Genetic Engineering News and Research

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Lynx2 gene linked to nervous behavior in mice

To measure anxiety in a mouse and suggest it's similar to anxiety in a person may seem like a stretch, but the metrics sound uncannily familiar.

20 Feb 2009

Nano-sized laboratory detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons

For centuries, animals have been our first line of defense against toxins.

18 Feb 2009

Enzyme activates stress response and hypertrophy of the heart

An enzyme makes the mouse heart prone to chronic cardiac insufficiency – if it is suppressed, the heart remains strong despite increased stress.

18 Feb 2009

Dendritic cells as a new player in arteries and heart valves

In 1973, Ralph M. Steinman launched a new scientific discipline when he published his discovery of the dendritic cell, an odd-shaped player in the immune system.

16 Feb 2009

College science requirements keep US ahead of world, MSU researcher argues

Despite frequent warnings of the inadequacy of education in the United States, citizens here are still among the world's most scientifically literate, a Michigan State University researcher said.

16 Feb 2009

Boosting its infectivity turns benign virus into good gene therapy carrier for cystic fibrosis

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Iowa have turned a relatively benign virus into a highly infectious form that is ideal as a carrier for gene therapy.

16 Feb 2009

Mouse model mimics hyperglycemia, aids in diabetes research

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have genetically engineered a laboratory mouse in which pancreatic beta cells can regenerate after being induced to die.

16 Feb 2009

Researchers give mutants another chance

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that it might be possible to treat genetic diseases, including some forms of cancer, by "rescuing" the misshapen, useless proteins produced by some mutant genes.

11 Feb 2009

Targeted immune cells shrink tumors in mice

Researchers have generated altered immune cells that are able to shrink, and in some cases eradicate, large tumors in mice.

10 Feb 2009

Scientists identify protein key to Lyme disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a protein that may help give Lyme disease its bite.

9 Feb 2009

Discovery of potential treatment for Rett syndrome

A molecule that promotes brain development could serve as a possible treatment for Rett syndrome, the most common form of autism in girls, according to researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

9 Feb 2009

FDA approves orphan drug ATryn anticoagulant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued its first approval for a biological product produced by genetically engineered (GE) animals.

8 Feb 2009

Researchers discover "master gene" behind blood vessel development

In a first of its kind discovery, University of Minnesota researchers have identified the "master gene" behind blood vessel development.

5 Feb 2009

Sangamo BioSciences starts trial of CCR5-ZFP therapeutic to treat HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. has announced that its collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania have opened a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate SB-728-T for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

5 Feb 2009

Fat-free diet reduces liver fat in fat-free mice

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered crucial clues about a paradoxical disease in which patients with no body fat develop many of the health complications usually found in obese people.

3 Feb 2009

Genetic change prevents cell death in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

By shifting a normal protective mechanism into overdrive, a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist has completely shielded mice from a toxic chemical that would otherwise cause Parkinson's disease.

2 Feb 2009

Orexin - natural brain substance - blocks weight gain in mice

Mice with increased levels of a natural brain chemical don't gain weight when fed a high-fat diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

29 Jan 2009

Researchers learn some of nicotine's secrets

Duke University Medical System researchers have discovered there are differing taste pathways for nicotine, which could provide a new approach for future smoking-cessation products.

23 Jan 2009

Cell transplantation and diabetes: New sites, new devices

Early attempts at islet cell transplantation to treat diabetes date to the nineteenth century, decades before the discovery of insulin in the 1930s.

21 Jan 2009

FDA issues final guidance on genetically engineered animal regulation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a final guidance for industry on the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) animals under the new animal drug provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

19 Jan 2009