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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Focus Diagnostics announces FDA clearance for Simplexa Group A Strep Direct Kit

Focus Diagnostics, the clinical-laboratory products business of Quest Diagnostics, today announced the FDA 510(k) clearance and CLIA moderate-complexity categorization for its Simplexa Group A Strep Direct Kit. Simplexa Group A Strep Direct is a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of Group A Streptococcus bacteria directly from throat swabs.

From Quest Diagnostics 15 Apr 2015

A beginner’s guide to CRISPR genome editing

In a recent DECODED Online entry, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the world leader in oligonucleotide synthesis, provides an overview of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to scientists looking to enhance their genome modification strategy in model organisms or cell lines.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 14 Apr 2015

New combination therapy holds promise for treating HER2-positive breast cancer

Resistance to therapy is a major problem in the cancer field. Even when a treatment initially works, the tumors often find ways around the therapy.

10 Apr 2015

NIAID funds nine research projects to advance rapid diagnostics tests for drug-resistant bacteria

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded more than $11 million in first-year funding for nine research projects supporting enhanced diagnostics to rapidly detect antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

10 Apr 2015

DFG selects 10 researchers to receive 2015 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize

This year's recipients of the most important prize for early career researchers in Germany have been announced. The selection committee, appointed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has chosen ten researchers, five women and five men, to receive the 2015 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes.

10 Apr 2015

Scientists identify chemical compounds that block cancer-causing oncoprotein

A team of scientists at the University of Kansas has pinpointed six chemical compounds that thwart HuR, an "oncoprotein" that binds to RNA and promotes tumor growth.

10 Apr 2015

Researchers use new gene editing tool to cut HIV DNA

The virus that causes AIDS is an efficient and crafty retrovirus. Once HIV inserts its DNA into the genome of its host cells, it has a long incubation period, and can remain dormant and hidden for years.

10 Apr 2015

Research opens door to potential drug target for deadly Ebola virus

Opening the door to potential treatments for the deadly Ebola virus, scientists have found that a protein made by the virus plays a role similar to that of a coat-check attendant.

9 Apr 2015

New blood test may more accurately identify biomarkers for Parkinson's disease

A new blood test may more accurately identify blood signatures, or biomarkers, for Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study published in the journal Movement Disorders.

7 Apr 2015

RNA could be a potential target for new anticancer drugs, say UC Berkeley scientists

Most of today's anticancer drugs target the DNA or proteins in tumor cells, but a new discovery by University of California, Berkeley, scientists unveils a whole new set of potential targets: the RNA intermediaries between DNA and proteins.

7 Apr 2015

MGH investigators identify inflammatory molecule that plays key role in lupus

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have identified an inflammatory molecule that appears to play an essential role in the autoimmune disorder systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus.

7 Apr 2015

UC Davis researchers unravel how micro RNA could potentially lead to novel cancer therapies

The micro RNA miR-22 has long been known for its ability to suppress cancer. However, questions remain about how it achieves this feat. For example, which molecules are regulating miR-22, and which are miR22 targets?

6 Apr 2015

Scientists identify small RNA molecule that can suppress cancer-causing genes in GBM

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a small RNA molecule called miR-182 that can suppress cancer-causing genes in mice with glioblastoma mulitforme (GBM), a deadly and incurable type of brain tumor.

6 Apr 2015

Thomas Jefferson University, Exosome Sciences team up to evaluate new liquid biopsy platform

Today, Thomas Jefferson University announces a partnership with Exosome Sciences Inc. to evaluate a novel liquid biopsy platform that might offer clinicians new and actionable information about a patient's cancer as the disease progresses and changes, via a simple blood test.

3 Apr 2015

Pseudogenes may play role in cancer development, shows study

Pseudogenes, a sub-class of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that developed from the genome's 20,000 protein-coding genes but lost the ability to produce proteins, have long been considered nothing more than genomic "junk." Yet the retention of these 20,000 mysterious remnants during evolution has suggested that they may in fact possess biological functions and contribute to the development of disease.

3 Apr 2015

SGI-DNA introduces BioXp system to give researchers priority access to personal DNA work station

SGI-DNA Inc. today announced the launch of the BioXp 3200 System Early Access Program giving researchers priority access to this one of a kind, personal DNA work station which delivers high quality synthetic DNA fragments.

2 Apr 2015

Penn Med's BLINKER Team named one of 16 finalists in NIH 'Follow that Cell Challenge'

James Eberwine, PhD, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Professor of Systems Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was named one of 16 finalists in the first phase of the Follow that Cell Challenge funded by the National Institutes of Health. The competition was run by crowdsourcing company Innocentive and 687 designated "solvers" entered initially.

2 Apr 2015

Novel molecule inhibits cancer-causing transcription factors

A novel molecule designed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Virginia inhibits progression of a hard-to-treat form of recurring acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patient tissue.

2 Apr 2015

IDT supports unique bioengineering public outreach program

To help the general public understand how bioengineering is changing the world for the better, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) is supporting a unique public outreach program led by expert plant synthetic biologists at Revolution Bioengineering.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 31 Mar 2015

Experimental nanoparticle therapy speeds healing of all sorts of wounds

An experimental therapy developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University cut in half the time it takes to heal wounds compared to no treatment at all. Details of the therapy, which was successfully tested in mice, were published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

30 Mar 2015