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NewGene develops breakthrough test for hereditary breast cancer

A new breakthrough test for hereditary breast cancer developed by UK-based NewGene could see thousands of women being diagnosed with the genetic condition in around half the usual time and at around half the cost of conventional test methods.

16 May 2011

Early HIV treatment can reduce transmission risk by 96%, preliminary study results show

Preliminary results from a multicountry clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), show that HIV-positive people who take combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their HIV-negative partners by 96 percent, U.S. researchers announced on Thursday " in what is being hailed as a breakthrough in HIV prevention," the Los Angeles Times reports.

16 May 2011

Researchers discover depression-related DNA region

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and King's College London have independently identified DNA on chromosome 3 that appears to be related to depression.

16 May 2011

Study reveals crucial role of histone deacetylases in type 2 diabetes

A uniquely collaborative study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies uncovered a novel mechanism that turns up glucose production in the liver when blood sugar levels drop, pointing towards a new class of drugs for the treatment of metabolic disease.

16 May 2011

Techulon receives U.S. patent protection for Glycofect Discovery and Therapeutic Delivery Platform

Techulon, Inc. announced today that its Glycofect Discovery and Therapeutic Delivery Platform has been awarded United States patent protection. The patented invention provides a new class of non-viral transfection vectors based on synthetic carbohydrate containing polyamides that can be used for both in vivo and in vitro applications.

16 May 2011

Study associates VDR gene variant with onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men

Researchers have linked a variant in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) with the onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Caucasian men. The study population consisted of participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a multidisciplinary study of aging that began in 1963.

16 May 2011

Genetic link for depression found: Study

Researchers have for the first time confirmed a specific genetic link to depression, according to new evidence published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Monday. This finding was made independently by research teams in the UK and US, is expected to lead to a better biological understanding of the condition and eventually to more effective antidepressants.

15 May 2011

ZIOPHARM submits IND with FDA for Ad-RTS-IL-12 Phase I study in cancer

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, today announced that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to begin clinical study of Ad-RTS-IL-12, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate.

13 May 2011

Midbrain habenula region plays a key role in nicotine dependence

A person's vulnerability to nicotine addiction appears to have a genetic basis, at least in part. A region in the midbrain called the habenula plays a key role in this process, as Dr. In-s Iba-ez-Tallon and her team from the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now shown.

13 May 2011

Researchers uncover unexpected role of estrogen receptors in brain inflammation

Researchers have uncovered an unexpected role for estrogen receptors in the brain in keeping inflammation under control. The findings reported in the May 13 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell may have important implications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and many other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

CAMH scientist identifies gene responsible for Joubert syndrome

A new study involving Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found a gene connected with a type of intellectual disability called Joubert syndrome.

13 May 2011

Gene manipulation can improve survival rates during sepsis infection

Sepsis is a major killer in hospital intensive care units. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found that manipulating a genetic factor that can launch or throttle the body's defenses can improve survival rates during bacterial infection.

13 May 2011

Early antiretroviral treatment can halt HIV spread in couples

A research study led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has made a major discovery in the effort to halt the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

13 May 2011

Scientists discover enzyme that controls K-Ras gene responsible for lung cancer growth

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that an enzyme called C-Raf controls a hugely important gene responsible for the development of lung cancer, according to research published in Cancer Discovery.

13 May 2011

Scientists uncover gene responsible for Adams-Oliver Syndrome

Scientists at King's College London have, for the first time, uncovered a gene responsible for Adams-Oliver Syndrome, a condition which can cause birth defects of the heart, limbs, or blood vessels.

13 May 2011

Study provides evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells

A single adult cell from one of the most impressive masters of regeneration in the animal kingdom - the planarian - is all it takes to build a completely functional new worm, researchers have learned. The study provides the first hard evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells - cells capable of producing the diverse range of tissue types necessary to build a complete animal.

13 May 2011

McGill research team finds distinct disease-causing mutations and saves baby girl

About two years ago, Dr. Philippe Gros, a McGill University professor in the Department of Biochemistry and a Principal Investigator in thd McGill Life Sciences Complex, described a mouse mutant that was immunodeficient and hypersensitive to the Bacille Calmette-Gu-rin (BCG) vaccine and to tuberculosis (TB).

12 May 2011

$100,000 needed to analyze '$1,000' genetic data

Advances in technology have almost lifted the curtain on the long-awaited era of the "$1,000 genome" - a time when all the genes that make up a person can be deciphered for about that amount - compared to nearly $1 million a few years ago.

12 May 2011

Losartan therapy improves muscle injury regeneration and prevents disuse atrophy

Using geriatric mice, a Johns Hopkins research team has shown that losartan, a commonly used blood pressure drug, not only improves regeneration of injured muscle but also protects against its wasting away from inactivity.

12 May 2011

New research sheds light on common pathogenic mechanisms underlying Huntington's disease

New research sheds light on common pathogenic mechanisms shared by Huntington's disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 12, 2011, issue of the journal Neuron, uses a new transgenic mouse model for an HD-like disorder to unravel complex molecular events that drive disease pathology.

12 May 2011