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HIV uses base excision repair pathway to insert DNA into host-cell genome

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.

25 Mar 2011

Inhibitex fourth quarter net loss increases to $7.0 million

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010, and provided an update on recent clinical and corporate developments.

11 Mar 2011

Vertex to present telaprevir and VX-222 study results against hepatitis C at EASL annual meeting

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that 15 abstracts on the company's medicines in development for hepatitis C, including its protease inhibitor, telaprevir, and polymerase inhibitor, VX-222, were accepted for presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Berlin, Germany, March 30 to April 3, 2011.

9 Mar 2011

Autoimmune response mediated by T lymphocytes may play vital role in pathogenesis of biliary atresia

Biliary atresia (BA) is an inflammatory obliterative cholangiopathy with unknown etiology, leading to progressive fibrosis and cirrhosis. Microarray technology, emerged as an indispensable research tool for gene expression profiling, has been used to study the mechanism underlying BA, and allows the simultaneous analysis of thousands of transcripts within a single experiment.

9 Mar 2011

Study analyzes role of PARP enzyme in eukaryotes

An Ohio State University molecular biologist leveraged a supercomputer to help better define the family tree of a group of enzymes that have been implicated in a wide range of human diseases and are important targets for anti-cancer therapies.

8 Mar 2011

Scientist discovers new mechanism for regulation of gene expression

Dr. David Levin, Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and Professor of Microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine discovered recently a novel, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the regulation of gene expression.

4 Mar 2011

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.

2 Mar 2011

Collision of fast and slow protein-trains cause major DNA derailment

Scientists have published results that will forever change the way researchers view the interplay between gene expression, DNA replication and the prevention of DNA damage.

25 Feb 2011

Genomic Health to present prostate cancer studies at ASCO Genitourinary Cancer Symposium

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced the presentation of two studies at the American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO®) Genitourinary (GU) Cancer Symposium, including complete results from its prostate cancer gene identification study, which identified 295 genes strongly associated with clinical recurrence following radical prostatectomy with great consistency across multiple tumor samples examined in each patient.

17 Feb 2011

New England Biolabs adds OneTaq and OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerases to line of PCR reagents

New England Biolabs has expanded its line of PCR reagents to include OneTaq™ and OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerases. Optimized blends of Taq and Deep Vent® DNA Polymerases, these new products offer robust amplification across a wide range of templates, including routine, AT-rich and GC-rich amplicons.

From New England Biolabs 15 Feb 2011

Janssen, Medivir collaborate to discover and develop drugs against dengue virus

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. for the discovery and development of drugs for the prophylaxis and treatment of dengue virus infection.

14 Feb 2011

FDA grants Inhibitex Fast Track Designation for INX-189 in treatment of chronic hepatitis C viral infection

Inhibitex, Inc. today reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has designated the investigation of INX-08189, a potent guanosine nucleotide polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C viral infection, as a Fast Track development program.

11 Feb 2011

Medivir initiates phase 1a clinical trial of TMC649128 for chronic HCV infection

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announces the start of a phase 1a clinical trial with TMC649128 intended for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

10 Feb 2011

Abbott's Ibis, PLEX-ID technologies identify causative organism of plague in Afghanistan

Today, at the American Society for Microbiology Conference on Biodefense and Emerging Diseases, scientists from Abbott Molecular presented data showing the unique power of the company's Ibis technology to identify and further characterize unknown disease-causing pathogens to help aid in the bioforensic analysis of pandemic outbreaks.

8 Feb 2011

Breakthrough in Thermal Gradient's fast PCR technology for molecular diagnostics

Thermal Gradient, a Rochester, NY biotech company, announces a breakthrough in its fast PCR technology for molecular diagnostics. PCR is the preferred critical step in virtually all forms of DNA testing.

8 Feb 2011

Roche launches cobas TaqScreen DPX Test for parvovirus B19 and hepatitis A virus

Roche announced today that the cobas® TaqScreen DPX Test for use on the cobas s 201 system is now available in the US. It is the first commercial test to quantify parvovirus B19 and detect hepatitis A virus (HAV) simultaneously in one assay in human plasma.

5 Feb 2011

UNC scientists discover how chaperone enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate DNA damage

UNC scientists who study how cells repair damage from environmental factors like sunlight and cigarette smoke have discovered how a "chaperone" enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate the DNA damage that leads to cancer and other diseases.

19 Jan 2011

Chicks that don’t pass on bird flu

Influenza from birds, commonly known as H5N1 avian flu, has killed at least 306 people during the past seven years and innumerable birds and poultry. Now a team of scientists in Britain have developed a way to breed poultry that are genetically resistant to H5N1 or any other avian flu virus. The study by Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities was reported in the Jan. 13 issue of Science.

13 Jan 2011

OraSure to introduce QuickFlu test for detection of type A and type B influenza

OraSure Technologies, announced today the impending launch of the OraSure QuickFlu Rapid Flu A+B Test, a U.S. Food and Drug and Administration approved in vitro rapid qualitative test for the detection of influenza type A and type B, including H1N1 viral infections.

11 Jan 2011

Pharmasset, Bristol-Myers Squibb collaborate for proof of concept study on chronic HCV

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pharmasset announced today that the companies have entered into a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate the utility of BMS-790052, Bristol-Myers Squibb's NS5A replication complex inhibitor, in combination with PSI-7977, Pharmasset's nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus.