Knockout News and Research

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Elsevier announces winners of 2010 Semantic Web Challenge

Elsevier announced the winners of the 2010 Semantic Web Challenge. The Elsevier sponsored Challenge occurred at the International Semantic Web Conference held in Shanghai, China from 7-11 November, 2010.

16 Nov 2010

Researchers study drug's ability to restore retinal health in eyes of diabetic patients

One drug's startling ability to restore retinal health in the eyes of diabetic mice has researchers wanting to learn more about how it works and whether it might do the same for people.

10 Nov 2010

EUCOMMTOOLS partners to receive 12 million euros research funding from European Commission

The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression, diabetes, chronic lung diseases or cancer. Over the next five years, the eight EUCOMMTOOLS partners, coordinated by Professor Wolfgang Wurst of Helmholtz Zentrum M-nchen, will receive research funding amounting to approximately 12 million euros from the European Commission.

29 Oct 2010

World's largest research initiative to mutate all mouse genes

The world's largest research initiative to mutate all mouse genes is now able to reach the summit because the ambitious EUCOMMTOOLS project started on October 1, 2010. This project is being coordinated by Helmholtz Zentrum München and will finalize the groundwork for the analysis of all mouse gene functions. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression, diabetes, chronic lung diseases or cancer.

28 Oct 2010

Study: apoA-V may reduce high triglyceride levels, coronary artery disease

An exciting new study conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists identified that an injection of the protein apolipoprotein A-V may reduce high triglyceride levels in the blood and subsequently reduce coronary artery disease. Like cholesterol, elevated levels of triglyceride, a fat in the blood, is associated with the increased risk of heart disease—the number one cause of death in the United States.

22 Oct 2010

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

21 Oct 2010

Study finds IAP enzyme maintains normal microbial population in gastrointestinal system

An enzyme that keeps intestinal bacteria out of the bloodstream may also play an important role in maintaining the normal microbial population of the gastrointestinal system.

19 Oct 2010

Stimulating brain's nicotine receptors may eliminate side effects of Alzheimer's drug: Research

A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee, associate professor in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer's drug by stimulating the brain's nicotine receptors.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers develop algorithm to integrate genomic and metabolic data

Researchers at the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois have developed a way to harness the prodigious quantities of both genomic and metabolic data being generated with high-throughput genomics and other techniques. They have developed an algorithm that automatically integrates both data sets. The model, called probabilistic regulation of metabolism (PROM), enables researchers to perturb a given regulatory gene or metabolic process and see how that affects the entire network.

7 Oct 2010

Crescendo Biologics successfully delivers triple knockout mice

Crescendo Biologics Limited today announces it has established a colony of engineered mice completely devoid of endogenous antibody polypeptides. The proprietary 'triple knockout' mice are believed to be unique and have the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH), kappa light chain and lambda light chain loci all functionally silenced by large-scale genomic deletion.

29 Sep 2010

NIH awards grant to discover drug for alcoholism

With the ultimate goal to discover a drug that one day treats alcoholism, a University of Houston (UH) pharmacy professor is working on pinpointing the mechanisms in the brain that respond to alcohol.

21 Sep 2010

Scientists discover molecular gatekeeper for arthritis

Elimination of a molecular gatekeeper leads to the development of arthritis in mice, scientists report in a study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The newly discovered gatekeeper is a protein that determines the fate survival or death of damaging cells that mistakenly attack the body's own tissues and lead to autoimmune disorders such as arthritis.

9 Sep 2010

Discovery of omega-3 fatty acid molecular mechanism paves way for development of dietary remedy for diabetes

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the molecular mechanism that makes omega-3 fatty acids so effective in reducing chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

3 Sep 2010

Capsaicin linked to skin cancer

The September cover story of the nation's leading cancer journal, "Cancer Research," features a new study from The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, that links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, The Hormel Institute has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies.

3 Sep 2010

microRNA protects red blood cells from oxidant stress: Study

Pediatric researchers have discovered a new biological pathway in which small segments of RNA, called microRNA, help protect red blood cells from injury caused by chemicals called free radicals. The microRNA seems to have only a modest role when red blood cells experience normal conditions, but steps into action when the cells are threatened by oxidant stress.

2 Aug 2010

Buffer among metbolism pathways induces cancer suppressing gene mutation: Research

Eighty years ago, the medical establishment believed cancer was caused by a dysfunction of metabolism, but the idea went out of vogue. Now, scientists are again looking at metabolism and its role in cancer and other common diseases. Metabolism is a highly connected network of reactions that are arranged in parallel and interacting pathways. Such parallelism can mask how genes are linked with disease traits and make it difficult to treat conditions.

22 Jul 2010

Female mice that lack fucose mutarotase gene exhibit male-like sexual behavior

The mammalian fucose mutarotase enzyme is known to be involved in incorporating the sugar fucose into protein. Female mice that lack the fucose mutarotase (FucM) gene refuse to let males mount them, and will attempt copulation with other female mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics created the FucM mouse mutants in order to investigate the role of this enzyme in vivo.

9 Jul 2010

Rutgers researchers report genetic coding responsible for making QPM kernels sturdy

Rutgers researchers have discovered the basis for what makes corn kernels hard, a quality that allows corn to be easily harvested, stored and transported. The findings could lead to better hybrids and increase the supply for people in developing countries who rely on it as a nutritional staple.

7 Jul 2010

UH researchers analyze 'wireless connections' in brain to prevent neurological diseases

Many diseases of brain function, such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, are caused by problems in how neurons communicate with each other. A University of Houston researcher and his team are analyzing these commands and connections in an attempt to prevent those diseases.

25 Jun 2010

Life Technologies announces product launches in concert with ISSCR 8th Annual Meeting

Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced activities and product launches in concert with the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 8th Annual Meeting that highlight the company's offerings of complete end-to-end solutions for stem cell research. Stem cell research has been shown to be a critical component of regenerative medicine; a basis for identifying drug targets and drug screening; and an important step in the development of therapies to treat a variety of diseases.

18 Jun 2010