Genetic Engineering News and Research

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Severe inflammatory diseases: Blocking "death messenger" might be a promising treatment

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases.

4 Mar 2010

Gene therapy for LCA clears another hurdle: Study

Gene therapy for a severe inherited blindness, which produced dramatic improvements last year in 12 children and young adults who received the treatment in a clinical trial, has cleared another hurdle. The same research team that conducted the human trial now reports that a study in animals has shown that a second injection of genes into the opposite, previously untreated eye is safe and effective, with no signs of interference from unwanted immune reactions following the earlier injection.

4 Mar 2010

Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

The blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 is also an activator of brown adipose tissue metabolism, according to the study featured on the cover of Cell Metabolism and directed by the lecturer Francesc Villarroya of the UB's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Faculty of Biology), the Institute of Biomedicine, and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

3 Mar 2010

Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists create new model of diabetes

The incidence of diabetes is rising worldwide. Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich have created a new model of this metabolic disorder, which recapitulates many features of the disease, and promises to contribute significantly to improvements in diagnosis and therapy.

1 Mar 2010

Researchers find gene regulator that plays key role in DS-AMKL

Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets.

1 Mar 2010

Transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into injured spinal cord increases movement recovery

Researchers at UTHealth have demonstrated in rats that transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into an injured spinal cord can help restore the electrical pathways associated with movement. The results are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

25 Feb 2010

Research may lead to new therapeutic treatments for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a cruel, hereditary condition that leads to severe physical and mental deterioration, psychiatric problems and eventually, death. Currently, there are no treatments to slow down or stop it. HD sufferers are born with the disease although they do not show symptoms until late in life.

24 Feb 2010

Flightless mosquitoes could fight dengue, study says

By rendering female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - the dengue virus vector - unable to fly, scientists say they may be able to slow the spread of the virus which experts believe "affects up to 100 million people a year and threatens over a third of the world's population," the BBC reports. Currently, there is no treatment for dengue nor a vaccine to protect against the virus.

24 Feb 2010

NIH awards Sanaria Phase II SBIR grant to develop genetically attenuated, whole parasite malaria vaccine

Sanaria Inc. has received additional support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health in the form of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant. The three-year award totaling approximately $3 million will support collaborative research by investigators at Sanaria and Columbia University.

23 Feb 2010

Enzyme can allow nerve cells in brain to grow and form complex networks: Study

Brain researcher Hiroshi Kawabe has discovered the workings of a process that had been completely overlooked until now, and that allows nerve cells in the brain to grow and form complex networks. The study shows that an enzyme which usually controls the destruction of protein components has an unexpected function in nerve cells: it controls the structure of the cytoskeleton and thus ensures that nerve cells can form the tree-like extensions that are necessary for signal transmission in the brain.

20 Feb 2010

News outlets examine HIV vaccine research, cervical cancer screening data presented at conference

Several news outlets examine the latest reports out of this week's Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco.

20 Feb 2010

Animal study shows calcineurin enzyme is critical for normal heart function

Scientists are reporting the first-ever data to show that the enzyme calcineurin is critical in controlling normal development and function of heart cells, and that loss of the protein leads to heart problems and death in genetically modified mice.

20 Feb 2010

Simple molecular kit to reprogram any cell of the body into another

In an effort to sidestep the ethical dilemma involved in using human embryonic stem cells to treat diseases, scientists are developing non-controversial alternatives: In particular, they are looking for drug-like chemical compounds that can transform adult skin cells into the stem cells now obtained from human embryos. That's the topic of a fascinating article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

19 Feb 2010

University of California researchers awarded AAN's 2010 Potamkin Prize

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding its 2010 Potamkin Prize to two researchers for their work in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a common type of dementia. Bruce L. Miller, MD, and Lennart Mucke, MD, both of the University of California San Francisco will receive the Award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010. The AAN Annual Meeting is the world's largest gathering of neurologists with more than 2,000 presentations made on the latest advances in neurologic research.

19 Feb 2010

Two UCSF scientists selected for Potamkin Prize for their achievements in research on dementias

Two UCSF scientists have been selected for the American Academy of Neurology's prestigious Potamkin Prize, for their "outstanding achievements" in research on dementias.

19 Feb 2010

Healthy immune response depends on TRPV2 protein

If bad bacteria lurk in your system, chances are they will bump into the immune system's protective cells whose job is gobbling germs.

18 Feb 2010

Research suggests scorpion venom could be an alternative to morphine painkiller

Scorpion venom is notoriously poisonous ― but it might be used as an alternative to dangerous and addictive painkillers like morphine, a Tel Aviv University researcher claims.

17 Feb 2010

When blood sugar levels rise in healthy people, insulin signals cells to increase production: Study

In type 2 diabetes, which is occurring at alarming rates, the hormone insulin does not work effectively to lower blood sugars and patients also do not make enough insulin. These two processes have been widely considered as separate.

16 Feb 2010

Muscle-preserving therapy development may help young men keep muscle shirts a bit longer

Hey guys, remember the muscle shirts we wore in our teens and 20s? After the age of 40 that meager part of our wardrobes usually is obsolete. Yes, at the big 4-0 we begin to lose muscle, and by age 80 up to a third of it may be gone. It's an inevitable process of aging called sarcopenia.

15 Feb 2010

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Injuries to joints and cartilage can have serious consequences, including osteoarthritis. Cartilage degeneration in joints is a widespread disease in Germany and worldwide. Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri is an expert in tissue engineering (TE), tissue construction and tissue cultivation using the body's own cells. He is Professor of Biofunctional Macromolecular Chemistry at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, where he has been researching for the last year.

15 Feb 2010

Genetic Engineering News and Research

Severe inflammatory diseases: Blocking "death messenger" might be a promising treatment

Gene therapy for LCA clears another hurdle: Study

Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists create new model of diabetes

Researchers find gene regulator that plays key role in DS-AMKL

Transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into injured spinal cord increases movement recovery

Research may lead to new therapeutic treatments for Huntington's disease

Flightless mosquitoes could fight dengue, study says

NIH awards Sanaria Phase II SBIR grant to develop genetically attenuated, whole parasite malaria vaccine

Enzyme can allow nerve cells in brain to grow and form complex networks: Study

News outlets examine HIV vaccine research, cervical cancer screening data presented at conference

Animal study shows calcineurin enzyme is critical for normal heart function

Simple molecular kit to reprogram any cell of the body into another

University of California researchers awarded AAN's 2010 Potamkin Prize

Two UCSF scientists selected for Potamkin Prize for their achievements in research on dementias

Healthy immune response depends on TRPV2 protein

Research suggests scorpion venom could be an alternative to morphine painkiller

When blood sugar levels rise in healthy people, insulin signals cells to increase production: Study

Muscle-preserving therapy development may help young men keep muscle shirts a bit longer

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

eBook: Using iPSCs models for human disease research and drug discovery eBook

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