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Scientists gather to present research findings at ASHG 2010 Meeting

The world's top scientists and clinicians in the human genetics field will gather in Washington, D.C., to present their latest research findings at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, from Tuesday, November 2, through Saturday, November 6, 2010, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.

8 Sep 2010

NIH announces award to improve human microbiome research

The National Institutes of Health today announced it has awarded approximately $42 million to expand the scope of eight demonstration projects designed to link changes in the human microbiome to health and disease.

8 Sep 2010

NIH expands funding for Baylor College of Medicine Human Microbiome Project

The National Institutes of Health today announced expanded funding of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Microbiome Project clinical program initiated last year at Texas Children Hospital.

8 Sep 2010

NIH awards St. Jude $8.6M to focus on anticancer agent research in children

With its new expansion of the Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded St. Jude Children's Research Hospital a prestigious grant to focus on anticancer agent research in children.

8 Sep 2010

Stratos Genomics closes Series-A financing deal

Stratos Genomics Inc. today announced it has closed a Series-A financing deal of $4 million to continue development of its ultra-low-cost nucleic acid sequencing method for whole genome analysis and molecular diagnostics. The round was led by Fisk Ventures and included Stratos Group LLC.

8 Sep 2010

UCSF scientists to receive two grants for personalized medicine research

UCSF scientists will receive two grants totaling $15.1 million over the next five years to expand their research into how genes affect an individual's response to medication and to strengthen a global network of researchers involved in these efforts.

7 Sep 2010

Complete Genomics, SAIC-Frederick collaborate to validate somatic mutations from pediatric cancer cases

Complete Genomics Inc., a life sciences company focused on human genome sequencing, today announced a collaboration to identify and validate somatic mutations from 50 pediatric cancer cases from multiple research centers across the United States.

7 Sep 2010

Researchers to develop new treatment strategy for cancer

Cancer is a difficult disease to treat because it's a personal disease. Each case is unique and based on a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Conventional chemotherapy employs treatment with one or more drugs, assuming that these medicines are able to both "diagnose" and "treat" the affected cells. Many of the side effects experienced by chemotherapy patients are due to the fact that the drugs they are taking aren't selective enough.

7 Sep 2010

New blood signature test to diagnose, treat respiratory infections

Coughing and wheezing patients could someday benefit from quicker, more accurate diagnosis and treatment for respiratory infections such as flu, through a simple blood test, according to scientists.

7 Sep 2010

Gene containing 'minisatellite' plays key role in driving human DNA diversity

One of the key drivers of human evolution and diversity, accounting for changes that occur between different generations of people, is explained by new research published today (Sept 5) by world-renowned scientist Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, who discovered DNA fingerprinting at the University of Leicester.

6 Sep 2010

Human endogenous retroviruses may provide insight evidence to HIV diagnosis

Why is it so hard to isolate and purify human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Why has no one been able to see, by electron microscopy, a single HIV particle in the blood of AIDS patients, even those who have a "high viral load" Why does HIV seem to mutate with startling rapidity. AIDS researchers have not been able to come up with answers to these questions.

4 Sep 2010

UB symposium to discuss in silico molecular design, high-throughput screening to treat diseases

Twenty-first-century pharmaceutical breakthroughs require 21st-century drug discovery tools, such as computational or in silico molecular design and high-throughput screening of effective, new compounds. That's the theme of a University at Buffalo symposium to be held Sept. 11 on "Twenty-first Century Bioscience: In Silico Methods and High-Throughput Screening," which will feature a variety of cutting-edge advances in the field developed by researchers in Western New York and throughout the US.

3 Sep 2010

Simple protocol for determining Gross Chromosomal Rearrangement mutation rates

A cell devotes a significant amount of effort to maintaining the stability of its genome, preventing the sorts of chromosomal rearrangements characteristic of many cancers. Assays that measure the rate of gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) are needed in order to understand the individual genes and the different pathways that suppress genomic instability.

3 Sep 2010

GABRA2 gene influences brain’s reward responses to alcohol odors: Research

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered. Prior research suggested an association between SNPs in a gene that encodes aspects of the brain's gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)-A receptors (the GABRA2 gene) and alcohol dependence. A study of responses to the aromas of alcoholic drinks according to subjects' genotyping at a SNP in GABRA2 has found that this genotype can affect the brain's reward responses to cues such as alcohol odors.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers discover novel compound to combat drug resistant malaria

Novartis announced today that scientists at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), in collaboration with researchers from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a novel compound that shows promise as a next generation treatment for drug resistant malaria.

3 Sep 2010

International consortium publishes third-generation map of human genetic variation

An international consortium today published a third-generation map of human genetic variation, called the HapMap, which includes data from an additional seven global populations, increasing the total number to 11 populations. The improved resolution will help researchers interpret current genome studies aimed at finding common and rarer genetic variants associated with complex diseases.

2 Sep 2010

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation announces global release of engineered mammalian cell lines

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and research services business of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, today announced the global release of a pioneering range of engineered mammalian cell lines.

2 Sep 2010

Abbott RealTime HBV assay receives marketing approval from FDA

Abbott announced today it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the Abbott RealTime HBV assay for measuring viral load or the amount of hepatitis B virus in a patient's blood. It is the first and only approved test capable of automating HBV viral load testing from sample extraction to final results.

2 Sep 2010

Parkinson’s disease discoveries

Genes that affect the immune system and link it to Parkinson’s disease have been uncovered. This paves the way for new drug development in Parkinson’s disease – a serious, degenerative disease of the nerves that leads to tremors and muscle stiffness and eventually complete loss of movements. There is currently no cure for PD.

31 Aug 2010

Burrill conference to provide insights into challenges and opportunities in personalized medicine

"Healthcare is now shifting towards predictive and preventative care utilizing diagnostics that allow physicians to follow the course of a disease, evaluate which therapeutic regimes are most effective, and determine long-term susceptibility and recurrence," said G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company. "As diseases are better understood at a molecular level, the promise of personalized medicine is becoming a reality.

31 Aug 2010