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Discovery could help scientists treat heart problems

The average heart beats 35 million times a year - 2.5 billion times over a lifetime. Those beats must be precisely calibrated; even a small divergence from the metronomic rhythm can cause sudden death. For decades, scientists have wondered exactly how the heart stays so precisely on rhythm even though it contains so many moving parts.

21 Feb 2015

Proximity Ligation Assay helps detect effectiveness of cancer vaccines

Cancer vaccines are designed to turn the body's own immune system specifically against tumor cells. Particularly promising are vaccines that are directed against so-called neoantigens: These are proteins that have undergone a genetic mutation in tumor cells and, therefore, differ from their counterparts in healthy cells.

20 Feb 2015

23andMe granted FDA approval to market direct-to-consumer genetic test under novel device classification

23andMe, Inc., the leading personal genetics company, today announced that it has been granted authority by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the first direct-to-consumer genetic test under a regulatory classification for novel devices.

20 Feb 2015

Study: Growth hormone can improve social impairment in patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome

A growth hormone can significantly improve the social impairment associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in patients with a related genetic syndrome, according to a pilot study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published yesterday on Pub Med, a public database of biomedical topics maintained by the National Institutes of Health (study originally published in the December 12 issue of the journal Molecular Autism).

20 Feb 2015

Einstein researchers find possible clue to why older mothers have babies born with Down syndrome

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found a possible clue to why older mothers face a higher risk for having babies born with conditions such as Down syndrome that are characterized by abnormal chromosome numbers.

19 Feb 2015

Study results pave way for new clinical trial for glioblastoma patients

Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer were found to be both safe and effective at controlling tumor growth in mice that were treated with these modified cells, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

19 Feb 2015

Research findings could someday lead to new treatments for patients with autism and cancer

In recent years, scientists have found a surprising a connection between some people with autism and certain cancer patients: They have mutations in the same gene, one that codes for a protein critical for normal cellular health. Now scientists have reported in the ACS journal Biochemistry that the defects reduce the activity and stability of the protein.

19 Feb 2015

Study provides new insights into early events that shape cancer

A study led by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital suggests a new way to trace cancer back to its cell type of origin. By leveraging the epigenome maps produced by the Roadmap Epigenomics Program - a resource of data collected from over 100 cell types - the research team found that the unique genetic landscape of a particular tumor could be used to predict that tumor's cell type of origin.

19 Feb 2015

Duke researchers demonstrate genetic therapeutic technique to treat DMD patients

Duke researchers have demonstrated a genetic therapeutic technique that has the potential to treat more than half of the patients suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

19 Feb 2015

Scientists map autism genetic pathway that regulates brain development

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that mutations that cause autism in children are connected to a pathway that regulates brain development. The research, led by Lilia Iakoucheva, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, is published in the February 18 issue of Neuron.

19 Feb 2015

Regulus Therapeutics reports net loss of $22.2 million for fourth quarter 2014

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2014, including a summary of recent corporate highlights.

19 Feb 2015

TDF monotherapy ‘reasonable’ option in entecavir-resistant HBV

Researchers from the Republic of Korea have found that the efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate monotherapy is comparable to that of TDF plus entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients with genotypic resistance to entecavir.

18 Feb 2015

Long-term TDF ‘promising’ in Chinese HBV patients after multiple antiviral failures

Long-term tenofovir disoproxil fumarate therapy is effective in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who have relapsed after treatment with multiple nucleos(t)ide analogues, research suggests.

18 Feb 2015

First comprehensive maps and analyses of human epigenomes revealed

Two dozen scientific papers published online simultaneously on Feb. 18, 2015 present the first comprehensive maps and analyses of the epigenomes of a wide array of human cell and tissue types. Epigenomes are patterns of chemical annotations to the genome that determine whether, how, and when genes are activated.

18 Feb 2015

Findings may help doctors recommend appropriate treatments, improve patient outcomes

Like a car's front and back bumpers, your cell's chromosomes are capped by "telomeres" that protect this genetic material against deterioration. Still, after enough replications, a chromosome's telomeres break down and once they reach a certain point of degradation, the cell dies. This is one reason that cells are mortal: telomeres only last so long. That is, unless the enzyme telomerase builds new material onto the worn telomeres to reinforce these chromosomal "bumpers". Telomere repair can be a good thing, but in some cases it's not: overactive telomerase can lengthen telomeres until a cell becomes immortal…leading to cancer.

18 Feb 2015

Facts about precision medicine

President Barack Obama is requesting an increase of $215 million in the 2016 federal budget to launch the Precision Medicine Initiative. This boost in funding for research will give genetic causes of cancer a national focus specifically around precision or "personalized" treatments for cancer in the future.

18 Feb 2015

Researchers show importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of innate immune system

For the first time scientists from Umeå University show the importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of our innate immune system and hence the ability to mount the optimal inflammatory response to infections and other biological dangers.

18 Feb 2015

TKI introduction improves French CML patient survival

Real-world study findings from France show the significant impact tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment has had on the survival of patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukaemia.

17 Feb 2015

TNF signaling molecule triggers Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis

Cells lining the intestinal tract form a critical barrier, protecting our bodies from the billions of bacteria living in the gut. Breaches in this barrier are driven largely by a single signaling molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), elevated amounts of which are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

17 Feb 2015

Oncolytics Biotech’s REOLYSIN receives Orphan Drug Designation for treatment of pancreatic cancer

Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. ("Oncolytics") (TSX:ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation for its lead product candidate, REOLYSIN®, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

17 Feb 2015

Mutation News and Research

Discovery could help scientists treat heart problems

Proximity Ligation Assay helps detect effectiveness of cancer vaccines

23andMe granted FDA approval to market direct-to-consumer genetic test under novel device classification

Study: Growth hormone can improve social impairment in patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome

Einstein researchers find possible clue to why older mothers have babies born with Down syndrome

Study results pave way for new clinical trial for glioblastoma patients

Research findings could someday lead to new treatments for patients with autism and cancer

Study provides new insights into early events that shape cancer

Duke researchers demonstrate genetic therapeutic technique to treat DMD patients

Scientists map autism genetic pathway that regulates brain development

Regulus Therapeutics reports net loss of $22.2 million for fourth quarter 2014

TDF monotherapy ‘reasonable’ option in entecavir-resistant HBV

Long-term TDF ‘promising’ in Chinese HBV patients after multiple antiviral failures

First comprehensive maps and analyses of human epigenomes revealed

Findings may help doctors recommend appropriate treatments, improve patient outcomes

Facts about precision medicine

Researchers show importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of innate immune system

TKI introduction improves French CML patient survival

TNF signaling molecule triggers Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis

Oncolytics Biotech’s REOLYSIN receives Orphan Drug Designation for treatment of pancreatic cancer

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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