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Biologists recommend virtual institute for RNA research

A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'.

12 Oct 2010

Research reveals new details about health benefits of fish-oil

Some of America's most popular fish salmon and albacore tuna, for example are rich in healthful natural compounds known as omega-3 fatty acids. Ongoing studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Darshan S. Kelley and co-investigators are helping uncover new details about how these fish-oil components help protect us from chronic diseases.

12 Oct 2010

NIH awards La Jolla Institute $12.6M to develop San Diego's first Center for RNAi screening

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will develop San Diego's first Center for RNAi screening -- a breakthrough genomics technology that will further enhance San Diego's reputation as a national research leader and provide the local biomedical community ready access to the Nobel-Prize winning technology.

11 Oct 2010

New natural dietary components inhibit breast cancer cells

Researchers at Indiana University and Methodist Research Institute have published the dramatic effects of a natural formula against breast cancer. The impressive results are found in the most recent publication of Integrative Cancer Therapies. Lead investigator Dr. Daniel Sliva says, The formula we studied inhibits growth of highly metastatic human breast cancer cells, and suppresses metastatic potential of these cells.

11 Oct 2010

Study to uncover genetic basis of obesity

An international consortium has made significant inroads into uncovering the genetic basis of obesity by identifying 18 new gene sites associated with overall obesity and 13 that affect fat distribution. The studies include data from nearly a quarter of a million participants, the largest genetic investigation of human traits to date.

11 Oct 2010

Takeda, Envoy enter three-year research alliance to develop schizophrenia drug

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a global pharmaceutical company, and Envoy Therapeutics Inc., a recently formed drug discovery company, today announced that they have formed a three-year research alliance aimed at discovering drugs for schizophrenia that will have greater efficacy and safety compared to current therapies.

11 Oct 2010

Smoking leads to epigenetic changes associated with cancer development: Research

For the first time, UK scientists have reported direct evidence that taking up smoking results in epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer.The results were reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, Italy.

11 Oct 2010

Researchers find new surface adaptation mechanism of biofilm-forming pathogen

Many drug-resistant infections are the result of bacterial biofilms, structured aggregates of bacteria that live on surfaces and that are extremely resistant to environmental stresses. These biofilms impact human health in many ways - cystic fibrosis, for example, is a disease in which patients die from airway bacterial biofilm infections that are invulnerable to even the most potent antibiotics.

11 Oct 2010

Scientists identify molecular mechanism of muscle stem cell differentiation

Under normal circumstances, adult stem cells reside in muscle tissue, where they can differentiate into a number of different cell types. After an injury (or even a tough workout), muscles are inflamed as cells and molecules flood the area to control damage and begin repairs. When called upon to replace muscle tissue damaged by injury or genetic disease, some muscle stem cells differentiate, becoming new muscle cells, while others make more stem cells. At Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), a team of scientists led by Pier Lorenzo Puri, M.D., Ph.D., recently uncovered the molecular messengers that translate inflammatory signals into the genetic changes that tell muscle stem cells to differentiate.

11 Oct 2010

Research may offer new therapy targets for drug-resistant breast tumors

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found how gene expression that may contribute to drug resistance is ramped up in unusual types of breast tumors. Their findings may offer new therapy targets.

11 Oct 2010

“Black Death” of the Middle ages blamed on bacteria

Black Death or plague that killed an estimated one-third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages has been ascribed to a bacteria called Yersinia pestis by anthropologists.

10 Oct 2010

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center named Centers of Excellence for Molecular Hematology

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has been named one of five national Centers of Excellence for Molecular Hematology to find new gene and cell therapies for inherited diseases affecting blood cells.

8 Oct 2010

Study finds boosting mitochondria may delay onset of Parkinson's disease

In a study that sheds new light on the causes of Parkinson's disease, researchers report that brain cells in Parkinson's patients abandon their energy-producing machinery, the mitochondria. A shutdown in fuel can have devastating effects on brain cells, which consume roughly 20 percent of the body's energy despite making up only 2 percent of body weight.

8 Oct 2010

GeneGo integrates SDM platform with MetaCore and MetaDrug

GeneGo, Inc., a leading provider of databases, software and services in systems biology and chemistry, announced today that they have integrated GenomeQuest's Sequence Data Management (SDM) platform with GeneGo's MetaCore and MetaDrug.

8 Oct 2010

Inviragen, PharmaJet awarded NIAID contract to develop needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine

Inviragen and PharmaJet announced the award of a five year, $15.5 million dollar contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance the development of a needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine. The award will fund preclinical studies, regulatory filings, manufacturing and clinical testing of Inviragen's tetravalent dengue vaccine, DENVax delivered with PharmaJet's convenient needle-free injection device.

8 Oct 2010

Matchmaker function may help cardiologists understand the natural repair process after heart attacks

Heart muscle cells do not normally replicate in adult tissue, but multiply with abandoned during development. This is why the loss of heart muscle after a heart attack is so dire-you can't grow enough new heart muscle to make up for the loss.

8 Oct 2010

Medical researchers take the next step in personalized medicine

Prescription drugs and their dosages may be standardized, but not every patient reacts to a medicine in the same way. The personal genetic characteristics of individuals and populations can explain why a specific prescription successfully treats one patient and not another, so medical researchers are adopting the new approach called "personalized medicine" and a Tel Aviv University lab is leading the way.

8 Oct 2010

Prostate cancer updates

Scientists have found that genetic variations for an enzyme involved in cell energy metabolism may increase the risk of prostate cancer. This variation in genes may impair the enzyme phosphodiesterase 11A (PDE11A), which helps regulate cells' responses to hormones and other signals, according to the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development researchers and colleagues.

8 Oct 2010

Parkinson’s disease pathology breakthrough

Researchers have found that brain cells of people with early Parkinson's disease have damaged powerhouses. In a new study they have identified 10 groups of gene sets related to the energy production problems in the brain cells of these people.

8 Oct 2010

Study finds no association between gene variant and risk of coronary disease

A genetic marker touted as a predictor of coronary artery disease is no such thing, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010