Biotechnology News and Research

RSS

Potential new drugs for tropical disease leishmaniasis

The fight against the deadly tropical disease Leishmaniasis, also known as black fever, has been boosted by scientists at the University of Durham, whose new screening system has raised the possibility of new, safer drugs.

3 Oct 2007

Plant colors shed light on antioxidants

Scientists have made an important advance in understanding the genetic processes that give flowers, leaves and plants their bright colours. The knowledge could lead to a range of benefits, including better understanding of the cancer-fighting properties of plant pigments and new, natural food colourings.

3 Oct 2007

Mice teeth explain the troubles with human wisdom teeth

During evolution, many of a species' properties are shaped by ecological interactions.

27 Sep 2007

FDA fast tracks PI-88 for the treatment of post resection liver cancer

Progen Pharmaceuticals Limited has announced that its investigational anti-cancer drug PI-88 has been awarded Fast Track status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 Sep 2007

Prana completes enrolment in phase IIa trial of PBT2 in Alzheimer's disease patients

Prana Biotechnology Limited today announced it has completed patient enrollment in its Phase IIa clinical trial of PBT2 in patients with early Alzheimer's disease.

24 Sep 2007

New UK stem cell and regenerative medicine research centre

The new Wolfson Centre for Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Modelling (STEM) will be officially opened at the University of Nottingham on the 21st September, 2007 by Sir Keith O’Nions, Director General Science and Innovation at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

24 Sep 2007

MIT model could improve some drugs' effectiveness

MIT researchers have developed a computer modeling approach that could improve a class of drugs based on antibodies, molecules key to the immune system.

24 Sep 2007

Clostridium difficile could outstrip MRSA in Irish hospitals

Research findings on a bug which is a major threat to hospital patients and particularly elderly patients, which could outstrip MRSA, will be presented to the Irish Society for Immunology (ISI) Annual Conference at Dublin City University.

24 Sep 2007

Framingham Heart Study 100K result published

BioMed Central has announced that 17 research articles carried out using genetic data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), are being published as a supplement to BMC Medical Genetics.

23 Sep 2007

Genes for osteoporosis

Researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife's Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) have examined close to 100,000 genetic markers for low bone mass and aging to help determine which genes are responsible for the development of osteoporosis and longevity.

21 Sep 2007

Researchers provide genetic associations from a genome-wide scan for cardiovascular disease traits

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), have completed analyses of a genome-wide scan on a group of two generations of participants from the landmark Framingham Heart Study (FHS).

20 Sep 2007

Possible hepatitis C vaccine

The British Midlands Development Corporation has announced that the University of Nottingham in the British Midlands has released a statement promoting the development of a possible Hepatitis C Vaccine.

18 Sep 2007

Real time footage reveals DNA-enzyme interaction

For the first time scientists have been able to film, in real time, the nanoscale interaction of an enzyme and a DNA strand from an attacking virus.

18 Sep 2007

Nanoparticle that delivers vaccines more effectively

Good news for public health: Bioengineering researchers from the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed and patented a nanoparticle that can deliver vaccines more effectively, with fewer side effects, and at a fraction of the cost of current vaccine technologies.

18 Sep 2007

Mechanism for the in-vivo transport of siRNA

It all started with flowers: in the nineties of the last century Norwegian researchers discovered that additional copies of a particular gene in petunias inhibited its activity instead of reinforcing it as had been assumed.

18 Sep 2007

Genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis

The human genome has now been thoroughly screened in the hunt for the genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis. The results, which both confirms previous hypotheses and turn the spotlight on entirely new genes, are presented in two articles in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Sep 2007