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New scalable solutions for targeted re-sequencing studies from febit holding and Life Technologies

febit holding GmbH and Life Technologies Corporation today announced that they have entered into a strategic co-marketing agreement to provide a new, scalable solution for researchers conducting targeted re-sequencing studies. In addition, febit will expand its Genomic Services Facility at Heidelberg by adding several Applied Biosystems SOLiD™ high-throughput sequencing systems and real-time PCR systems.

28 Sep 2009

Study on how epigenetic changes contribute to congnitive decline

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Rush University Medical Center approximately $5.5 million in grants to study how epigenetic changes - chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures - define and contribute to memory formation and cognitive decline. Results from the studies could profoundly alter the way the medical community understands, diagnoses, and treats Alzheimer's disease, according to the researchers.

28 Sep 2009

Plant gene regulating oil accumulation in plant seed licensed to BASF Plant Science

Technology that could enhance plants' seed oil content for food and animal feed applications has been licensed to BASF Plant Science under an exclusive commercial agreement with Michigan State University.

28 Sep 2009

UK scientists discover new route by which leukaemia develops

CANCER RESEARCH UK SCIENTISTS have discovered a completely new route by which leukaemia develops, according to research published in Nature.

28 Sep 2009

Combined immunodeficiency results in severe health problems

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a genetic mutation that accounts for a perplexing condition found in people with an inherited immunodeficiency. The disorder, called combined immunodeficiency, is characterized by a constellation of severe health problems, including persistent bacterial and viral skin infections, severe eczema, acute allergies and asthma, and cancer.

28 Sep 2009

Child health experts to gather in Italy for Excellence in Paediatrics conference

Obesity, the flu pandemic and diabetes are just three of the hot topics that will be explored when top child health experts gather in Italy for Excellence in Paediatrics from 3 to 6 December 2009.

28 Sep 2009

Research to develop small-molecule drug that blocks excess iron absorption

Excess iron in the body, if left unchecked, can form toxic deposits in major organs leading to serious conditions including heart failure, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, arthritis, and even infertility. Iron overload can be a consequence of a genetically mutated gene known as hereditary hemochromatosis, or a consequence of red blood cell transfusions, required as life saving treatments, for patients with diseases such as thalassemia.

25 Sep 2009

Researchers study about abnormal gene functioning in mitochondria

Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of food. Because this function is essential to life, defects in mitochondria may affect a wide range of organ systems in humans and animals.

25 Sep 2009

Neogen announces first-quarter results of fiscal 2010

Neogen Corporation announced today that its revenues for the first quarter of FY 2010, which ended Aug. 31, increased 12% from the previous year's first quarter to $32,347,000. First quarter net income increased 18% from the prior year's $3,733,000 to $4,395,000, or to $0.29 per share in the current year compared to the previous year's $0.25.

25 Sep 2009

Moderately elevated levels of ROS positive in fruit flies

It has been known for decades that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - ions or very small molecules that include free radicals - damage cells. But much to their surprise, Jonsson Cancer Center researchers found that in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, moderately elevated levels of ROS are a good thing.

25 Sep 2009

Cepheid receives approval to market Xpert(R) HemosIL(R) FII & FV test

Cepheid and Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) today announced that Cepheid has received clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Xpert(R) HemosIL(R) FII & FV test.

25 Sep 2009

Clostridium difficile's five genetic regions identified

Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), the hospital superbug. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology studied the genome of the bacterium, looking for genes relating to motility, antibiotic resistance and toxicity.

25 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine shows modest potential for protecting against HIV infection

For the first time, scientists say an investigational vaccine has modest potential for protecting people against HIV infection, the Associated Press reports. "The vaccine — a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines — cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by ... 31 percent in the world's largest [HIV] vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok," the news service writes (Marchione/Casey, 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Children with minimal change nephrotic syndrome can be treated with prednisone

A kidney condition that can arise in children and was until recently believed to disappear after puberty may persist into adulthood and cause significant long-term complications, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings indicate that better treatment options are needed for children with the disorder, called minimal change nephrotic syndrome.

25 Sep 2009

NTMs: Rising cause of severe lung diseases

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental organisms found in both water and soil that can cause severe pulmonary (lung) disease in humans. Pulmonary NTM is on the rise in the United States, according to a large study of people hospitalized with the condition.

25 Sep 2009

Study on mitochondria function

For such crucial biological actors, much remains unknown about exactly how mitochondria function. A new study, published Aug. 12 in the online journal PLoS One, sheds light on mitochondrial biology. Using genetic engineering, researchers interrupted the activity of individual genes directly involved in the production of energy within mitochondria. "If we knock down the function of specific system components, what happens?" said study leader Marni J. Falk, M.D., who directs the Mitochondrial-Genetics Disease Clinic at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Our ultimate goal is to translate the knowledge into targeted therapies, that is, effective ways to intervene. But first we need to understand the underlying disease mechanisms."

25 Sep 2009

Axial Biotech's SCOLISCORE AIS Prognostic Test now available in the U.S.

Axial Biotech, Inc., a company personalizing spine care through the development of molecular diagnostics, announced today that its SCOLISCORE(TM) AIS Prognostic Test is now being made available to spine specialists in the United States. SCOLISCORE is a saliva-based genetic test designed to predict the risk of progression of scoliosis, an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

24 Sep 2009

Direct RNA sequencing performed using Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing technology

Helicos BioSciences Corporation a life science company focused on innovative genetic analysis technologies, today announced the publication of a landmark study in which Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS)™ technology was used to directly sequence individual molecules of RNA. The paper appeared yesterday in the on-line edition of Nature and will appear in an upcoming 2009 print issue of Nature.

24 Sep 2009

La Jolla Institute scientist Hilde Cheroutre earns the 2009 NIH Director's Pioneer Award

A scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has received one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s top awards -- the 2009 NIH Director's Pioneer Award. The prestigious prize carries with it funding for total costs of up to $4.7 million over five years, and is designed to support the work of exceptionally creative scientists, whose novel proposals offer the potential to make extraordinary contributions to human health.

24 Sep 2009

AFA reacts to an Ohio woman's claims of an embroyo mix up

An Ohio woman, 40-year-old Carolyn Savage, claims a fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo and that the baby she's due to deliver the first week in October is not hers. Several media reports state Savage and her husband plan to give the baby boy to his biological parents. The name of the clinic is not being released in this very rare alleged case.

24 Sep 2009