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EU-funded project aims to identify potential new targets for cancer therapy

Targeted therapies have revolutionised the treatment of cancer since they were first introduced. Amongst the first medications approved in Europe, was the breast cancer drug Herceptin, which was approved in 2000. Then, the drug Glivec, was initially introduced to treat a certain form of leukaemia, and approved in 2001. Targeted therapies specifically inhibit molecules within so-called signalling pathways that usually control cell growth, death and differentiation. If they are altered, for example falsely inactivated or activated, the cells may start growing in an uncontrolled manner.

11 Jun 2014

Researchers discover strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Latin American patients

In the largest study of its kind published to date, an international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has discovered a strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes that primarily affects Latin American patients, but is rare elsewhere.

11 Jun 2014

Findings add surprising new dimension to understanding of antibody repertoires

As elite soldiers of the body's immune response, B cells serve as a vast standing army ready to recognize and destroy invading antigens, including infections and cancer cells. To do so, each new B cell comes equipped with its own highly specialized weapon, a unique antibody protein that selectively binds to specific parts of the antigen.

10 Jun 2014

Protein-kinase interactions offer a new way to fight antimalarial drug resistance

When it comes to the emergence of antimalarial drug resistance, it's not a question of 'if' but 'when'. In order to keep up with the quickly evolving Plasmodium parasite - the cause of malaria - new ways to treat and control the disease must be found.

9 Jun 2014

Research finding paves way for targeted approaches to treating cancer patients

Twelve years ago, UNC School of Medicine researcher Brian Strahl, PhD, found that a protein called Set2 plays a role in how yeast genes are expressed - specifically how DNA gets transcribed into messenger RNA. Now his lab has found that Set2 is also a major player in DNA repair, a complicated and crucial process that can lead to the development of cancer cells if the repair goes wrong.

9 Jun 2014

New class of genetic switches gives clues on stem cell development

Case Western Reserve researchers have discovered landmarks within pluripotent stem cells that guide how they develop to serve different purposes within the body.

9 Jun 2014

Advances in understanding of genetics of CAD lead to more therapeutic targets

Advances in the understanding of the genetics of coronary artery disease, or CAD, will revitalize the field and lead to more therapeutic targets for new medicines to combat this common disease, suggests a genetics expert from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in a Perspective article in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine.

9 Jun 2014

Gene variants that lead to longer telomeres boost brain cancer risk

New genomic research led by UC San Francisco scientists reveals that two common gene variants that lead to longer telomeres, the caps on chromosome ends thought by many scientists to confer health by protecting cells from aging, also significantly increase the risk of developing the deadly brain cancers known as gliomas.

9 Jun 2014

Researchers uncover several gene networks with potentially important roles in autism

A large new analysis of DNA from thousands of patients has uncovered several underlying gene networks with potentially important roles in autism.

9 Jun 2014

Gene networks may offer attractive targets for developing new autism drugs

A large new analysis of DNA from thousands of patients has uncovered several underlying gene networks with potentially important roles in autism.

6 Jun 2014

SGC and CHDI Foundation collaborate to discover new drug targets for Huntington's disease

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and CHDI Foundation have entered into a unique open-access research collaboration to discover and characterize new drug targets for Huntington's disease (HD) using structural and chemical biology In this first partnership of its kind, SGC and CHDI have explicitly agreed not to file for patents on any of the collaborative research and to make all reagents and knowledge available without restriction to the wider research community, including pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic research groups.

6 Jun 2014

Device used in physics and chemistry reveals dynamics of pervasive pathogen

If you have it, you probably don't know it. Cytomegalovirus, or CMV, is perhaps one of the biggest pathogens you've never heard of-big, both proportionately and epidemiologically.

6 Jun 2014

SAP collaborates with MolecularHealth and GATC to offer personalized cancer treatment

In the spirit of its mission to improve people's lives, SAP AG today announced that it intends to offer a personalized treatment option service, in collaboration with MolecularHealth and GATC Biotech, to qualified employees fighting cancer.

6 Jun 2014

MolecularHealth launches innovative oncology program for employers

MolecularHealth announced today the official launch of MolecularHealth COPE (Corporate Oncology Program for Employers), powered by its cancer treatment decision support offering, TreatmentMAP.

6 Jun 2014

Whole genome sequencing reveals severe intellectual disability in patients

With a new technique, which at once studies the whole genome, a genetic cause can be identified in six out of ten children with severe intellectual disability. This makes the method more successful than all the usual methods together.

5 Jun 2014

Thermo Fisher, Cellectis sign agreements on TALEN gene editing technology

Cellectis, a leader of engineered CART cell therapies, and Thermo Fisher Scientific announced today that they have entered into a series of agreements covering the uses of TAL nucleases under the brand name TALEN™.

5 Jun 2014

Scientists reproduce chromosomal modifications in human cells that cause certain cancer

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncol-gicas (CNIO) have succeeded in reproducing, in human cells, the chromosomal translocations that cause two types of cancer: acute myeloid leukemia and Ewing's sarcoma.

5 Jun 2014

Four new genes cause inherited breast cancer risk

Four new genes have been added to the growing list of those known to cause increased breast cancer risk when mutated through the efforts of researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah, who lead an international consortium working to find more gene mutations that cause inherited breast cancer susceptibilities.

5 Jun 2014

My Cancer Genome unveils second-generation mobile app

My Cancer Genome (MCG), an online precision cancer medicine tool developed by researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has unveiled a free, second-generation mobile app that provides even more information about genetic alterations in various types of cancer and the therapies available to treat those alterations.

5 Jun 2014

Researchers reproduce tumor chromosomal translocations in human cells

Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre and the Spanish National Cardiovascular Research Centre have been able to reproduce, for the first time in human cells, chromosomal translocations associated with two types of cancer: acute myeloid leukaemia and Ewing's sarcoma.

4 Jun 2014