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Researchers use optogenetics technology to troubleshoot neural circuits

Recently, brain researchers have gained a powerful new way to troubleshoot neural circuits associated with depression, Parkinson's disease and other conditions in small animals such as rats. They use an optogenetics technology, invented at Stanford University, that precisely turns select brain cells on or off with flashes of light. Although useful, the optogenetics tool set has been limited.

19 Mar 2010

Survey unveils impact of gene regulation on human health

Researchers are only beginning to understand how individual variation in gene regulation can have a lasting impact on one's health and susceptibility to certain diseases. Now, an ambitious survey of the human genome has identified differences in the binding of master regulators called transcription factors to DNA that affect how genes are expressed in different people.

19 Mar 2010

Stiff skin syndrome cause found

By studying the genetics of a rare inherited disorder called stiff skin syndrome, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have learned more about scleroderma, a condition affecting about one in 5,000 people that leads to hardening of the skin as well as other debilitating and often life-threatening problems. The findings, which appear this week in Science Translational Medicine, open doors to testing new treatments.

18 Mar 2010

Proteacel acquires exclusive rights to PORE technology from Moffitt Cancer Center

Moffitt Cancer Center and Proteacel LLC announced today that they have entered a licensing agreement under which Proteacel has acquired the exclusive rights to the PORE™ technology for delivery of genes into cells.

18 Mar 2010

Gene regulation rather than genes make us unique

Once the human genome was sequenced in 2001, the hunt was on for the genes that make each of us unique. But scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Yale and Stanford Universities in the USA, have found that we differ from each other mainly because of differences not in our genes, but in how they're regulated - turned on or off, for instance.

18 Mar 2010

ISCO commences second phase of testing RPE derived from parthenogenetic stem cells

International Stem Cell Corporation, announced today that ISCO's Research and Therapeutic Development Group, together with a group of scientists from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), is starting a second phase of essential pre-clinical experiments to test retinal pigment epithelium derived from parthenogenetic stem cells. Follow on pre-clinical experiments will be conducted to rescue vision in disease models.

18 Mar 2010

StemCells granted UK patent covering true rat stem cells and genetically engineered rats

StemCells, Inc. announced today that the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office has granted patent number GB2451523 with broad claims covering true (germline competent) rat stem cells and genetically engineered rats derived from these cells. The patented technology is expected to have significant utility to academic and pharmaceutical industry researchers by enabling them to create novel rat models for the study of human diseases. Both mice and rats are used by scientists to model various human diseases.

18 Mar 2010

Nanobotmodels Company offer vision of future DNA and cell-repair techniques

Developments in nanotechnology and nanorobotics are opening up the prospects for nanomedicine and regenerative medicine where informatics and DNA computing can become the catalysts enabling health care applications at sub-molecular or atomic scales. While nanomedicine promises a new exciting frontier for clinical practice and biomedical research, issues involving cost-effectiveness studies, clinical trials and toxicity assays, drug delivery methods, and the implementation of new personalized therapies still remain challenging.

18 Mar 2010

Reversal of aging shown in human stem cells

A team of North American collaborators from both industrial research centers (Biotime Inc, Mandala Biosciences LLC and Sierra Sciences LLC) and academic institutes (Ontario Cancer Institute, Burnham Institute for Medical Research and The Scripps Research Institute) have demonstrated successful reversal of the developmental aging of normal human cells.

18 Mar 2010

Genes allowing opium poppy to make codeine and morphine discovered

Researchers at the University of Calgary have discovered the unique genes that allow the opium poppy to make codeine and morphine, thus opening doors to alternate methods of producing these effective painkillers either by manufacturing them in a lab or controlling the production of these compounds in the plant.

18 Mar 2010

OriGene Technologies to build TrueMAB monoclonal antibody collection with $16M Series B financing funds

OriGene Technologies, Inc., a leading gene-centric life sciences company, announced the completion of a $16 million Series B financing led by IDG-Accel, SBI & TH Venture Capital Enterprise, and Zero2IPO. OriGene's previous investors Morningside Venture Investments and President International Development Corp. (PIDC) also participated in this round. The proceeds from the funding will be used to continue to build OriGene's TrueMAB™ monoclonal antibody collection.

18 Mar 2010

Genes linked to ulcerative colitis identified

A study of the human genome led by Cedars-Sinai researchers has now identified genes linked to ulcerative colitis, offering clues as to what causes the condition and potential avenues for new therapies to treat the disease.

18 Mar 2010

Scientists discover switch mechanism that controls cells' trafficking system

Scientists have identified a mechanism that switches on an extremely important process for the proper functioning and survival of our body's cells. Specifically, the fast-track transportation pathway of 'cargo' to and from the surface of the cell.

18 Mar 2010

Alzheimer's disease: Gene expression level influences promotion of disorder or protection against development

Using sophisticated techniques that scan the genomes of patients, researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that a gene appears to either help protect against development of Alzheimer's disease, or promote the disorder depending on the level of gene in the brain.

18 Mar 2010

Genetic test helps reduce hospitalization rates for heart patients on warfarin

Hospitalization rates for heart patients taking warfarin, the world's most-prescribed blood thinner, dropped by approximately 30 percent when genetic information was available to doctors prescribing the drug, researchers from Medco Health Solutions, Inc.-- in association with the Medco Research Institute™ -- and Mayo Clinic announced today.

17 Mar 2010

Reversal of aging in normal human cells

BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a scientific paper titled “Spontaneous Reversal of Developmental Aging in Normal Human Cells Following Transcriptional Reprogramming.”

17 Mar 2010

Essen Instruments, Origene Technologies partner to co-develop ion channel cell lines

Essen Instruments Inc. and OriGene Technologies, Inc. today announced a strategic alliance to co-develop ion channel cell lines. Essen, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, is a leading provider of life science products and services, including ion channel discovery and safety assays. OriGene, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, specializes in the creation and supply of gene-centric products, and has a collection of over 30,000 human full length cDNA clones.

17 Mar 2010

Pathway Genomics' personal Genetic Health Report now available

Pathway Genomics Inc., a U.S. based genetic testing company, announced the immediate availability of its personal Genetic Health Report. This customized and innovative personal genetic health report contains information on more than 70 health conditions, including pharmacogenetics (prescription medication response), propensity for complex disease, and carrier status (pre-pregnancy health).

17 Mar 2010

Bench to Bassinet Program aims to move lab results into clinical practice

To help speed the translation of scientific discoveries into usable treatments in congenital heart disease, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health launched the Bench to Bassinet Program.

17 Mar 2010

Key cellular defect in protein synthesis can lead to cancer susceptibility

UCSF researchers have discovered that a key cellular defect that disturbs the production of proteins in human cells can lead to cancer susceptibility. The scientists also found that a new generation of inhibitory drugs offers promise in correcting this defect.

17 Mar 2010