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Researchers clear hurdle on path toward gene-therapy treatment for disease

One of the most difficult aspects of working at the nanoscale is actually seeing the object being worked on. Biological structures like viruses, which are smaller than the wavelength of light, are invisible to standard optical microscopes and difficult to capture in their native form with other imaging techniques.

2 Sep 2010

TGen researchers use RNAi-based screening to study Ewing's sarcoma

The first study of Ewing's sarcoma that screened hundreds of genes based on how they affect cell growth has identified two potential anti-cancer drug targets, according to a scientific paper by the Translational Genomics Research Institute published this month in the journal Molecular Cancer.

2 Sep 2010

Promega to provide FuGENE HD Transfection Reagent throughout life science market

Promega Corporation announces it will provide FuGENE HD Transfection Reagent throughout the life science market. The comprehensive, direct use offering from Promega means any life scientist can utilize FuGENE technology with no licensing requirements. FuGENE HD enables the transfection of DNA into many cell types with high efficiency and little-to-no toxicity.

2 Sep 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Diosynth sign long-term commercial manufacturing agreement

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced today that it has entered into a long-term commercial manufacturing agreement with Diosynth RTP, Inc. for the manufacture of Drug Substance integral to the production of NicVAX, Nabi's innovative and proprietary investigational vaccine for the treatment of nicotine addiction and prevention of smoking relapse.

2 Sep 2010

Pfizer enters agreement to acquire FoldRx Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer Inc. and FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and clinical development company, today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Pfizer will acquire FoldRx.

2 Sep 2010

Blood pressure treatment may prevent end-stage kidney disease in some patients: Study

Intensively treating hypertension in some African Americans with kidney disease by pushing blood pressure well below the current recommended goal may significantly decrease the number who lose kidney function and require dialysis, suggests a Johns Hopkins-led study publishing in the New England Journal of Medicine Thursday.

2 Sep 2010

Research on fruit flies suggest starvation allows sleep deprivation

As anyone who has ever struggled to keep his or her eyes open after a big meal knows, eating can induce sleepiness. New research in fruit flies suggests that, conversely, being hungry may provide a way to stay awake without feeling groggy or mentally challenged.

2 Sep 2010

Illinois profs receive grant to work with kidney dialysis patients

University of Illinois scientists will learn whether protein supplements and cycling during treatments can help dialysis patients fight cardiovascular disease and retain physical function, thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Sep 2010

Study on kidneys may help to treat high blood pressure

A study of the body system that deals with Americans' love affair with salt may yield more insight into why so many end up hypertensive and how to better treat them.

2 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

Researchers find new fusion protein for E.coli bacterium vaccine development

South Dakota State University research is exploring a "fusion strategy" for making improved vaccines to protect pigs and humans against some strains of E. coli.

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

High vitamin D level improves survival rate in heart failure patients: Study

Survival rates in heart failure patients with reduced levels of vitamin D are lower than in patients with normal levels. This is the finding of a major study carried out at University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands. Results also suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with activation of the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS - a pivotal regulatory system in heart failure) and an altered cytokine profile.

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

Ranaz second-quarter net earnings increase 11.5% to $410,443

Ranaz Corporation, a company specializing in the manufacturing and marketing of protein and dietary supplements, reported its results today for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

31 Aug 2010

Release of cortisol with fixed regularity can help cope with stress better

If your body releases cortisol with fixed regularity then you can cope with stress better, says NWO-funded researcher Angela Sarabdjitsingh. She investigated the rhythm of corticosterone production in rats. This rat hormone is comparable to the human stress hormone cortisol. Rats deal considerably less well with stress if the pattern of corticosterone release changes. An irregular release pattern is a characteristic of chronic stress and stress-related diseases. It might therefore be possible to treat these by restoring the rhythm.

31 Aug 2010

Nutritional recommendations for management of sarcopenia published

Nutritional recommendations for the management of sarcopenia -- also described as age-related muscle and functional loss -- were published this past week in the clinical publication, Journal of American Medical Directors Association.

31 Aug 2010

New hybrid proteins may lead to better gene replacement and editing therapies

An Iowa State University team of researchers has developed a type of hybrid proteins that can make double-strand DNA breaks at specific sites in living cells, possibly leading to better gene replacement and gene editing therapies.

31 Aug 2010

MGH scientists develop new microfluidic tool for accurate isolation of neutrophils

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) scientists has developed a new microfluidic tool for quickly and accurately isolating neutrophils - the most abundant type of white blood cell - from small blood samples, an accomplishment that could provide information essential to better understanding the immune system's response to traumatic injury. The system, described in a Nature Medicine paper that received advance online release, also can be adapted to isolate almost any type of cell.

31 Aug 2010

Research on trypanosomes can open way for African sleeping sickness drug development

Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals.

31 Aug 2010