Laboratory News and Research

RSS

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome - a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

23 Jan 2014

Function of stem cells in blood-forming system is regulated by estrogen, says study

Scientists have known for years that stem cells in male and female sexual organs are regulated differently by their respective hormones. In a surprising discovery, researchers at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) and Baylor College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the blood-forming system — which is similar in both sexes — also are regulated differently by hormones, with estrogen proving to be an especially prolific promoter of stem cell self-renewal.

23 Jan 2014

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and collaborators at Emory University have obtained important scientific results likely to advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in the brain.

23 Jan 2014

Hydroxytyrosol in olive oil may help reduce risk of breast cancer

A major component of olive oil, hydroxytyrosol, is the subject of a Houston Methodist study of women who are at increased risk of developing breast cancer. The study focuses on the changes in breast density after one year of treatment and is the first of its kind in the United States.

23 Jan 2014

NCCC physicians use new gene sequencing equipment for testing abnormal DNA in cancerous tumor cells

Clinical laboratory experts and physicians at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) achieved 100 percent accuracy in testing for abnormal DNA in cancerous tumor cells with its new gene sequencing equipment and panels.

23 Jan 2014

Scientists develop new genetic platform that yields novel antibiotic from ocean bacteria

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new genetic platform that allows efficient production of naturally occurring molecules, and have used it to produce a novel antibiotic compound.

23 Jan 2014

Jackson Laboratory collaborates with Seoul National University to develop new mouse models, tumor repository

The Jackson Laboratory, in collaboration with Seoul National University, will receive a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the South Korean government for a large-scale cancer genomics project employing the latest sequencing technology and special JAX mouse models that can host human tumors.

22 Jan 2014

Clinician scientist receives RPB Career Development Award to support eye research

The Harvard Medical School (HMS) Department of Ophthalmology has been granted a $250,000 Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Career Development Award to support eye research conducted by Jason I. Comander, M.D., Ph.D. The support will be provided over a four-year period.

22 Jan 2014

Lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver leads to lower levels of liver FGF21

A new study led by Boston University School of Medicine demonstrates that the abnormal metabolism linked to obesity could be regulated in part by the interaction of two metabolic regulators, called the NAD-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Using experimental models, the researchers found that a lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver led to lower levels of a liver secreted protein FGF21, which resulted in an increased likelihood of developing fatty liver disease and obesity.

22 Jan 2014

Advanced melanoma treatments: an interview with Dr. James Larkin, Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Royal Marsden

Advanced melanoma affects around 2,000 people per year in the UK. Advanced melanoma describes a melanoma that has spread from its site of origin to other areas of the body.

22 Jan 2014

Xpert MTB/RIF test quickly detects TB and resistance to rifampicin

A second systematic review of a diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has confirmed the accuracy of the test. The updated review assessing the accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF includes new studies published since the original Cochrane Review was published in January last year.

22 Jan 2014

EKF Diagnostics announces major breakthrough for PointMan DNA enrichment technology

EKF, announces a major breakthrough for its PointMan DNA enrichment technology for potential use in future cancer testing and treatment.

From EKF Diagnostics 22 Jan 2014

CytRx receives FDA approval to continue dosing aldoxorubicin for patients with soft tissue sarcomas

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue dosing patients with aldoxorubicin until disease progression in a planned pivotal, global Phase 3 clinical trial with aldoxorubicin as a second-line treatment for soft tissue sarcomas.

22 Jan 2014

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

The 2014 LOUIS-JEANTET PRIZE FOR MEDICINE is awarded to the Italian biochemist Elena Conti, Director of the Department of Structural Cell Biology at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich (Germany) and to Denis Le Bihan, the French medical doctor, physicist and Director of NeuroSpin, an institute at the French Nuclear and Renewable Energy Commission (CEA) at Saclay near Paris.

22 Jan 2014

Brain imaging via MRI scans may be useful biomarker for early detection of subtle developmental abnormalities

Researchers at Penn Medicine have generated a brain development index from MRI scans that captures the complex patterns of maturation during normal brain development.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers suggest new targets may provide druggable alternatives to Ewing's Sarcoma

Ewing's Sarcoma is an aggressive pediatric cancer, most commonly caused by the improper fusion of the gene EWS with the gene FLI1. Though the cause has long been known, therapeutic targeting of this fusion has to date proven very difficult.

22 Jan 2014

New study raises hope to successfully fight chytridiomycosis

An international team of researchers has made important progress in understanding the distribution of the deadly amphibian chytrid pathogen. In some regions, the deadly impact of the pathogen appears to be hampered by small predators, naturally occurring in freshwater bodies. These micropredators may efficiently reduce the number of free-swimming infectious stages (zoospores) by consuming them. This natural behavior will reduce the infection pressure on potential amphibian hosts and a goes a long way towards explaining the occurrence of chytridiomycosis, at least in temporal climatic regions.

21 Jan 2014

Vivaldi Biosciences inks agreement with NIAID to evaluate LAIV candidates against influenza A

Vivaldi Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing live attenuated influenza vaccines against seasonal and pandemic influenza, today announced that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to generate and evaluate in preclinical studies LAIV candidates against influenza A(H7N9).

21 Jan 2014

Illumina inks multi-year supply agreement with LabCorp

Illumina, Inc. today announced it has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings. The agreement gives LabCorp expanded rights to use Illumina next-generation sequencing and microarray equipment and supplies to develop, validate and introduce laboratory-developed tests to clinicians in the United States and Canada.

From Illumina, Inc. 21 Jan 2014

Affymetrix gets FDA clearance to market CytoScan Dx Assay

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its CytoScan Dx Assay. This assay is intended for the postnatal detection of DNA copy number variants in patients referred for chromosomal testing. CytoScan Dx Assay is designed to help physicians diagnose children's developmental and intellectual disabilities more comprehensively by enabling a high-resolution genome-wide analysis of genetic aberrations. High resolution analysis can reveal small aberrations not readily seen using traditional techniques.

21 Jan 2014

Laboratory News and Research

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

Function of stem cells in blood-forming system is regulated by estrogen, says study

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

Hydroxytyrosol in olive oil may help reduce risk of breast cancer

NCCC physicians use new gene sequencing equipment for testing abnormal DNA in cancerous tumor cells

Scientists develop new genetic platform that yields novel antibiotic from ocean bacteria

Jackson Laboratory collaborates with Seoul National University to develop new mouse models, tumor repository

Clinician scientist receives RPB Career Development Award to support eye research

Lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver leads to lower levels of liver FGF21

Advanced melanoma treatments: an interview with Dr. James Larkin, Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Royal Marsden

Xpert MTB/RIF test quickly detects TB and resistance to rifampicin

EKF Diagnostics announces major breakthrough for PointMan DNA enrichment technology

CytRx receives FDA approval to continue dosing aldoxorubicin for patients with soft tissue sarcomas

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

Brain imaging via MRI scans may be useful biomarker for early detection of subtle developmental abnormalities

Researchers suggest new targets may provide druggable alternatives to Ewing's Sarcoma

New study raises hope to successfully fight chytridiomycosis

Vivaldi Biosciences inks agreement with NIAID to evaluate LAIV candidates against influenza A

Illumina inks multi-year supply agreement with LabCorp

Affymetrix gets FDA clearance to market CytoScan Dx Assay

A guide to density measurement excellence eBook

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics