Genetic Engineering News and Research

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Researchers have identified a protein in the brain that halts the progression of Alzheimer's

Researchers have identified a protein in the brain that halts the progression of Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue. The protein, known as "transthyretin," protects brain cells from gradual deterioration by blocking another toxic protein that contributes to the disease process.

25 Oct 2004

BMA report hopes to raise awareness about the threat of biological weapons

A new report released today (25 October 2004) by the BMA paints a bleak picture of the global community's ability to cope with advances in biological and genetic weapons technology.

25 Oct 2004

Research findings will likely aid efforts to develop a vaccine for Leishmania major

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania have found an immune system cell can "remember" a parasite's attack and help the body mount a more effective defense against subsequent invasions by the same parasite.

21 Oct 2004

Cost cutting measures and patent expirations to propel the European generics and biogenerics market

The upcoming spate of patent expirations bodes well for the European generics market. The growing loss of patent protection on blockbuster brands over the next few years, coupled with the rising need to contain spiralling healthcare costs, is set to provide a fillip to market expansion.

19 Oct 2004

Cyclopamine, derived from the corn lily may treat and prevent basal cell carcinoma

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have demonstrated in laboratory animals that a compound derived from a common plant can be used to treat and prevent the most widespread form of cancer in people

18 Oct 2004

Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer

The condition of mice with a genetic blood disease called beta-thalassemia improved significantly following treatment of their blood forming cells with a gene that enabled them to produce the type of hemoglobin normally found only in the fetus.

12 Oct 2004

Researchers identify new sulfur-containing scent molecules in sweat

Sometimes, people just don't smell good – and not only in the figurative sense. The sense of smell plays an important role in interpersonal relations.

7 Oct 2004

Novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread

By studying cancer in mice, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have gained preliminary evidence that a novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread to other body sites.

30 Sep 2004

Berkeley searches for AIDS cure in a Samoan indigenous tree

The University of California, Berkeley, has signed an agreement with the Samoan government to isolate from an indigenous tree the gene for a promising anti-AIDS drug and to share any royalties from sale of a gene-derived drug with the people of Samoa.

30 Sep 2004

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

An experimental cancer vaccine using defanged listeria bacteria is showing great promise in animal studies, successfully treating new cancers that have spread into the lungs of mice.

29 Sep 2004

Should medical knowledge be extended to enhance the lives of those who are already healthy?

This question and others are addressed in three articles about cosmetic neurology in the September 28 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Sep 2004

Study is the first to show that lowering the levels of lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission

Yale researchers demonstrate the crucial role of a membrane lipid called phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns (4,5)P2) in the communication of information between synapses in the brain, according to a study published this week in Nature.

26 Sep 2004

Research may lead to alternatives to antibiotic drugs for treating bacterial diseases

UCLA microbiologists report the discovery of a new class of genetic elements, similar to retroviruses, that operate in bacteria, allowing them to diversify their proteins to bind to a large variety of receptors.

23 Sep 2004

Potential new way to control drug-resistant bacteria

The researchers, who encountered this genetic property while working on an unrelated project, believe that this discovery could lead to the use of genetically engineered phages to treat bacterial infections that have become resistant to antibiotics.

23 Sep 2004

Nanowires could be used to sense thousands of different viruses

Harvard University scientists have found that ultra-thin silicon wires can be used to electrically detect the presence of single viruses, in real time, with near-perfect selectivity.

22 Sep 2004

New gene therapy technique may help treat Alzheimer's disease

Investigators at Rush University Medical Center have successfully initiated a new technique that uses gene therapy to deliver nerve growth factor into regions of the brain where neurons are degenerating, in order to prevent cell death and reverse cell atrophy, two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

21 Sep 2004

Scientists have corrected a flaw in cancer cells that lets them evade the normal cell-death process

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have corrected a flaw in cancer cells that lets them evade the normal cell-death process, and as a result they eliminated leukemia cells from mice.

21 Sep 2004

Research findings may help stave off full-blown diabetes

A new study by researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center sheds light on the key mechanisms by which new pancreatic beta cells normally form in response to insulin resistance. These findings may some day help researchers devise ways of staving off full-blown diabetes.

18 Sep 2004

Link between eosinophils and asthma

Mayo Clinic researchers have used a comparative genomic strategy to demonstrate a causative link between eosinophils, a rare type of white blood cell, and asthma.