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An enzyme that mutates antibodies also targets a cancer-causing oncogene

The human immune system is in a perpetual state of self-experimentation. It expertly mutates and shuffles the DNA of its own cells to evolve new defenses against the vast array of microbes that try to invade our bodies. But when the genetic experiment goes awry, the result can be a deadly cancer.

11 Dec 2008

$Proteolix announces positive data for carfilzomib in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma$

Proteolix announces positive data for carfilzomib in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma

Proteolix, Inc. today announced positive clinical data demonstrating that the company's lead product, carfilzomib, has single-agent activity and promotes durable responses in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

10 Dec 2008

Researchers find inherited genetic variation in nicotine addiction

A new study from the Abramson Cancer Center and Department of Psychiatry in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows that smokers who carry a particular version of a gene for an enzyme that regulates dopamine in the brain may suffer from concentration problems and other cognitive deficits when abstaining from nicotine - a problem that puts them at risk for relapse during attempts to quit smoking.

10 Dec 2008

Protein FKBP12 provides new insights into understanding autism

Researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science and the Baylor College of Medicine have identified a protein that when removed from mice results in behaviors that are akin to those with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

10 Dec 2008

New therapeutic targets for malaria

Scientists working on a common antimicrobial compound with antimalarial activity have discovered a range of new therapeutic strategies to combat malaria.

10 Dec 2008

Cellular 'brakes' may slow memory process in aging brains

University of Florida researchers may have discovered why some brain cells necessary for healthy memory can survive old age or disease, while similar cells hardly a hairsbreadth away die.

10 Dec 2008

New clues to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia

Rice University researchers have found a potential clue to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.

10 Dec 2008

Experimental drug successfully blocks mutation in bone marrow cancers

Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug successfully blocks an enzyme that causes some bone marrow cancers.

10 Dec 2008

Merck Serono's Kuvan receives European marketing authorization

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Kuvan(R) for the treatment of hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) in phenylketonuria (PKU) or BH4 deficient patients.

10 Dec 2008

Antioxidants in honey adds health benefits to salad dressings

Antioxidant-rich honey is a healthy alternative to chemical additives and refined sweeteners in commercial salad dressings, said a new University of Illinois study.

10 Dec 2008

Hep C treatment pegylated interferon reduces the virus but liver damage continues

Treating patients who have chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease with long-term pegylated interferon significantly decreased their liver enzymes, viral levels and liver inflammation, but the treatment did not slow or prevent the progression of serious liver disease, a study finds.

10 Dec 2008

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals update on Kreutzer-Limmer patent estate

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) has ruled in favor of the Appellants in oral proceedings before the Board of Appeals related to the '623 (EP 1144623) patent in its Kreutzer-Limmer patent estate.

10 Dec 2008

Researchers study virus with unusual properties

A team of researchers from Penn State University and the University of Chicago has uncovered clues that may explain how and why a particular virus, called N4, injects an unusual substance -- an RNA polymerase protein -- into an E. coli bacterial cell.

8 Dec 2008

C. elegans worms may hold key to new treatments for obesity in humans

A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say.

8 Dec 2008

Glowing imaging compound allows detection of viable cancer cells in mice

Researchers have developed a new type of imaging compound that allows them to visualize viable breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs in mice.

8 Dec 2008

Discovery of six novel genetic variants associated with lipid levels

A new study presages a real aim of genetics: to look at whole populations to in order determine the significance of individual genetic variants for individual health.

8 Dec 2008

Discovery of 11 new gene sites that influence cholesterol or triglyceride levels

An international research team has identified 11 novel locations in the human genome where common variations appear to influence cholesterol or triglyceride levels, bringing the total number of lipid-associated genes to 30.

8 Dec 2008

Researchers identify key step in maturation pathway of telomerase

The Stowers Institute's Baumann Lab has discovered an important step in the maturation pathway of telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the sequences that are lost at chromosome ends with every cell division.

8 Dec 2008

New approaches to prevent blood clots

The largest study ever to examine the preventive use of blood-thinning medication to help prevent deadly blood clots in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy presented December 7 during the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco, CA.

8 Dec 2008

Incyte's selective Janus kinase inhibitor demonstrates rapid and durable clinical benefits in Myelofibrosis patients

Incyte Corporation will present updated results from an ongoing Phase II trial of INCB18424, its selective, orally available Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) at the 50th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

8 Dec 2008