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New technologies could aid in malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy

Because the incidence of malignant melanoma is rising faster than any other cancer in the U.S., researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Tampa-based Intezyne Technologies, Inc., Western Carolina University and the University of Arizona are working overtime to develop new technologies to aid in both malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy.

4 Nov 2011

Deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to eating disorders

A new report in Biological Psychiatry suggests that deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

1 Nov 2011

Ovarian cancer patients with many folate receptors benefit from new therapy

A new strategy that takes advantage of ovarian cancer's reliance on folate appears to give relapse patients extra months of life with few side effects, researchers say.

29 Oct 2011

UCB, Emerald BioStructures extend structure-based drug discovery collaboration

Emerald BioStructures today announced a three-year extension of its ongoing collaboration with UCB. The strategic aspects of this renewed relationship will provide Emerald with research funding over the three-year period and the opportunity to receive milestones and royalties on future drug product revenues.

27 Oct 2011

DNA synbodies, a new class of affinity reagents, gets major NIH boost

An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

24 Oct 2011

Molecular switch activates anti-viral innate immune response

When a thief breaks into a bank vault, sensors are activated and the alarm is raised. Cells have their own early-warning system for intruders, and scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have discovered how a particular protein sounds that alarm when it detects invading viruses.

15 Oct 2011

Engineered HBLs could prevent deadly allergic reactions

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have announced a breakthrough approach to allergy treatment that inhibits food allergies, drug allergies, and asthmatic reactions without suppressing a sufferer's entire immunological system.

14 Oct 2011

Simmons Center to evaluate CGEN-25009 for treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Compugen Ltd. and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation announced today that the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation will provide a grant to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Dorothy P. and Richard P.

13 Oct 2011

Novel binding assay can simplify search for potential SERT inhibitors

Many psychiatric conditions are caused by aberrant metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacy at LMU have now developed a new screening method, which will facilitate the search for new drugs that modulate the biological activity of serotonin.

1 Oct 2011

CCG announces new version of protein structure database and visualization system

Chemical Computing Group (CCG) today announces a new version of its structure database and visualization system, PSILO, featuring new analytical tools and enhanced search capabilities.

27 Sep 2011

DiscoveryBioMed receives NIDDK grant for Cystic Fibrosis Corrector Ligand Drug Discovery program

DiscoveryBioMed, Inc. (DBM), a human cell-based drug discovery company, learned recently that its Cystic Fibrosis Corrector Ligand (CFCL) Drug Discovery program will be funded by the NIH. The two-year award will focus on validation and prioritization of several lead CFCL chemical classes, drugs that correct the most common cystic fibrosis (CF) disease-causing mutation.

14 Sep 2011

Acceleron commences ACE-536 Phase 1 clinical trial in anemia

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical study of ACE-536.

14 Sep 2011

Study: Protein's structural arrangement can change its signaling function

In a joint study, scientists from the California and Florida campuses of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that changes in a protein's structure can change its signaling function and they have pinpointed the precise regions where those changes take place.

8 Sep 2011

Researchers identify molecule that can stop the formation of amyloid fibrils

A molecule which can stop the formation of long protein strands, known as amyloid fibrils, that cause joint pain in kidney dialysis patients has been identified by researchers at the University of Leeds.

29 Aug 2011

Tiny molecule could bind to B cell EB12 receptor and prevent cancer

Infection with Epstein Barr means that the B cells, which are the primary memory cells of the immune system, are hi-jacked. When the virus has penetrated, researchers observe an excess of a special bio-antenna, a receptor known as EB12, suddenly sprouting from the surface of the B cells. But why they do so remains a mystery.

22 Aug 2011

Researchers reveal molecular mechanisms responsible for organizing intestinal epithelium

How do cells know where to position themselves and where to accumulate in order to carry out their functions correctly within each organ? Researchers with the Colorectal Cancer Lab at IRB Barcelona have revealed the molecular mechanisms responsible for organizing the intestinal epithelium into distinct comportments, defined by frontiers or territories.

1 Aug 2011

University of Pittsburgh to honor Synthetic Genomics CEO with Dickson Prize

The scientist-entrepreneur who led efforts to map the first draft of the human genome as well as the complete diploid genome and to construct the first synthetic bacterium has been named this year's recipient of the University of Pittsburgh's Dickson Prize in Medicine.

28 Jul 2011

Positive data from two GSK's Promacta Phase III studies on hepatitis C-related thrombocytopenia

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that its partner GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it received positive data from ENABLE-1, the first of two Phase III studies examining Promacta in patients with hepatitis C-related thrombocytopenia, and that full data will be released at an upcoming scientific conference.

27 Jul 2011

Nanoviricides lead anti-HIV candidate as good as HAART cocktail therapy

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that its lead anti-HIV candidate achieved anti-HIV efficacy equivalent to a HAART triple drug cocktail in its recently completed animal study.

25 Jul 2011

Researchers characterise protein complex linked to malaria and toxoplasmosis

Maryse Lebrun, Research Director at Inserm, and her fellow researchers at the Laboratoire Dynamique des interactions membranaires normales et pathologiques, have characterised a protein complex that allows the agents that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis to infect host cells.

25 Jul 2011