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Sangamo BioSciences starts Phase 2 clinical studies to develop functional cure for HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today the initiation of two new Phase 2 clinical studies (SB-728-1101 and SB-728-902, Cohort 5) in its program to develop a "functional cure" for HIV/AIDS.

9 Jan 2012

TRON uses Ingenuity Variant Analysis to identify cancer driver variants

Ingenuity Systems, a leading provider of information and analysis solutions for life science researchers, today announced that TRON has used Ingenuity Variant Analysis to identify cancer driver variants that inform the development of an experimental individualized RNA-based therapeutic.

9 Jan 2012

Scientists identify key tumorigenic pathways in never-smoker lung adenocarcinoma patients

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have begun to identify mutations and cellular pathway changes that lead to lung cancer in never-smokers - a first step in developing potential therapeutic targets.

9 Jan 2012

Many parents share BRCA1/A2 test results with their children

A new study has found that when parents get tested for breast cancer genes, many of them share their results with their children, even with those who are very young. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also revealed that most parents think that their children are not distressed when they learn about the test results.

9 Jan 2012

Scientists identify two genes involved in major symptoms of MeCP2 duplication disorder

The anxiety and behavioral issues associated with excess MeCP2 protein result from overexpression of two genes (Crh [corticotropin-releasing hormone] and Oprm 1 [mu-opioid receptor MOR 1]), which may point the way to treating these problems in patients with too much of the protein, said Baylor of Medicine scientists in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 Jan 2012

Studies identify genes and small molecules against protein conformational diseases

Two related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, cystic fibrosis and type 2 diabetes.

7 Jan 2012

Scientists map neurons that process different kinds of visual information

There's a 3-D world in our brains. It's a landscape that mimics the outside world, where the objects we see exist as collections of neural circuits and electrical impulses.

7 Jan 2012

AHA honors Rice University professor with Established Investigator Award

Rice University's Jane Grande-Allen, one of the world's foremost experts on the biomechanics of heart-valve tissue, has won an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association.

6 Jan 2012

Researchers produce chimeric monkeys with six distinct genomes

Researchers have produced the world's first chimeric monkeys. The bodies of these monkeys, which are normal and healthy, are composed of a mixture of cells representing as many as six distinct genomes.

6 Jan 2012

Study shows how Epstein-Barr virus triggers MS

A new study from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London shows how a particular virus tricks the immune system into triggering inflammation and nerve cell damage in the brain, which is known to cause MS.

6 Jan 2012

Researchers discover that flatworm lacks centrosome

A tiny, freshwater flatworm found in ponds and rivers around the world that has long intrigued scientists for its remarkable ability to regenerate has now added a new wrinkle to biology.

6 Jan 2012

RNF123 gene may play a role in major depression

Psychiatric disorders can be described on many levels, the most traditional of which are subjective descriptions of the experience of being depressed and the use of rating scales that quantify depressive symptoms. Over the past two decades, research has developed other strategies for describing the biological underpinnings of depression, including volumetric brain measurements using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the patterns of gene expression in white blood cells.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers identify key ingredient needed for muscles to grow

We take it for granted, but the fact that our muscles grow when we work them makes them rather unique. Now, researchers have identified a key ingredient needed for that bulking up to take place. A factor produced in working muscle fibers apparently tells surrounding muscle stem cell "higher ups" that it's time to multiply and join in, according to a study in the January Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press journal.

4 Jan 2012

Genomic architecture predisposes supercentenarians to age-related diseases

The first-ever published whole-genome sequences of not just one, but two supercentenarians, aged more than 114 years, reveal that both unusual and common genetic phenomena contribute to the genetic background of extreme human longevity.

4 Jan 2012

Study reveals possibility to selectively target and block crucial microRNA in liver cancer

A new study shows that it is possible to selectively target and block a particular microRNA that is important in liver cancer. The findings might offer a new therapy for this malignancy, which kills an estimated 549,000 people worldwide annually.

4 Jan 2012

Losartan may help prevent smoking-related COPD

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers identify candidate genes for histiocytoid cardiomyopathy

Researchers are closing in on a rare genetic disorder causing a heart condition in infants. Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy (HC) often causes sudden death before a child reaches 2 years of age. Gene analysis is helping to narrow the many theories surrounding the genetic basis of HC.

4 Jan 2012

BioTime to market muscle progenitor cell lines bearing hereditary diseases

BioTime, Inc. today announced that it has elected to market progenitors of muscle stem cells bearing hereditary diseases. BioTime will produce the products from five human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines from Reproductive Genetics Institute (RGI) of Chicago, Illinois.

4 Jan 2012

Bird flu updates

The latest bird flu virus that killed a 39-year-old bus driver in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen over the weekend is not yet transmissible between humans, Chinese health authorities said. The man, who lived in Shenzhen just across the border from Hong Kong, died from multi-organ failure on Saturday, a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever brought on by the virus, state media reported.

3 Jan 2012

Scientists show how HCV virus hijacks miR-122 in liver cells

Viral diseases are still one of the biggest challenges to medical science. Thanks to thousands of years of co-evolution with humans, their ability to harness the biology of their human hosts to survive and thrive makes them very difficult to target with medical treatment.

2 Jan 2012