Evolution News and Research

RSS

Life Technologies and BGI partner to offer whole human genome resequencing on SOLiD™ 4 System

Life Technologies Corporation and BGI (formerly Beijing Genomics Institute) announced today that they have partnered to offer whole human genome resequencing on the SOLiD™ 4 System. BGI, one of the world's largest genomic centers, has acquired 27 SOLiD 4 Systems, which will allow BGI to deliver 50 whole human genome sequences a month.

29 Oct 2010

University of Montreal contributes to '1000 Genomes Project'

Mutations in DNA are a normal part of life. Sometimes these variations give rise to unique and beneficial traits including the creation of a new species, other times they cause devastating diseases. We are now another step closer to capturing most of the DNA mutations in humans thanks to an international study cataloging all forms of DNA variation from five populations from Europe, East Asia, South Asia, West Africa and the Americas, in the "1000 Genomes Project".

29 Oct 2010

New approach for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic tumors are one of the most lethal cancers, with fewer than five percent of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. But a new study that peers deeply into the genetics of pancreatic cancer presents a bit of good news an opportunity for early diagnosis. In contrast to earlier predictions, many pancreatic tumors are, in fact, slow growing, taking nearly 20 years to become lethal after the first genetic perturbations appear.

29 Oct 2010

Inefficient suppression of DUX4 gene causes facioscapulohumeral dystrophy: Study

An international team of researchers led by an investigator from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has made a second critical advance in determining the cause of a common form of muscular dystrophy known as facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, or FSHD.

29 Oct 2010

CCS presents new 2010 Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) presented its new 2010 Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines, the first update in six years, at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC) in Montreal.

28 Oct 2010

New version of Addiction Severity Index performs well in psychometric terms

The new version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) gives health professionals the opportunity to design an integral and personalised plan of assistance for patients suffering disorders due to substance abuse.

28 Oct 2010

AnaptysBio announces issuance of two new patents for SHM-XEL platform

AnaptysBio, Inc., a privately-held therapeutic antibody platform and product company, announced the issuance of patents in the US and Europe that provide additional coverage for its SHM-XEL platform. These patents extend AnaptysBio's leadership in the use of somatic hypermutation (SHM) for the discovery and optimization of antibodies and other proteins.

28 Oct 2010

Researchers unveil evolution in pancreatic tumours

In new research published today, researchers uncover evolution in action in cancer cells. They show the forces of evolution in pancreatic tumours mean that not only is cancer genetically different between different patients, but each new focus of cancer spread within a patient has acquired distinct mutations.

28 Oct 2010

1000 Genomes Project publishes comprehensive map of genetic variations in Nature journal

Small genetic differences between individuals help explain why some people have a higher risk than others for developing illnesses such as diabetes or cancer. Today in the journal Nature, the 1000 Genomes Project, an international public-private consortium, published the most comprehensive map of these genetic differences, called variations, estimated to contain approximately 95 percent of the genetic variation of any person on Earth.

28 Oct 2010

New computational techniques to overcome obstacles in hard-to-study genes

Scientists have invented methods to scout the human genome's repetitive landscapes, where DNA sequences are highly identical and heavily duplicated. These advances, as reported today in Science, can identify subtle but important differences among people in the number and content of repeated DNA segments.

28 Oct 2010

New G-DOC repository for biological information

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center, announces the launch of the Georgetown Database of Cancer or G-DOC. Under development for two years, G-DOC is a repository for biological information that is normally only available in scattered information libraries and tissue banks, if at all. Data sets grow as researchers deposit new information. G-DOC also contains relevant tools to analyze the data, plus new ones not seen before.

27 Oct 2010

Verenium extends marketing agreement with Alfa Laval for Purifine PLC enzyme

Verenium Corporation a pioneer in the development and commercialization of high-performance enzyme solutions, today announced that it has renewed and extended its joint marketing agreement with Alfa Laval, a leading global provider of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling technologies, for Purifine PLC.

27 Oct 2010

Viral microRNA allows EBV to hide within cells and evade immune system

While most commonly associated with mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been linked to many diseases that affect people long after the initial infection takes place, including some forms of cancer. In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at The Wistar Institute describe how viral microRNA - small segments of RNA that suppress the effects of gene activity - allows EBV to hide within cells and evade the immune system.

26 Oct 2010

GSA Annual Scientific Meeting to focus on up-to-date news on aging

America's premier authorities on aging will share the most up-to-date news on Social Security, health care reform, the impact of disasters on older people, evolution instruction in classrooms, and other current topics at The Gerontological Society of America's upcoming 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

25 Oct 2010

New Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines support clinicians in practicing evidence-based medicine

Summaries of a number of new Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines and position statements offering the most up to date information to support clinicians in practicing evidence-based medicine were released at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010 this week.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers find evidence that A. gambiae mosquito is evolving into two strains, could present challenges for malaria control efforts

The Anopheles gambiae mosquito, one of the major carriers of the malaria parasite in Sub-Saharan Africa, is evolving in two directions, according to two studies published Thursday in the journal Science, Scientific American's Observations blog reports.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers find new evolution of malaria-transmitting mosquito species

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the major malaria-transmitting mosquito species, Anopheles gambiae, is evolving into two separate species with different traits, a development that could both complicate malaria control efforts and potentially require new disease prevention methods. Their findings were published in back-to-back articles in the October 22 issue of the journal Science.

22 Oct 2010

Morphotek receives DOD contract to support mAb therapies against pathogenic strains

Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that it has been awarded a contract for $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to support the continuing development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies against staphylococcal-derived toxins and pathogenic staphylococcal strains.

22 Oct 2010

New set of guidelines for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Screening

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has published a set of guidelines for best practice Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)/Screening (PGS) to give information and guidance to potential and existing PGD centres.

22 Oct 2010

$1 million Pfizer Fellowship awarded for melanoma research at AusBiotech 2010

Dr Mark Shackleton was last night awarded the 2011 Pfizer Australia Senior Research Fellowship grant for his research proposal at the AusBiotech 2010 Conference Dinner. Professor John Funder, chair of the selection committee, announced this year’s winner, who will use the $1 million, five-year Fellowship for research into ‘Identifying determinants of human melanoma progression’.

21 Oct 2010