Genetic Engineering News and Research

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Light-sensitive molecule enables noninvasive silencing of neurons

Optogenetics, a technology that allows scientists to control brain activity by shining light on neurons, relies on light-sensitive proteins that can suppress or stimulate electrical signals within cells. This technique requires a light source to be implanted in the brain, where it can reach the cells to be controlled.

30 Jun 2014

Psychostimulant increases risk of cardiovascular events in children with ADHD

Psychostimulant use to treat children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasing worldwide, and the evaluation of the cardiovascular safety of stimulant medication used in treatment has been a recent topic of concern.

28 Jun 2014

First step toward new drugs that can transcend antibiotic resistance issues

Scientists in the United States and India have successfully modified the precursor to one of the drugs used to treat tuberculosis, an important first step toward new drugs that can transcend antibiotic resistance issues that experts consider a serious threat to global health.

28 Jun 2014

New article explores how specific types of interferons control RNA virus infection

Respiratory and intestinal infections caused by RNA viruses stimulate infected cells to produce interferons, which can act alone or in combination to block virus replication.

27 Jun 2014

Cancer drug shows promise in treating blood cell disorders

Scientists working to make gene therapy a reality have solved a major hurdle: how to bypass a blood stem cell's natural defenses and efficiently insert disease-fighting genes into the cell's genome.

27 Jun 2014

Gene partnership may be fueling cancer spread in as much as 20% of cancers

A key cancer-causing gene, responsible for up to 20 percent of cancers, may have a weak spot in its armor, according to new research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.

25 Jun 2014

Small antioxidant molecules suppress colon cancer associated with colitis

Researchers from Case Western Reserve and Dartmouth universities have shown that a class of small antioxidant molecules carries enormous promise for supressing colon cancer associated with colitis.

25 Jun 2014

Research finding could open new opportunities for treating Huntington's disease

Researchers believe they have learned how mutations in the gene that causes Huntington's disease kill brain cells, a finding that could open new opportunities for treating the fatal disorder. Scientists first linked the gene to the inherited disease more than 20 years ago

24 Jun 2014

Cocoa-extract may reduce damage to nerve pathways in Alzheimer's patients' brains

A specific preparation of cocoa-extract called Lavado may reduce damage to nerve pathways seen in Alzheimer's disease patients' brains long before they develop symptoms, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published June 20 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (JAD).

24 Jun 2014

Overlooked DNA shuffling drives deadly paediatric brain tumour

One of the deadliest forms of paediatric brain tumour, Group 3 medulloblastoma, is linked to a variety of large-scale DNA rearrangements which all have the same overall effect on specific genes located on different chromosomes.

23 Jun 2014

Alternative disposal process in optic nerve cells has implications for neurodegenerative diseases

Biologists have long considered cells to function like self-cleaning ovens, chewing up and recycling their own worn out parts as needed.

20 Jun 2014

Yap1 oncogene drives recurrence and progression of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer tumors addicted to mutant Kras signaling for their growth and progression have a ready-made substitute to tap if they're ever forced to go cold-turkey on the mutant oncogene, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Cell.

20 Jun 2014

Weizmann Institute scientists 'fingerprint' a culprit in depression and anxiety disorders

According the World Health Organization, such mood disorders as depression affect some 10% of the world's population and are associated with a heavy burden of disease. That is why numerous scientists around the world have invested a great deal of effort in understanding these diseases. Yet the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie these problems are still only partly understood.

20 Jun 2014

Schizophrenia focus narrowed to dentate gyrus

The dentate gyrus is a likely site of pathology underlying schizophrenia, shows a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

19 Jun 2014

Western Oncolytics closes $275,000 in seed funding

Western Oncolytics Ltd., a biotech company specializing in immuno-oncolytic cancer therapies, has closed $275,000 in seed funding. The proceeds are planned to set a path toward clinical trials and execute initial manufacturing for its novel virus-based cancer therapy, which delivers genes to guide the immune system to kill cancer cells.

18 Jun 2014

New technology to control specific protein functions in living cells by using lights

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have succeeded in developing the world's first technology to control specific protein functions in living cells by using lights, which may be useful in future cancer cell research.

18 Jun 2014

Transfer of few immune cells can protect immunodeficient patients

The cells of the human immune system are created from special stem cells in the bone marrow. In diseases affecting the bone marrow, such as leukemia, the degenerate cells must be destroyed using radiation or chemotherapy.

18 Jun 2014

World's first human trial of pro-vitamin A-enriched bananas to start soon

The world's first human trial of pro-vitamin A-enriched banana, expected to lift the health and well-being of millions of Ugandans and other East Africans will start very soon.

17 Jun 2014

Discovery may lead to new treatments for common autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Georgia report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that an enzyme known as Tumor Progression Locus 2, or Tpl2, plays a key role in directing and regulating several important components of the body's immune system.

17 Jun 2014

Affordable Care Act to have significant impact on patients with diabetes

The Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) is dramatically changing health care delivery in the U.S. Specific parts of the new law, which will be phased in through 2020, will have a significant impact on patients with diabetes and prediabetes, as explored in a comprehensive Review article published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

17 Jun 2014