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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).

Techulon signs exclusive license with Virginia Tech to market new theranostic transfection reagent

Techulon™ Inc., an early stage life sciences company based in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, has signed an exclusive license with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. to market a new theranostic transfection reagent. This new traceable reagent complements Techulon's currently marketed Glyocofect™ transfection platform and expands the company's offering in an $800 million market that is steadily growing at 15% annually.

26 Oct 2010

Viral microRNA allows EBV to hide within cells and evade immune system

While most commonly associated with mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been linked to many diseases that affect people long after the initial infection takes place, including some forms of cancer. In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at The Wistar Institute describe how viral microRNA - small segments of RNA that suppress the effects of gene activity - allows EBV to hide within cells and evade the immune system.

26 Oct 2010

Cancer researcher to receive 2010 AACR Award of excellence

John D. Groopman, Ph.D., has been selected to receive the 2010 American Association for Cancer Research-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research

26 Oct 2010

Examining genetic material of egg cells may inform about embryos health

Fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) require a couple and the doctor to place the risky bet that the multiple eggs they choose to fertilize will produce an embryo that will thrive in the uterus. Researchers cannot biopsy eggs directly because that would destroy them, but a new discovery by professors at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital could lead to new insights about how eggs develop and ultimately inform judgments about how the embryos they produce will fare. The idea is to examine the genetic material the egg cells discarded when they were first forming, to see which genes they were expressing.

26 Oct 2010

TRACON to present data on TRC105, TRC102 cancer therapies at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

TRACON Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that develops targeted therapies for oncology and related diseases, announced today that new data on TRC105 and TRC102 will be presented at the 22nd Annual EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin, Germany.

26 Oct 2010

SNP array's snapshot of Anopheles gambiae genome can help eliminate malaria

The development and first use of a high-density SNP array for the malaria vector mosquito have established 400,000 genetic markers capable of revealing new insights into how the insect adapts to outsmart insecticides and other preventive measures, according to findings published in the current edition of the journal Science.

26 Oct 2010

Study reveals two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps

A new study reveals that two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps by unraveling and using the chromatin (DNA and its associated proteins) contained in the cells' nuclei to form defensive webs. The study appears online on October 25 in The Journal of Cell Biology.

26 Oct 2010

Helicos names Illumina and Life Technologies as additional defendants in lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences

Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today that it has amended its lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. for patent infringement by naming Illumina, Inc. and Life Technologies Corporation as additional defendants.

From Illumina, Inc. 25 Oct 2010

Inovio announces publication of minimally-invasive intradermal device in journal Gene Therapy

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that a peer-reviewed research article describing the development of a new intradermal, minimally-invasive DNA vaccine delivery device was published in the prestigious journal Gene Therapy.

25 Oct 2010

NIH awards $3.9M for Fanconi anemia research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a three-year, $3.9 million grant to Children's Hospital Boston researchers and their colleagues to develop a therapy to treat Fanconi anemia, a fatal genetic blood disease.

25 Oct 2010

Chimerix to present CMX001 data for viral infections at IDSA Annual Meeting

Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, will present promising clinical data for CMX001 in a late-breaker poster session at the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) 48th Annual Meeting.

25 Oct 2010

Cellectis and CiRA commence iPS cell scientific collaboration

Cellectis, the French genome engineering specialist, and the Center for iPS Cells Research and Application (CiRA) of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, have announced today that they have started a scientific collaboration to combine Cellectis' genome engineering technologies with CiRA's induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technology to improve the natural characteristics of iPS cells for use as cellular tools.

25 Oct 2010

Shrink announces agreement to produce high content screening tool for biotech R&D subsidiary

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc. an innovative nanotechnology company developing products and licensing opportunities in the alternative energy industry, medical diagnostics and sensors and biotechnology research and development tools businesses, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to produce a high content screening tool for its biotech R&D subsidiary, Shrink Chips LLC.

25 Oct 2010

Research on worms may help develop ways to maintain fertility in humans

Princeton scientists have identified genes responsible for controlling reproductive life span in worms and found they may control genes regulating similar functions in humans. The work suggests that someday researchers may be able to develop ways to maintain fertility in humans, allowing women who want to delay having children to preserve that capacity and extend their reproduction, and to prevent maternal age-related birth defects.

25 Oct 2010

Scientists use Affymetrix custom microarray to advance malarial study

Affymetrix, Inc. announced today that an international team of researchers led by scientists at Boston College, the Broad Institute, and Imperial College London used an Affymetrix custom microarray to advance the study of malaria by assessing the variation in genetic structure and detecting known and novel genetic differences among malaria vector mosquito populations.

25 Oct 2010

NCRR awards 450 Recovery Act instrumentation grants to NIH-funded scientists

Leading-edge, shared technologies are an important component of advancing research to improve health. Specialized instruments such as high-powered electron microscopes, high-resolution mass spectrometers and supercomputers that rapidly process vast amounts of data can enable breakthrough discoveries in preventions, treatments and cures for diseases.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers find gene mutation mechanism that cause mitochondrial diseases

Scientists have discovered a new cause of spastic ataxia, and believe this cause is also a trigger for other mitochondrial diseases neurological disorders that can lead to serious coordination, growth, visual, speech, and muscle defects.

22 Oct 2010

LifeGen Technologies awarded Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant

LifeGen Technologies, LLC has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the United States National Institute on Aging. The project is focused on identifying a robust panel of genes in adipose tissue (fat) that are regulated by a calorie restricted diet. According to Dr. Jamie Barger, Director of Operations at LifeGen, the technology developed under the NIH grant will allow LifeGen to screen for compounds that have beneficial effects on adipose tissue in a manner similar to that of a calorie restricted diet.

22 Oct 2010

AACR to host special conference on colorectal cancer

The American Association for Cancer Research will hosts its first special conference on Colorectal Cancer: Biology to Therapy from Oct. 27-30, 2010, at the Loews Hotel, Philadelphia.

22 Oct 2010

Techulon signs license with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties to market DNA delivery platform

Techulon Inc., a life sciences company based in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, has signed an exclusive license with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. to market a new, traceable DNA delivery platform created to deliver genetic medicine to cells while carrying a beacon so scientists can follow its progress.

22 Oct 2010