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Researchers identify embryonic origin of Merkel cells

Publication in Journal of Cell Biology : researchers from ULB (IRIBHM) identify the embryonic origin of Merkel cells. Their research continue on an extremely aggressive cancer, the Merkel cell carcinoma

30 Sep 2009

Misregulation of SPAK protein may contribute to B-cell lymphoma development

A group led by Dr. Michael Teitell at UCLA has demonstrated that misregulation of the protein SPAK may contribute to B-cell lymphoma development. Their report can be found in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

28 Sep 2009

FDA accepts Sangamo's IND for repeat-dosing in Phase 1 clinical trial of SB-728-T ZFN-based therapeutic

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reviewed and accepted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate an open-label, repeat-dosing Phase 1 clinical trial (SB-728-T-902) of the company's ZFN-based therapeutic, SB-728-T. A single dose Phase 1 clinical study of SB-728-T was initiated in February 2009 and is ongoing at the University of Pennsylvania.

23 Sep 2009

Preclinical data on Protalix Biotherapeutics' antiTNF released

Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc., reported today preclinical data on pr-antiTNF, a biosimilar version of etanercept (Enbrel). Produced using the Company’s proprietary ProCellEx technology, pr-antiTNF is a plant cell expressed recombinant fusion protein made from the soluble form of the human TNF receptor (TNFR), fused to the Fc component of a human antibody IgG1 domain. Pr-antiTNF has an identical amino acid sequence to Enbrel.

23 Sep 2009

Mathematical model of an ischemic wound

Scientists expect a new mathematical model of chronic wound healing could replace intuition with clear guidance on how to test treatment strategies in tackling a major public-health problem.

22 Sep 2009

Nanoviricides and Southern Research sign agreement to test anti-Influenza and anti-HIV drug candidates

NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), reported today that it has signed a “Master Service Agreement” with the Southern Research Institute (“Southern Research”), Birmingham, AL. Southern Research is a well established, prestigious institution that has performed preclinical testing services for several vaccines and antivirals.

21 Sep 2009

NIAID awards DOR BioPharma a $9M grant to develop thermostable and rapidly acting vaccines

DOR BioPharma, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biotechnology company, announced today that it has been awarded an approximate $9.4 Million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

21 Sep 2009

Adolescents are less susceptible to drug withdrawal than adults

As part of efforts to understand drug abuse, Georgia State University researchers are finding that adolescent rats appear to be less vulnerable to the long-term effects of withdrawal and relapse in certain types of drug use than rats that take the drugs in adulthood.

17 Sep 2009

Avaxia Biologics receives NIH grant to develop an antibody therapeutic for oral mucositis

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing oral antibodies for disease targets accessible via the GI tract, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to support the development of a novel antibody therapeutic for oral mucositis.

17 Sep 2009

Researchers discover HIV Nef protein's role in cell mobility inhibition

In order to be able to ward off disease pathogens, immune cells must be mobile and be able to establish contact with each other. The working group around Professor Dr. Oliver Fackler in the Virology Department of the Hygiene Institute of the Heidelberg University Hospital has discovered a mechanism in an animal model revealing how HIV, the AIDS pathogen, cripples immune cells: Cell mobility is inhibited by the HIV Nef protein.

17 Sep 2009

VBI's flu vaccine offers protection against H1N1

Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. (VBI), an emerging leader in the discovery and development of novel vaccines to fight infectious diseases, today reported that the company’s proprietary influenza vaccine triggered a robust immune response and provided protection against the H1N1 strain of influenza.

14 Sep 2009

Master gene could lead to new ways of cancer treatments

The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

14 Sep 2009

Researchers discover the role of endothelin in vaso-occlusive pain

Agonizing physical pain, known as vaso-occlusive pain, can afflict children who have sickle cell disease (SCD). In some cases infants as young as two months of age suffer vaso-occlusive pain so severe that opiate medications and hospitalizations are their only relief. Researchers believe vaso-occlusion is caused by a blockage of the blood vessels that occurs when sickle shaped red cells attempt to pass through the round blood vessels.

11 Sep 2009

AOLS to initiate clinical study for testing the efficacy of AEOL 10150

Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a study to confirm the efficacy of AEOL 10150 as a countermeasure to nuclear and radiological exposure in non-human primates.

9 Sep 2009

Study: Brain circuits may influence binge eating

Scientists led a rat to the fatty food, but they couldn't make it eat. Using an animal model of binge eating, University of Missouri researchers discovered that deactivating the basolateral amygdala, a brain region involved in regulating emotion, specifically blocked consumption of a fatty diet. Surprisingly, it had no effect on the rat wanting to look for the food repeatedly.

9 Sep 2009

New probiotic provides protection against the fatal E. coli disease

Researchers in Australia are developing diversionary tactics to fool disease-causing bacteria in the gut. Many bacteria, including those responsible for major gut infections, such as cholera, produce toxins that damage human tissues when they bind to complex sugar receptors displayed on the surface of cells in the host's intestine.

8 Sep 2009

New protein fragments identified for anthrax vaccine development

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified two small protein fragments that could be developed into an anthrax vaccine that may cause fewer side effects than the current vaccine.

4 Sep 2009

The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus causes more severe disease than human seasonal influenza viruses

Preliminary findings in ferrets suggest that the novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may outcompete human seasonal influenza viruses, researchers say. Tests in animals showed that levels of the 2009 H1N1 virus rose more quickly than levels of the seasonal virus strains, and the new virus caused more severe disease. In line with previous findings by other research groups, the University of Maryland researchers also observed that the novel H1N1 virus was transmitted more easily from infected to uninfected ferrets than either of the two seasonal influenza viruses.

2 Sep 2009

Alcohol consumption disrupts circadian rhythm in humans

Chronic alcohol consumption blunts the biological clock's ability to synchronize daily activities to light, disrupts natural activity patterns and continues to affect the body's clock (circadian rhythm), even days after the drinking ends, according to a new study with hamsters.

1 Sep 2009

Mitoxantrone is highly efficient in suppressing multiple sclerosis

According to data supplied by the German Multiple Sclerosis Society's national MS register (DMSG - Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft), up to 10% of German MS patients have been treated with mitoxantrone in the past few years.

1 Sep 2009