Polymerase News and Research

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Cryo-EM technique allows researchers to visualize large transcription PICs at near-atomic resolution

An unprecedented molecular view of the critical early events in gene expression, a process essential for all life, has been provided by researchers at Georgia State University, the University of California at Berkeley and Northwestern University.

12 May 2016

MGH researchers develop device to rapidly diagnose health-care-associated infections

A team of Massachusetts General Hospital investigators has developed a device with the potential of shortening the time required to rapidly diagnose pathogens responsible for health-care-associated infections from a couple of days to a matter of hours.

10 May 2016

MIT researchers develop innovative paper-based test to diagnose Zika virus

A new paper-based test developed at MIT and other institutions can diagnose Zika virus infection within a few hours. The test, which distinguishes Zika from the very similar dengue virus, can be stored at room temperature and read with a simple electronic reader, making it potentially practical for widespread use.

9 May 2016

Novel method may enable quick, easy exhaustive analysis of ORs responding to specific odorants

A research group led by Osaka University and Panasonic Corporation developed a method for making a prompt, exhaustive isolation of olfactory receptors (ORs) responding to the odorant of interest. This achievement will enable quick and easy exhaustive analysis of ORs responding to specific odorants, which previously required a great deal of time and effort. These results may be applied to biosensors capable of highly detecting only desired odorants.

30 Apr 2016

Researchers develop real-time single molecule electronic DNA sequencing platform

Researchers from Columbia University, with colleagues at Genia Technologies, Harvard University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology report achieving real-time single molecule electronic DNA sequencing at single-base resolution using a protein nanopore array.

25 Apr 2016

Epigenomics receives FDA approval for Epi proColon®

Epigenomics AG, the German-American cancer molecular diagnostics company, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s lead product, Epi proColon®, the first and only FDA-approved blood-based colorectal cancer screening test.

14 Apr 2016

HCV patients with hepatocellular carcinoma history could re-develop illness during or after taking DAAs

Data from a new study show that patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) taking direct-acting antiviral treatments (DAAs), who have previously fought off hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer,1 had a 'high rate' of re-developing their illness.

13 Apr 2016

New GHz-class NMR magnet and probe technologies introduced by Bruker at ENC 2016

At the 57th Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference (www.enc-conference.org), Bruker announced new GHz-class NMR magnet and probe technologies to enable expanding frontiers in structural biology, membrane protein and intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) research.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 11 Apr 2016

Simple blood test rapidly detects key genetic mutations in non-small cell lung tumors

A simple blood test can rapidly and accurately detect mutations in two key genes in non-small cell lung tumors, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other institutions report in a new study - demonstrating the test's potential as a clinical tool for identifying patients who can benefit from drugs targeting those mutations.

11 Apr 2016

Automated sample-to-answer system could make EVD diagnosis easier

An automated "sample-to-answer" system could provide Ebola virus disease (EVD) diagnosis more quickly and easily than the current standard test, according to research published this week in PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

UT Southwestern scientists discover mutation that causes X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a mutation that causes a rare systemic disorder known as X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder (XLPDR) and, significantly, the unexpected cellular mechanism by which the mutation causes the disease.

29 Mar 2016

Competition between mixed malaria parasite strains could influence drug resistance

Scientists have documented for the first time how competition among different malaria parasite strains in human hosts could influence the spread of drug resistance.

23 Mar 2016

Sandia engineers aim to develop autonomous device to passively monitor mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquitoes are deadly efficient at spreading disease. Despite vaccines and efforts to eradicate the pesky insects, they continue to infect humans with feared diseases like Zika virus, malaria and West Nile virus.

22 Mar 2016

Study shows aging affects adaptive immune responses

Today at the 45th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research, researcher Jeffrey Ebersole, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA, will present a study titled "Systemic Antibody Responses to Oral Bacteria with Aging." The AADR Annual Meeting is being held in conjunction with the 40th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.

21 Mar 2016

Clinical review examines benefit of RT in breast cancer patients with BRCA1, BRCA2 mutations

In light of conflicting and inconclusive clinical data on the benefit of radiation therapy in cancer patients with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation, a clinical review examined the current status of data regarding BRCA1 and BRCA2 deficiency and radiation therapy sensitivity and a potential strategy to intensify the effects of radiation therapy (RT) by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), the pharmacologic drugs under investigation as monotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer in patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

9 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016

Study on DNA scrunching may aid in developing new antimicrobial medicines

A research collaboration that combines novel "big-data" informatics tools with expertise in basic biology has uncovered details of an essential process in life: how a crucial enzyme locates the site on DNA where it begins to direct the synthesis of RNA. This finding may aid in the discovery of new antimicrobial medicines, and the powerful technological approaches developed for this research may shed light on other essential cellular processes.

4 Mar 2016

Unlocking H5N1 virus replication: an interview with Martin Blackledge

We were able to show that one small domain of the polymerase, the part that is essential for entry of a piece of the polymerase into the cell nucleus, changes its conformation to allow it to interact with the transporter protein than takes it into the nucleus.

3 Mar 2016

"Neoehrlichiosis" Internationally Diagnosed And Successfully Treated In Patients Without Immunodeficiency For The First Time

The intercellular bacteria "Candidatus Neoehrlichia", as e.g. Borrelia, can be transferred by ticks. Approx. 4.2 % of indigenous ticks are infected with this rarely explored bacterium which, until today, has been exclusively identified as pathogenic bacterium in patients with an impairment of the immune system, such as in case of leukaemia, rheumatism or after organ transplantation.

1 Mar 2016

Over-expression of heme oxygenase-1 enzyme protects the heart from doxorubicin damage

Life-threatening heart damage is an adverse side effect of the cancer drug doxorubicin, damage that also limits the use of newer chemotherapeutic agents such as trastuzumab and imatinib. The ability to protect the heart from these side effects would benefit patients, including cancer survivors who are at risk of developing heart damage years later, and it also could allow safer use of these drugs at higher doses.

26 Feb 2016