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Clemson researcher to continue African sleeping sickness study

Clemson University researcher James Morris received a $360,079 competitive renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his study of Trypanosoma brucei, the single-celled parasite that causes African sleeping sickness.

3 Apr 2012

RainDance introduces new panel for cancer mutation screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology company, today announced the worldwide availability of its new panel for cancer mutation screening research using any next-generation sequencing (NGS) system.

2 Apr 2012

Life Technologies expands TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the expansion to its TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays -- highly sensitive and novel molecular analysis research tools designed to detect an additional 241 of the most common mutations in 21 cancer genes.

2 Apr 2012

Blocking PRC2 protein may help protect against AML

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a candidate drug target for treating acute myeloid leukemia, a white blood cell cancer that proliferates out of control in the bone marrow.

2 Apr 2012

Ingenuity iReport for Real-Time PCR optimized for TaqMan Gene Expression Assays

Ingenuity Systems, a leading provider of information and analysis solutions for life science researchers, and Life Technologies Corporation today announced Ingenuity iReport for Real-Time PCR optimized for TaqMan Gene Expression Assays.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists use DNA sequencing to identify 'driver' mutations in cancer

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using powerful DNA sequencing technology not only to identify mutations at the root of a patient's tumor - considered key to personalizing cancer treatment - but to map the genetic evolution of disease and monitor response to treatment.

2 Apr 2012

Twins and mothers with poor nutrition more likely to develop obesity, type 2 diabetes

If you're expecting, this might make you feel a little better about reaching for that pint of ice cream: New research published online in the FASEB Journal suggests that twins, and babies of mothers who diet around the time of conception and in early pregnancy, may have an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes throughout their lives.

2 Apr 2012

Studies use three genes to reprogram fibroblasts into myocytes

The latest research developments to reprogram scar tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) into viable heart muscle cells, were presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London.

2 Apr 2012

RNA binding motif protein 20 regulates titin splicing

Cardiomyopathy comprises a deterioration of the heart muscle that affects the organ's ability to efficiently pump blood through the body. Previously researchers have tied forms of the disease to the alternative splicing of titin, a giant protein that determines the structure and biomechanical properties of the heart, but the molecular mechanism remained unknown.

2 Apr 2012

Genetic variations could be linked with meconium ileus in CF patients

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers working as part of the International Cystic Fibrosis Consortium have discovered several regions of the genome that may predispose cystic fibrosis (CF) patients to develop an intestinal blockage while still in the uterus.

2 Apr 2012

MEK1 mutation does not necessarily make BRAF mutant melanomas resistant to inhibitors

A second mutation found in the tumors of patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma does not contribute to resistance to BRAF inhibitor drugs, a finding that runs counter to what scientists expected to be true.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists link two genes involved in serotonin production to PTSD

Why do some persons succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new UCLA study may shed light on the answer.

2 Apr 2012

STAT-1 and PLSCR-1 proteins could play a crucial role in breast cancer

At the time of diagnosis, the majority of breast cancers are categorized as estrogen-receptor positive, or hormone sensitive, which means their cancerous cells may need estrogen to grow. Patients with this type of cancer often respond favorably to treatments called aromatase inhibitors, like tamoxifen, which cause cell death by preventing estrogen from reaching the cancerous cells.

2 Apr 2012

Aberrations in translation regulators linked with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer survival

Four proteins involved in translation, the final step of general protein production, are associated with poor prognosis in hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer when they are dysregulated, researchers reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012.

2 Apr 2012

New breast cancer gene mutation discovered

A large international study led by University of Melbourne researchers has identified a mutation linked to breast cancer attached to the newly identified gene, called XRCC2. Lead researcher Melissa Southey said the discovery, using high-speed technology, would hopefully mean that more gene mutations responsible for causing breast cancer could be rapidly identified in the next few years.

1 Apr 2012

Diversity of intestinal stem cells is greater than previously thought

Tales from the crypt are supposed to be scary, but new research from Vanderbilt University, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and colleagues shows that crypts can be places of renewal too: intestinal crypts, that is. Intestinal crypts are small areas of the intestine where new cells are formed to continuously renew the digestive tract. By focusing on one protein expressed in our intestines called Lrig1, the researchers have identified a special population of intestinal stem cells that respond to damage and help to prevent cancer.

31 Mar 2012

Clinical findings from Transgenomic's NuclearMitome Test study on nuclear mitochondrial disorders

Transgenomic, Inc. today announced that Jeana DaRe, Ph.D., Assistant CLIA Laboratory Director at Transgenomic, presented clinical findings from patients tested for nuclear mitochondrial disorders using Transgenomic's NuclearMitome Test on Thursday, March 29, at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

31 Mar 2012

NanoString to launch 3 new products for nCounter Analysis System at AACR 2012

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, today announced that it will launch three new products for the nCounter Analysis System at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012, March 31-April 4, in Chicago, Ill.

From NanoString Technologies 31 Mar 2012

Dengue infection makes mosquito's blood feeding more efficient

Mosquitoes infected with dengue virus experience an array of changes in the activity of genes and associated functions of their salivary glands, and these changes may lead to increased virus transmission, according to a recent study led by George Dimopoulos, Ph.D., of the Malaria Research Institute and Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

31 Mar 2012

UH clinical trial to evaluate stool DNA testing for colon cancer

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are studying a promising new non-invasive technology for colon cancer screening. The four-year study is recruiting patients to compare the effectiveness of stool DNA (SDNA) testing with colonoscopy for detecting large colon polyps.

31 Mar 2012