Mutation News and Research

RSS

Vaccine to cope with viral diversity in HIV

The ability of HIV-1 to develop high levels of genetic diversity and acquire mutations to escape immune pressures contributes to our difficulties in producing a vaccine.

30 Apr 2007

Chronic alcohol consumption increases tumor growth and amgiogenesis of breast cancer in female mice

For the first time, scientists have used a laboratory mouse model to mimic the development of human alcohol-induced breast cancer.

30 Apr 2007

Scientists find last unknown enzyme in the synthesis of vitamin C in plants

Vitamin C is possibly the most important small molecule whose biosynthetic pathway remained a mystery.

30 Apr 2007

Chinese herb Lei Gong Teng stops formation of cysts in polycystic kidney disease in lab

Using a compound from a centuries-old Chinese traditional medicine, Yale University researcher Dr. Craig Crews has been able to prevent the formation of kidney-destroying cysts in a mouse model of polycystic kidney disease.

30 Apr 2007

Anti-dandruff compound may be a potential treatment for seizures

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the same ingredient used in dandruff shampoos to fight the burning, itching and flaking on your head also can calm overexcited nerve cells inside your head, making it a potential treatment for seizures.

30 Apr 2007

New mechanism identified for resistance to targeted lung cancer drugs

An international research team, led by investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), has found a new way that some lung tumors become resistant to treatment with targeted therapy drugs like Iressa and Tarceva.

27 Apr 2007

World's first microRNA knockout mouse

A role for a microRNA in the immune system has been shown by study of one of the world's first microRNA knockout mouse, reported in Science.

27 Apr 2007

Genetic differences may explain why many Asian women who never smoked develop lung cancer

Analysis of three genetic mechanisms that cause non-small cell lung cancer might explain why East Asians respond better than other ethnic groups to a certain type of chemotherapy, a team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has found.

27 Apr 2007

Mutations in a gene that helps regulate cell division linked to inherited form of fatal lung disease

Mutations in a gene that helps regulate cell division are responsible for some inherited cases of a fatal lung disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Apr 2007

Digesting protein may be a hidden problem for some

Protein metabolism presents some serious waste management challenges for the body.

27 Apr 2007

When it comes to bird flu - will Indonesia play the game?

Despite the fact that bird flu does not appear to have the news value it had a year ago, the deadly virus continues to circle the globe causing mayhem by killing humans and decimating bird populations.

26 Apr 2007

Johns Hopkins team stops form of blood cancer in its tracks

A Johns Hopkins team has stopped in its tracks a form of blood cancer in mice by engineering and inactivating an enzyme, telomerase, thereby shortening the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres.

26 Apr 2007

Discovery of hereditary breast cancer gene

A new hereditary breast cancer gene has been discovered by scientists at the Lundberg Laboratory for Cancer Research and the Plastic Surgery Clinic at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden.

26 Apr 2007

First online models of biological molecules

A University of Massachusetts Amherst biochemist is creating the first online models of biological molecules like enzymes and proteins customized to figures in scientific research articles.

26 Apr 2007

Important step towards a spatially and temporally quantifiable model of the cell

Cell membranes are like two-dimensional fluids whose molecules are distributed evenly through lateral diffusion.

26 Apr 2007

Scientists discover important step in cortisol production

When a person's under stress or injured, the adrenal gland releases cortisol to help restore the body's functions to normal.

25 Apr 2007

New biotech company develops UD-patented technologies for repairing genes

OrphageniX Inc., a new biotechnology company founded by University of Delaware researchers, has been established in Wilmington to develop and commercialize UD-patented technologies for repairing genes that cause rare, hereditary diseases such as sickle cell anemia and spinal muscular atrophy.

25 Apr 2007

Moonlighting enzyme linked to Friedreich's ataxia

Friedreich's ataxia is one of those diseases few have heard of unless you know someone with the condition.

25 Apr 2007

Luminex Corporation licenses cystic fibrosis gene patent from John Hopkins

Luminex Corporation has announced that it has acquired a non-exclusive license from The Johns Hopkins University for the rights to use the university's patented cystic fibrosis genetic markers in the company's molecular diagnostic products sold in the United States.

From Luminex 25 Apr 2007