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DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Vical enters agreement with GenomIdea to develop DNA vaccine for pandemic influenza

Vical Incorporated today announced that the company has entered into an evaluation and supply agreement with GenomIdea Inc., a subsidiary of AnGes MG, Inc., for the development of a DNA vaccine for livestock against pandemic influenza.

17 Nov 2010

Targeted therapies could treat a broad range of cancers: Research

Targeted cancer therapies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) could be used to treat a wider range of cancers than previously thought, according to new research presented today (Wednesday) at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin.

17 Nov 2010

Adult children of mothers with Alzheimer's at increased risk

A family history of Alzheimer's disease significantly increases the risk for developing this disorder, but a new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that which of your parents has the disease is very important.

17 Nov 2010

China Medical second quarter revenue increases 21.5% to RMB201.8 million

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2010

17 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Dr. Joseph Glavy at Stevens Institute of Technology studies the smallest and most basic elements of life. The Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology runs the Glavy Lab, where advanced student scientists study the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in cells, observing the minutest mechanisms of life as they unfold during mitosis. The Glavy Lab's formal purpose is to study the NPC at the molecular level in the pursuit of the unknown or unexpected in the well-studied but not always well-understood nuclei of living cells.

17 Nov 2010

Garvan Institute professor receives 2010 Prime Minister's Prize for Science

Professor John Shine AO FAA, Executive Director of Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, received the 2010 Prime Minister's Prize for Science, the nation's most highly respected award for scientific achievement, in Parliament House tonight.

17 Nov 2010

EMA approves CTI's Pixuvri Pediatric Investigation Plan for lymphoid malignancies and solid tumors

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. ("CTI") announced today that the European Medicines Agency ("EMA") approved CTI's Pixuvri (pixantrone dimaleate) Pediatric Investigation Plan ("PIP") for the treatment of lymphoid malignancies and solid tumors in children between the ages of six months and 18 years. Previously, the Pediatric Committee (the "PDCO") of the EMA adopted an opinion agreeing to the PIP and a deferral of the initiation of the clinical studies until after the drug receives EMA approval.

17 Nov 2010

Predictive Biosciences, Epigenomics extend GSTP1 licensing agreement for prostate cancer

Epigenomics AG , the cancer diagnostics company, and Predictive Biosciences, a commercial stage, fully-integrated developer of novel molecular diagnostic cancer assays and a provider of anatomic pathology laboratory products and services, today announced that they have extended their licensing agreement for the prostate cancer biomarker GSTP1, originally signed in April 2009.

17 Nov 2010

PrecisionMed enrolls first subject in Multiple Sclerosis Registry

PrecisionMed Inc. today announced at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, enrollment of the first subject into the PrecisionMed Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Registry. The PrecisionMed MS Registry is a biological sample bank of DNA and serial RNA, CSF, serum and plasma associated with serial clinical testing utilizing PrecisionMed's clinical data procurement and storage capabilities.

17 Nov 2010

Two-dimensional crystals from DNA origami tiles

DNA is more than just a carrier for our genetic information; DNA is also an outstanding nanoscale building material, as researchers led by Ned Seeman discovered thirty years ago. Seeman and his colleagues at the New York University (USA) have now used cross-shaped DNA tiles to produce an amazingly large grid structure that resembles woven fabric. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, these two-dimensional crystals attain dimensions of about 2×3 micrometers.

16 Nov 2010

New mathematical method predicts dominant strain of influenza virus

Rice University scientists have found a way to predict rapidly whether a new strain of the influenza virus should be included in the annual seasonal flu vaccine. While it sometimes takes new flu strains up to three years to become dominant worldwide, the new method can predict whether they will become dominant as little as two weeks after the sequence first appears in the GenBank database, the National Institutes of Health's collection of all publicly available DNA sequences.

16 Nov 2010

New stem cell-infused patch improves heart function after myocardial infarction

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that applying a stem cell-infused patch together with overexpression of a specific cell instruction molecule promoted cell migration to damaged cardiac tissue following heart attack and resulted in improved function in animal models.

16 Nov 2010

4SC to present development of resminostat and preclinical drug candidates at EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium

4SC, a drug discovery and development company focused on autoimmune and cancer indications, today announced that it will present four posters and respective abstracts that highlight the development of its lead oncology compound resminostat and several preclinical drug candidates at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium from 16 - 19 November, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

16 Nov 2010

OtoSCOPE method offers single-run genetic testing for hearing loss

Pinpointing the exact genetic cause of inherited deafness has always involved sequencing one gene at a time, a process that can take up to a year and cost roughly $1,000 per gene. It would cost around $75,000 to test all known deafness causing genes using this approach. Now University of Iowa researchers working with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a test that can screen all of the genes known to cause deafness in a single run, in one to three months and for about $2,000.

16 Nov 2010

Leaders speak at Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health conference

Education for women is the most important factor for positively influencing the health of women and children, Indian President Pratibha Patil said on Saturday at a meeting in New Delhi of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), IANS/Sify News reports. "Education is a powerful driver of health. The relationship between poverty, lack of education and limited access to health services, is well recognised," Patil said at the start of the two-day conference (11/13).

16 Nov 2010

NPR reports on dengue vaccine progress

NPR's Shots blog examines progress in the search for a vaccine to protect against the dengue virus. WHO estimates that 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of getting dengue, and most of them are in Asia and Latin America, the blog writes.

16 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

Cyplasin selects Aurobindo Pharma to supply API component for Ribavirin drug

Cyplasin Biomedical is a product-oriented, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing products for the multi-billion dollar hepatitis C virus (HCV) market. The Company is pleased to announce that it has selected Aurobindo Pharma located in Hyderabad , India to supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) component for its Ribavirin drug product called C-Virin.

15 Nov 2010

SuperGen to present three abstracts at EORTC-NCI-AACR International Symposium

SuperGen, Inc., a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapies, today announced the acceptance of three abstracts detailing recent work with SuperGen compounds.

15 Nov 2010

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

The current science and experience does not support the safety and efficaciousness of a biosimilar pathway for plasma protein therapies. At a public hearing last week, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) urged the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make patient safety its top priority by adopting a global approach in its evaluation of plasma protein therapies for the biosimilars process.

15 Nov 2010