Luciferase News and Research

RSS

Intracellular bacterial communities in cystitis; rifapentine cures TB in mouse model; and more

A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine presents convincing evidence that intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) commonly exist in women with bladder infections and may contribute to the recurrence of these infections.

18 Dec 2007

Small animal imaging facility is big boon to research

When powerful magnets line up the body's protons before radiofrequency waves can grab their attention away, it's called spin physics.

30 Aug 2007

Scientists decode RNA mystery

A team of University of Maryland scientists have made a discovery that will help better direct drug therapies to their molecular targets.

15 Jun 2007

Nanosized bioceramic particles could function as efficient gene delivery vehicles with target specificity for the spleen

A detailed comparison of different types of ceramic nanoparticles has found that those made of silica can efficiently transport therapeutic genes to the spleen and trigger a potent immune response capable of attacking tumors.

14 Jun 2007

Odyssey Thera granted U.S. patents for protein-fragment complementation assays

Odyssey Thera announced today that on January 9, 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. Patent No. 7,160,691. On January 23, 2007, the USPTO also granted U.S. Patent No. 7,166,424.

5 Feb 2007

Major breakthrough could lead to improved recovery of the heart after heart attack or cardiac surgery

For the first time ever, researchers at the University of Bristol have been able to directly measure energy levels inside living heart cells, in real time, using the chemical that causes fireflies to light up.

21 Sep 2006

Self-illuminating quantum dots for in vivo imaging

Quantum dots have already proven themselves as powerful imaging probes that can enable researchers to track disease-related molecules inside cells and even within the body.

17 Jul 2006

The glow points the way: coupled enzyme test helps in the search for the right biocatalyst

The chemical industry is going biological: the use of biocatalysts, called enzymes, allows many products to be prepared very efficiently, economically, and in an environmentally safe manner.

From The University of Manchester 14 Dec 2005

Firefly protein lets researchers monitor molecule known as IKK (for IKappa kinase) linked to cancer

Scientists have used a glowing protein from fireflies to observe the activity of a molecule that is an important target for new drugs to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and several other disorders.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers use novel cocktail of cells to coax muscle tissue to develop its own vascular network

For years, a major obstacle has dashed the hopes of creating "replacement parts" for the human body: the lack of an internal, nourishing blood system in engineered tissues. Without it, thicker tissues can't thrive, which has confined tissue engineering's practical application to thin skin, which can recruit blood vessels from underlying tissue.

20 Jun 2005

Nephrogenic Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis - a new genetic disease

Two infant boys whose bodies were overloaded with excess fluid have led UCSF pediatricians to the discovery of a new genetic disease. In the process, they have discovered a rare type of mutation where different substitutions in a single amino acid cause two different, opposite genetic disorders.

4 May 2005

Two-step approach to transform HIV into a cancer-seeking machine

Camouflaging an impotent AIDS virus in new clothes enables it to hunt down metastasized melanoma cells in living mice, reports a UCLA AIDS Institute study in the Feb. 13 online edition of Nature Medicine.

13 Feb 2005

First-of-its-kind noninvasive imaging technique shows two proteins interacting

Radiologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a first-of-its-kind noninvasive imaging technique that allows them to watch two proteins interacting in live animals.

2 Aug 2004

Adenosine triphosphate is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury

ATP - adenosine triphosphate, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

29 Jul 2004

Xenobiotic gets patent approval for toxin detection

XDS consultant (and former XDS laboratory director) Michael Chu and President George Clark combined their research skills to develop a rapid and relatively inexpensive methodology to quantify TEQs (Toxic Equivalence -- measures of toxicity adopted by the World Health Organization) for individual toxic chemical groups.

17 Jun 2004