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DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

PhotoMedex introduces DNA Damage Control sunscreens

PhotoMedex, Inc. a leading supplier of advanced, clinical skincare and medical laser products, today introduced DNA Damage Control, the breakthrough treatment sunscreens that feature advanced photoprotection with DNA repair technology.

5 May 2011

ZIOPHARM reports net loss of $39.0 million for first quarter 2011

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc, an oncology small molecule and synthetic biology drug development company, today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2011, and provided an update on the Company's activities in the first quarter.

5 May 2011

Genome epigenetic analysis reveals new ways to detect and treat breast cancer

The most comprehensive analysis yet of the epigenetic modifications present in breast cancer has revealed potentially important new ways to detect and treat the disease, Belgian researchers have reported.

5 May 2011

EraGen workshop to address two topics on real-time PCR-based viral monitoring tests

EraGen Biosciences Inc. today announced that it will host a corporate workshop at the upcoming Clinical Virology Symposium, which is being held May 8-11 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The workshop will take place at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.

5 May 2011

Study: XMRV retrovirus is not present in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

New findings from University of Utah School of Medicine researchers show that the retrovirus called XMRV is not present in the blood of patients who have chronic fatigue syndrome.

5 May 2011

New book on the myth of junk DNA

Forty years ago scientists discovered that more than 95% of our DNA does not encode proteins. Since then the non-protein-coding portion was labeled "junk" and attributed to molecular accidents that have accumulated in the course of evolution.

4 May 2011

WWP2 protein appears to play a key role in tumor survival

A protein known as WWP2 appears to play a key role in tumor survival, a research team headed by a scientist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in an advance online publication of Nature Cell Biology.

4 May 2011

CTI to re-submit pixantrone NDA to FDA's Office of New Drugs for re-review

Cell Therapeutics, today announced that the Office of New Drugs of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after carefully reviewing the materials CTI submitted in support of its appeal, the reviews of the New Drug Application for pixantrone prepared by the FDA staff, the transcript of the March 22, 2010 Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee meeting and consulting with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's Deputy Director of Clinical Science and the Office of Biostatistics, concluded that accelerated approval of pixantrone NDA 022481 may not necessarily be out of reach based on a single controlled clinical trial, provided two key matters can be satisfactorily resolved.

3 May 2011

Chromatrap Pro-A Spin Columns improve ChIP assay performance

Porvair Filtration Group has announced the launch of the first product, a ChIP kit containing 24 assays, based upon its novel Chromatrap™ Pro-A Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation (ChIP) technology. The exciting new product has been enthusiastically tested at 12 beta sites around the world with excellent results and feedback.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 3 May 2011

Althea enters commercial drug supply agreement with Biotest

Althea Technologies, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a commercial supply agreement with Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

3 May 2011

Eurotrans-Bio awards 1.1 million grant to MDxHealth, NovioGendix for bladder cancer program

MDxHealth SA, a leading molecular diagnostics company in the field of personalized cancer treatment, today announced that together with partner NovioGendix B.V., a molecular diagnostics company spun out from Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands, has received a USD 1.1 million grant from Eurotrans-Bio to progress its bladder cancer program.

3 May 2011

Scientists identify biochemical abnormality behind Machado-Joseph disease

Scientists in Portugal have identified a biochemical abnormality behind the potentially fatal neurodegenerative Machado-Joseph disease and using several models of the disease were able to reverse the problem in what can be a crucial step towards a cure for humans .

2 May 2011

New method helps scientists to determine specific protein molecular structure

The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a new, high-performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous methods had failed.

2 May 2011

Researchers discover two mutations responsible for neurological condition

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered two mutations responsible for a devastating neurological condition they first identified 15 years ago. The researchers say their study -- appearing in Nature Genetics -- has revealed a new neural pathway that may help understand a variety of similar conditions.

2 May 2011

SaneVax criticizes FDA for approval of Roche's cobas HPV genotyping test

In an April 22, 2011 letter to FDA Commissioner; Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Norma Erickson on behalf of the SaneVax Inc. Board of Directors, criticized the FDA for not following its own guidelines and recommendations in approving Roche's cobas HPV Test for cervical cancer screening and for HPV-16 and HPV-18 genotyping.

30 Apr 2011

UCLA study findings hold promise to cure diabetes

Simply put, people develop diabetes because they don't have enough pancreatic beta cells to produce the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar levels.

30 Apr 2011

Centocor Ortho Biotech Products withdraws NDA for trabectedin for treatment of women with ROC

Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., today announced that it has voluntarily withdrawn the New Drug Application for trabectedin for the treatment of women with recurrent ovarian cancer. The withdrawal is based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommendation that an additional Phase 3 study be conducted to obtain approval.

30 Apr 2011

Study finds association between ERBB4 gene, LVOT malformations

A gene known to be important in cardiac development has been newly associated with congenital heart malformations that result in obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract. These are the findings from a study conducted by Nationwide Children's Hospital and appearing in the journal Birth Defects Research Part A.

30 Apr 2011

Researchers unravel mechanism behind sickle hemoglobin protection against malaria

The latest issue of the journal Cell carries an article that is likely to help solve one of the long-standing mysteries of biomedicine. In a study that challenges currently held views, researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia, in Portugal, unravel the molecular mechanism whereby sickle cell hemoglobin confers a survival advantage against malaria, the disease caused by Plasmodium infection.

29 Apr 2011