Assay News and Research

RSS

Gene amplification links growth controlling pathway from Drosophila to human cancers

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene potentially involved in breast, liver, and other kinds of cancers.

8 Aug 2006

FDA approves fully automated screening tests for hepatitis B surface antigen

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first fully automated product that combines both screening and confirmatory tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

18 Jul 2006

Proteolytic activity monitored by fluorescence resonance energy transfer through quantum-dot-peptide conjugates

Using a synthetic peptide modeled after the protein that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) uses to enter cells, a multi-institutional research team has created quantum dots that can penetrate the cell membrane and image internal structures in a cell.

10 Jul 2006

Statins stop the replication of the hepatitis C virus

A new study shows that statins, which are typically used as anti-cholesterol medications, can inhibit the replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

9 Jul 2006

Multiple cancer biomarkers detected simultaneously

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology revolutionized diagnostic medicine and basic research through its ability to amplify and detect minute amounts of specific DNA sequences.

3 Jul 2006

Study links high levels of nitric oxide to infertility and sperm DNA damage

Iranian scientists have linked a chemical that plays an essential role in many bodily functions to sperm DNA damage and male infertility, the 22nd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction heard.

19 Jun 2006

New test identifies patients who benefit from targeted cancer drugs

New lab test accurately identified patients who would benefit from treatment with the molecularly-targeted anti-cancer therapies gefitinib (Iressa, AstraZeneca) and erlotinib (Tarceva, Genentech).

13 Jun 2006

Atorvastatin may increase new blood vessel formation

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is an uncommon and confounding disease characterized by excessive fibrous tissue formation and vascular abnormalities.

6 Jun 2006

Promising treatment for Huntington's disease soon to be tested clinically

At the Institut Curie, CNRS and Inserm researchers have shown that cysteamine, which is already used to treat a rare disease called cystinosis, prevents the death of neurons in Huntington's disease. Like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, is characterized by the abnormal death of neurons.

19 Apr 2006

Discovery of new human retrovirus

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers and their colleagues have discovered a new retrovirus in humans that is closely related to a cancer-causing virus found in mice. Their findings describe the first documented cases of human infection with a retrovirus that is native to rodents.

10 Apr 2006

New biomarkers could help detect ovarian cancer much earlier

The search for a specific protein that could help diagnose ovarian cancer in its early stages has for years eluded researchers who are seeking a reliable and accurate test for the disease.

4 Apr 2006

St. Jude develop relatively simple and inexpensive test for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a relatively simple and inexpensive test that identifies children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have responded well enough to their first round of chemotherapy that they might be successfully treated with a much less aggressive follow-up treatment.

3 Apr 2006

Emergence of a human-adapted H5 virus is a clear threat to public health worldwide

The H5N1 avian influenza virus, commonly known as "bird flu," is a highly contagious and deadly disease in poultry. So far, its spread to humans has been limited, with 177 documented severe infections, and nearly 100 deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Iraq, and Turkey as of March 14, 2006, according to the World Health Organization.

21 Mar 2006

Real-time molecule-by-molecule "movie" of protein production in live cells

Chemists at Harvard University have developed the first technique providing a real-time, molecule-by-molecule "movie" of protein production in live cells.

19 Mar 2006

Third Wave Technologies issued "Invasive Cleavage of Nucleic Acids" patent

Third Wave Technologies has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,011,944, entitled "Invasive Cleavage of Nucleic Acids," to the company.

17 Mar 2006

Cells in mucus from lungs point to a unique screening method that could lead to earlier treatment of lung cancer

In a group of high-risk patients, a test that examined DNA from cells expelled in sputum for evidence of "silenced" genes correctly identified the majority of patients who were later diagnosed with lung cancer, say researchers in a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Mar 2006

A more accurate method for measuring blood levels of endothelial progenitor cells

A more accurate method for measuring blood levels of specialized cells that circulate in the bloodstream and repair damage to the arterial lining has been discovered by Duke University Medical Center cardiologists.

13 Mar 2006

New test for detecting small amounts of proteins in the blood

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a paradigm-shifting method for detecting small amounts of proteins in the blood.

13 Mar 2006

The incidence, distribution, and control of tuberculosis

A reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, prevalence and death rate can be achieved by 2015 in most parts of the world, with the greatest challenges occurring in Africa and Eastern Europe, according to a projection by the Stop TB Department of the World Health Organization.

1 Mar 2006

New molecule could help in treating hospital infections

The scientists replaced a single atom from the molecular structure of vancomycin aglycon, a glycopeptide antibiotic that attacks the bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis, significantly increasing the drug's spectrum of activity.

24 Feb 2006