Oct 2004

Estrogen protects male rats from aortic aneurysms

When it comes to abdominal aortic aneurysms – life-threatening bulges or weak areas in the main artery feeding blood to the lower half of the body – new U-M research shows that it is definitely better to be female.

12 Oct 2004

Genetic discovery may hold clues to the development of many cases of the most common cancers

In a study published in Nature Genetics today, a team of scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have discovered a gene that may hold clues to the development of many cases of the most common cancers including lung, breast, prostate and colon cancers.

12 Oct 2004

Major step forward in understanding how the organs are placed in their correct positions in the body

Researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, have taken a major step forward in understanding one of the fundamental questions in the field of developmental biology today: how the organs are placed in their correct positions in the body.

12 Oct 2004

Dietary iron imbalances increase the odds of developing Parkinson's disease

You might want to toss those iron-fortified vitamins, because absent a diagnosed deficiency too much of a good thing can be bad.

12 Oct 2004

New study offers rare glimpse of how the smallpox virus attacks its victims

Results of a new study in monkeys offer scientists a rare glimpse of how, on a molecular level, the smallpox virus attacks its victims. The findings shed light on how the virus caused mass death and suffering, and will help point the way to new diagnostics, vaccines and drugs that would be needed in the event of a smallpox bioterror incident.

12 Oct 2004

New research suggests that cancer cells can be reformed

New research by Dean Felsher, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (oncology) and of pathology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, suggests that cancer cells can be reformed.

12 Oct 2004

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Benitec receives exclusive rights to use DNA technology pioneered at Stanford University for all RNAi therapeutic uses

Cyclopamine, derived from the corn lily may treat and prevent basal cell carcinoma

We are at the very beginning of 'gene finding' for alcohol response

Significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer

Genetic science gaining momentum by silencing genes

Asthma research company Synairgen to float on London's Alternative Investment Market

Laboratory test of evolutionary theory confirms the importance of connections between populations

University of Cambridge executes exclusive patent licences and collaborative research and development agreement with Gene Networks International

Robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's disease protein affects neurons

Researchers stimulate the body to repair tissue damaged by peripheral arterial obstructive disease

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Discovery of compound that renders the MRSA superbug vulnerable to antibiotics

Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer

Some people who chew betel nut may be genetically more prone to mouth cancer

Estrogen protects male rats from aortic aneurysms

Genetic discovery may hold clues to the development of many cases of the most common cancers

Major step forward in understanding how the organs are placed in their correct positions in the body

Dietary iron imbalances increase the odds of developing Parkinson's disease

New study offers rare glimpse of how the smallpox virus attacks its victims

New research suggests that cancer cells can be reformed

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

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Exploring the Future of Neuroscience Drug Discovery

Genomic conservation in Thailand's mangroves