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MIT biological engineers trying to adapt MRI to visualize gene activity inside the brains of living animals

Doctors commonly use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose tumors, damage from stroke, and many other medical conditions. Neuroscientists also rely on it as a research tool for identifying parts of the brain that carry out different cognitive functions.

26 Mar 2014

Agios initiates AG-120 Phase 1 study to evaluate advanced solid tumors with IDH1 mutation

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the fields of cancer metabolism and inborn errors of metabolism, today announced dose administration for the first patient in a Phase 1 study of AG-120 in patients with advanced solid tumors with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation.

25 Mar 2014

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

This alternative approach to creating artificial organic molecules, called bioretrosynthesis, was first proposed four years ago by Brian Bachmann, associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Now Bachmann and a team of collaborators report that they have succeeded in using the method to produce the HIV drug didanosine.

25 Mar 2014

Taiho Pharmaceutical obtains approval in Japan for anticancer drug Lonsurf

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, President: Masayuki Kobayashi) announced on March 24 that it has obtained approval in Japan from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to manufacture and market the oral combination anticancer drug "Lonsurf(R) combination tablet T15, T20" (nonproprietary names: trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride; development code: TAS-102), for the treatment of patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer (only if refractory to standard therapies).

24 Mar 2014

New national research consortium focuses on better drug therapies for viral infections

Viral infections with limited or no treatment options can pose a major global health threat, but a new national research consortium centered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is focused on the discovery of new and better drug therapies as these viruses emerge.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers find stress can delay pregnancy and double risk of infertility

Having difficulty getting pregnant can be an incredibly stressful experience for any couple. Now, for the first time, researchers have data that suggests preconception stress might play a role in infertility.

24 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Study: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on rise in U.S. children

Infections caused by a concerning type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise in U.S. children, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and available online.

20 Mar 2014

Trimethoprim is more effective against streptococci than expected, says research

The focus of his team was also on samples, in which the bacteria failed to respond to the agent. They discovered two types of resistance. "Spontaneous mutations can occur in the gene for dihydrofolate reductase rendering trimethoprim no longer able to attack the changed enzyme, which means it becomes ineffective," Nitsche-Schmitz explained.

20 Mar 2014

Researchers discover potential new therapeutic target for controlling high blood sugar

A UT Southwestern Medical Center study has identified a new potential therapeutic target for controlling high blood sugar, a finding that could help the estimated 25 million Americans with type 2 diabetes.

19 Mar 2014

Scientists step in with new way to determine drug safety without using animals

As some countries and companies roll out new rules to limit animal testing in pharmaceutical products designed for people, scientists are stepping in with a new way to test therapeutic drug candidates and determine drug safety and drug interactions — without using animals.

19 Mar 2014

CLL patients more prone to infections due to reduced number of antibodies

People with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) are essentially more prone to infections such as varicella, influenza or pneumococci due to the reduction in the number of antibodies that their condition causes.

19 Mar 2014

Chemical engineers design way to manufacture peptides in mere hours

Small protein fragments, also called peptides, are promising as drugs because they can be designed for very specific functions inside living cells. Insulin and the HIV drug Fuzeon are some of the earliest successful examples, and peptide drugs are expected to become a $25 billion market by 2018.

19 Mar 2014

Nine fellows selected to receive Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship for next two years

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the sixth class of The Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellows funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

19 Mar 2014

Scientists develop new mechanism that helps decode amyloid plaque formation in brains of Alzheimer's patients

University of Michigan researchers have learned how to fix a cellular structure called the Golgi that mysteriously becomes fragmented in all Alzheimer's patients and appears to be a major cause of the disease.

18 Mar 2014

New standard for U.S. heart transplantation

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has set a new standard for U.S. heart transplantation by completing 117 adult heart transplants and two adult heart-lung transplants, for a total of 119 adult heart transplants in a single year. The previous number set in 2005, was 98 adult heart transplants performed in one year.

18 Mar 2014

Findings support development of cysteine protease inhibitors as new drug target for AD

A team of scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina and San Diego-based American Life Science Pharmaceuticals, Inc., report that cathepsin B gene knockout or its reduction by an enzyme inhibitor blocks creation of key neurotoxic pGlu-Aβ peptides linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, the candidate inhibitor drug has been shown to be safe in humans.

18 Mar 2014

Enzyme News and Research

MIT biological engineers trying to adapt MRI to visualize gene activity inside the brains of living animals

Agios initiates AG-120 Phase 1 study to evaluate advanced solid tumors with IDH1 mutation

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

Taiho Pharmaceutical obtains approval in Japan for anticancer drug Lonsurf

New national research consortium focuses on better drug therapies for viral infections

Researchers find stress can delay pregnancy and double risk of infertility

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Study: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on rise in U.S. children

Trimethoprim is more effective against streptococci than expected, says research

Researchers discover potential new therapeutic target for controlling high blood sugar

Scientists step in with new way to determine drug safety without using animals

CLL patients more prone to infections due to reduced number of antibodies

Chemical engineers design way to manufacture peptides in mere hours

Nine fellows selected to receive Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship for next two years

Scientists develop new mechanism that helps decode amyloid plaque formation in brains of Alzheimer's patients

New standard for U.S. heart transplantation

Findings support development of cysteine protease inhibitors as new drug target for AD

Vitamin D receptor gene variant protects against male LUTS

TAF proteins may serve as potential targets to fight ovarian cancer

Hepatitis C patients with ITPA gene variants exhibit lower risk of relapse after treatment

Biochemistry eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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