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Mayo Clinic researchers train mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within

Mayo Clinic researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus. The strategy, called cancer immunotherapy, uses a genetically engineered version of the vesicular stomatitis virus to deliver a broad spectrum of genes derived from melanoma cancer cells directly into tumors.

20 Mar 2012

New antibiotic shows promise against bovine mastitis

Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists at the University of Illinois. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.

20 Mar 2012

Hedgehog and mTOR pathway are active in esophageal cancer

Identification of a non-traditional pathway for spiriting a cancer-promoting protein into the cell nucleus points to a possible combination therapy for esophageal cancer and indicates a mechanism of resistance for new drugs that attack the Hedgehog pathway.

20 Mar 2012

Circadian rhythms control production of metabolites

By analyzing the hundreds of metabolic products present in the liver, researchers with the UC Irvine Center for Epigenetics & Metabolism have discovered that circadian rhythms - our own body clock - greatly control the production of such key building blocks as amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids.

20 Mar 2012

Study identifies new hypervariable regions in human gut viruses

A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. Frederic D. Bushman, PhD, professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led a study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

20 Mar 2012

iPSYCH project to study five specific mental disorders

Is it possible to prevent the development of schizophrenia? Can certain patients develop autism if they carry a specific gene and have been exposed to a viral fetal infection? Should all ADHD patients take the same type of medication? This unique research project will try to answer these questions. The project is based at Aarhus University and will be known as 'The Lundbeck Foundation's Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research.'

20 Mar 2012

Groundbreaking cystic fibrosis clinical trial to proceed after renewed funding

The team of scientists based in Edinburgh, Oxford and London were developing a treatment which involves putting genes into the lungs of patients suffering the fatal, inherited wasting disease, passed early clinical trials in 2010. But the recession badly affected the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the charity that had funded the programme, and work had to stop last year just as the consortium was closing in on its goal.

19 Mar 2012

Technique developed to identify rogue clustering proteins in brain diseases

Australian researchers have developed a novel technique that tracks proteins “behaving badly” and may have found a way that leads to new treatments for brain disease. The team believes the discovery could help in the development of drugs to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.

19 Mar 2012

Ingenuity Variant Analysis and iReport selected for Weill Cornell sequencing core facility

Ingenuity Systems, a leading provider of information and analysis solutions for life science researchers, today announced that the Weill Cornell Medical College has chosen Ingenuity Variant Analysis and Ingenuity iReport for use in its sequencing core facility.

19 Mar 2012

Novel technique rapidly identifies and tracks location of diseased proteins inside cells

A research team led by the University of Melbourne, Australia, has developed a novel technique that tracks diseased proteins behaving badly by forming clusters in brain diseases such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's.

19 Mar 2012

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Ever wonder why two people who are the same age may look years apart? While extrinsic factors such as sun exposure and smoking can contribute to skin aging, intrinsic factors - namely the genes inherited from our parents - can have an even greater influence on how our skin ages.

17 Mar 2012

Exposure to MEHP shortens reproductive life of female mice

Female mouse fetuses exposed to very high doses of a common industrial chemical that makes plastics more pliable develop significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as they grow up, according to a new toxicology study conducted at Brown University.

17 Mar 2012

BRG1 gene loss implies lack of response of cells to retinoic acid and steroids

Retinoic acid (vitamin A) and steroids are hormones found in our body that protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and are involved in cellular differentiation processes. One of the characteristics of tumours is that their cells have lost the ability to differentiate; therefore these hormones have useful properties to prevent cancer. Currently, retinoic acid and steroids are being used to treat some types of leukaemia.

16 Mar 2012

Collaborative research discovers genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to PRRS

A collaborative discovery involving Kansas State University researchers may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.

16 Mar 2012

Study reveals why development of HIV treatments has been difficult

A new research report appearing in the March 2012 issue of the journal Genetics shows why the development of a cure and new treatments for HIV has been so difficult. In the report, an Australian scientist explains how he used computer simulations to discover that a population starting from a single human immunodeficiency virus can evolve fast enough to escape immune defenses.

16 Mar 2012

PCP signaling restricts neural growth during regeneration, homeostasis and development

The genetic pathway that regulates the way cells align themselves relative to each other has been found to act as a "stop sign" that signals organisms when to halt cell growth, according to new research published by biologists at the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences.

16 Mar 2012

Epigenetic designer baby may prove to be a non-starter

Epigenetics is the new hip science. Time Magazine's front cover and article, 'Why your DNA isn't your Destiny' from January 2010 explains why. Its more explicit subtitle provided the hook - 'The new science of epigenetics reveals how the choices you make can change your genes - and those of your kids'. Who wouldn't be interested in this?

16 Mar 2012

New technique can sensitize cancer cells to radiation

Researchers at Winship Cancer Institute are developing a technique to remove cancer cells' defenses against radiation.

16 Mar 2012

Allergy-free egg in the making

Researchers at CSIRO and experts at Geelong's Deakin University have found a way to “switch off” four egg allergens. These modified eggs could produce chickens that lay hypoallergenic eggs but the genes and DNA of the chicken would remain unaltered.

15 Mar 2012

CUMC scientists develop a way to recreate personalized immune mouse

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have developed a way to recreate an individual's immune system in a mouse. The "personalized immune mouse" offers researchers an unprecedented tool for individualized analysis of abnormalities that contribute to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, starting at the onset of disease.

15 Mar 2012