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Maryland researchers launch groundbreaking study into spread of drug-resistant malaria in Burma

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have launched groundbreaking research into the spread of potentially deadly drug-resistant malaria in the developing Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

17 Dec 2012

Human nociception genes mapped out

Researchers have uncovered a “network map” of genes that are involved in pain perception, which they say may help identify new analgesic drugs.

17 Dec 2012

New model of how the capsid of viruses assembles

A new model of the how the protein coat (capsid) of viruses assembles, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Biophysics, shows that the construction of intermediate structures prior to final capsid production (hierarchical assembly) can be more efficient than constructing the capsid protein by protein (direct assembly).

17 Dec 2012

Apophysomyces fungus kills 5 people following a massive Joplin tornado

A fast growing, flesh-eating fungus killed 5 people following a massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., according to two new studies based on genomic sequencing by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

16 Dec 2012

Altered gut microbiota associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, demonstrate that an altered gut microbiota in humans is associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke.

15 Dec 2012

Fluidigm, GIS announce establishment of first single-cell genomics research center in Asia

The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), an institute under the umbrella of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and Fluidigm Corporation today announced the establishment of the first research center in Asia exclusively dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how individual cells work, and how diagnosis and treatment might be enhanced through insight derived from single cells.

15 Dec 2012

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raxibacumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved raxibacumab injection to treat inhalational anthrax, a form of the infectious disease caused by breathing in the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Raxibacumab also is approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

Researchers identify how RecA protein helps broken DNA find way to bridge the gap

Every time a human or bacterial cell divides it first must copy its DNA. Specialized proteins unzip the intertwined DNA strands while others follow and build new strands, using the originals as templates. Whenever these proteins encounter a break - and there are many - they stop and retreat, allowing a new cast of molecular players to enter the scene.

14 Dec 2012

National Cheng Kung University kicks off 23rd International Conference on Genome Informatics

National Cheng Kung University kicked off GIW 2012 -- the 23rd International Conference on Genome Informatics -- at International Conference Hall Dec. 12, attracting more than 140 scholars from 10 countries including Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, Canada, America, Germany, and Australia.

14 Dec 2012

Biological factors, cell behaviour drive tumour growth contributing to therapy failure and relapse

Cancer scientists led by Dr. John Dick at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have found a way to follow single tumour cells and observe their growth over time. By using special immune-deficient mice to propagate human colorectal cancer, they found that genetic mutations, regarded by many as the chief suspect driving cancer growth, are only one piece of the puzzle. The team discovered that biological factors and cell behaviour - not only genes - drive tumour growth, contributing to therapy failure and relapse.

14 Dec 2012

MicroRNA-218 especially low in medulloblastoma

Between the blueprint of the genome and the products of its expression lie microRNAs, which can boost or lower the rate at which genes become stuff. In fact, many cancers use microRNA to magnify the expression of faulty genes or shrink the expression of helpful genes that would otherwise suppress tumors. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that in medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor of children, microRNA-218 is especially low.

14 Dec 2012

UCL scientists discover more than 200 gene locations for Crohn's disease

More than two hundred gene locations have now been identified for the chronic bowel condition Crohn's Disease, in a study that analysed the entire human genome.

13 Dec 2012

Study finds many patients with family history of LINE-1 hypomethylated colorectal cancer

When people with a family history of colorectal cancer develop the disease, their tumors often carry a molecular sign that the cancer could be life-threatening and may require aggressive treatment, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in a new study.

13 Dec 2012

Scientists determine specific genetic switches that sync liver activity to the circadian cycle

When it's dark, and we start to fall asleep, most of us think we're tired because our bodies need rest. Yet circadian rhythms affect our bodies not just on a global scale, but at the level of individual organs, and even genes.

12 Dec 2012

Boston College professor to research into new drugs that can prevent onset of toxoplasmosis

The American Cancer Society has awarded a four-year, $720,000 grant to Boston College Associate Professor of Biology Marc-Jan Gubbels for research into potential new drugs that can prevent the onset of toxoplasmosis in cancer patients with weakened immune systems.

10 Dec 2012