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Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center named Centers of Excellence for Molecular Hematology

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has been named one of five national Centers of Excellence for Molecular Hematology to find new gene and cell therapies for inherited diseases affecting blood cells.

8 Oct 2010

Natural variation shows promise for increasing provitamin A in cassava roots

The roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta) serve as the primary source of carbohydrates in the diets of people in many arid regions of the world, including more than 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately the roots of commercial cassava cultivars are quite low in micronutrients, and micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in these regions.

5 Oct 2010

Crescendo Biologics successfully delivers triple knockout mice

Crescendo Biologics Limited today announces it has established a colony of engineered mice completely devoid of endogenous antibody polypeptides. The proprietary 'triple knockout' mice are believed to be unique and have the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH), kappa light chain and lambda light chain loci all functionally silenced by large-scale genomic deletion.

29 Sep 2010

Origin Biotechnology reaches worldwide agreement with Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for Bt-gene

Origin Biotechnology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Origin Agritech Limited announced it has reached an comprehensive, worldwide agreement with the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). CAAS jointly own the rights to the internally developed Bt-gene.

24 Sep 2010

Miltenyi Biotec releases ACSA-1 MicroBead Kit to isolate GLAST-expressing astrocytes

Miltenyi Biotec announces the worldwide first and exclusive release of the Anti-GLAST (ACSA-1) MicroBead Kit. Isolation of viable GLAST-expressing astrocytes is now possible within one hour using the first commercially available antibody against an extracellular surface epitope of GLAST.

23 Sep 2010

QR Pharma and MUSC receive $220,000 SBIR grant to study Posiphen in AD transgenic mice

QR Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company committed to developing therapeutics with novel approaches for the treatment of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) announced today that they received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I grant in the amount of $220,000 to study Posiphen® and its metabolites in cell culture and in transgenic Alzheimer mice.

22 Sep 2010

Researchers identify new target for cystic fibrosis

The lab of Kevin Foskett, PhD, the Isaac Ott Professor of Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has found a possible new target for fighting cystic fibrosis (CF) that could compensate for the lack of a functioning ion channel in affected CF-related cells. Their finding appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

18 Sep 2010

Conference to discuss frontline of immunological research, its clinical application

The immune system is evolved to protect our body against a variety of infectious agents which can cause serious and often fatal diseases. We now appreciate that the immune system is also involved in surveillance of malignant transformation of normal cells that constitute our body, as well as rejection of transplanted organs.

17 Sep 2010

Researchers synthesize new compounds to reduce A-beta 42 peptide in Alzheimer's disease

A team of scientists, led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers, has synthesized hundreds of new compounds with the potential of reducing the production of the A-beta 42 peptide, a primary component of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

9 Sep 2010

NGP 555 compound effective in preventing amyloid pathology of Alzheimer's disease

In the Sept. 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, Neurogenetic Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NGP) reports proof of concept studies that show its proprietary compound, NGP 555, is effective in preventing the amyloid pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a transgenic mouse model.

8 Sep 2010

Scientists develop direct method to detect gene doping

Scientists at the universities in Tübingen and Mainz have developed a test that can provide conclusive proof of gene doping. "For the first time, a direct method is now available that uses conventional blood samples to detect doping via gene transfer and is still effective if the actual doping took place up to 56 days before," Professor Perikles Simon, MD, PhD from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany explained on Thursday.

3 Sep 2010

'Sprouty' protein linked to regulation of bone mass and body fat

Here's good news for anyone trying to lose weight or has osteoporosis: Scientists from Maine are on the trail of a weight loss drug that may revolutionize how we treat these two conditions. In a new research report published in the September 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, the researchers describe a newly discovered protein, called "Sprouty," responsible for regulating body fat and bone mass. Then they manipulated how much of this protein was expressed in different groups of mice specially bred to have some human genes.

2 Sep 2010

Research on adult mammary stem cells may help to cure breast cancer

For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have identified and isolated adult mammary stem cells in mice. Long-term implications of this research may include the use of such cells to regenerate breast tissue, provide a better understanding of the role of adult stem cells in breast cancer development, and develop potential new targets for anti-cancer drugs.

2 Sep 2010

UBC researchers lead development of new 'toolbox of MiniPromoters' for gene research and therapy

University of British Columbia researchers have led the development of a new "toolbox of MiniPromoters" for research and future therapies on brain, spinal cord and eye function.

31 Aug 2010

Study supports role for SNARK protein in regulating glucose transport during muscle contraction and exercise

Skeletal muscles combust both lipids and carbohydrates during exercise. The carbohydrates consist of both glycogen stored in the muscles as well as glucose extracted from the blood. Being a major sink for glucose disposal, skeletal muscle represents an important model tissue for studying the intracellular signaling pathways leading to increased glucose transport.

21 Aug 2010

Jackson Laboratory to implement HighRes automated process for genotyping of laboratory mice

A highly accurate, automated process for managing the genotyping of laboratory mice is headed to Bar Harbor, Maine. In response to the increased demand for using transgenic mouse models and the requisite genotyping of such animals, The Jackson Laboratory will be implementing a HighRes Biosolutions automated process to improve the maintenance of their extensive and diverse mouse colonies.

17 Aug 2010

Down the silk road of the future

The Science paper notes that the development of silk hydrogels, films, fibers and sponges is making possible advances in photonics and optics, nanotechnology, electronics, adhesives and microfluidics, as well as engineering of bone and ligaments. Because silk fiber formation does not rely on complex or toxic chemistries, such materials are biologically and environmentally friendly, even able to integrate with living systems.

30 Jul 2010

Also in Global Health News: WHO reacts to Amnesty's N. Korea report; Universal flu vaccine; Malaria-resistant mosquitoes

The WHO is questioning the validity of the findings of a recent Amnesty International report which highlighted the dire needs of North Korea's health system, "contradict[ing] the rosier picture given by WHO chief Margaret Chan after her April trip there," the Associated Press reports. Although WHO spokesman Paul Garwood "insisted he wasn't criticizing Amnesty's work … he said Thursday's report was anecdotal, with stories dating back to 2001," which "[h]e contrasted … with WHO's science-based approach" (7/16).

17 Jul 2010

QR Pharma to present positive clinical data from mechanism of action study in MCI at ICAD 2010

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), is presenting a poster today on positive clinical data from its recent mechanism of action study in mild cognitive impaired (MCI) patients at the International Congress on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2010).

15 Jul 2010

Plexxikon announces promising preclinical data of PLX3397

Plexxikon Inc. today announced promising preclinical data from in vivo Alzheimer's Disease studies demonstrating a dramatic reduction in activated microglia in the brains of very old (22 months) 3xTG-AD mice, a triple transgenic model for Alzheimer's Disease. This reduction of activated microglia led to significantly improved learning in the treated group.