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Ajuba protein plays a central role in regulating function of heart stem cells

It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart.

14 Jul 2012

OncoMed commences dosing in OMP-54F28 Phase I clinical trial for advanced solid tumor cancers

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells, or tumor-initiating cells, today announced that patient dosing has begun in a Phase I clinical trial of OMP-54F28 in patients with advanced solid tumor cancers.

13 Jul 2012

New tool for pharmaceutical industry: VCD from BioTools

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), a new tool for determining the absolute configuration of chiral molecules, was a key highlight of the recent 24th International Symposium on Chirality, held June 10-13 in Fort Worth, Texas. VCD pioneer, BioTools (Jupiter, FL) was on hand, not only sponsoring the exhibitor’s luncheon and the poster awards, but also proudly awarding the Best Poster Given by a Young Scientist for the thirteenth year.

12 Jul 2012

Eisai, Verastem partner for next-generation of small molecule Wnt inhibitors

Verastem, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells, announced a research collaboration with Eisai for the next-generation of small molecule Wnt inhibitors.

12 Jul 2012

SLU professor to study how antithrombin might prevent premature death from heart disease

Alireza "Ray" Rezaie, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, has received a $1.52 million NIH grant to study how the key blood clotting inhibitor antithrombin might be exploited to prevent premature death from heart disease.

12 Jul 2012

Cellular change also occurs in early-stage lung cancer, say researchers

Cellular change thought to happen only in late-stage cancers to help tumors spread also occurs in early-stage lung cancer as a way to bypass growth controls, say researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

12 Jul 2012

Novel molecular mechanism responsible for most important symptom of major depression

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have laid bare a novel molecular mechanism responsible for the most important symptom of major depression: anhedonia, the loss of the ability to experience pleasure.

12 Jul 2012

Naturally occurring molecule may prevent plaque buildup inside arteries

Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered that a naturally occurring molecule may play a role in preventing plaque buildup inside arteries, possibly leading to new plaque-fighting drugs and improved screening of patients at risk of developing atherosclerosis.

12 Jul 2012

Breast cancer drug bevacizumab slows progression but has no overall survival benefit

The cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin®) offers only a modest benefit in prolonging disease progression in patients with advanced stage breast cancer, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. The researchers assessed the efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy, an established cancer treatment in this indication, and found no overall survival benefit when adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy.

11 Jul 2012

Cylene's Pol I inhibitor activates p53 and selectively destroys cancer cells

Cylene Pharmaceuticals today announced that research collaborators at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) in Melbourne, Australia have established, for the first time, that RNA Polymerase I (Pol I) activity is essential for cancer cell survival and that its inhibition selectively activates p53 to kill tumors. Published today in Cancer Cell, the findings show that Cylene's Pol I inhibitor, CX-5461, selectively destroys cancer by activating p53 in malignant but not in normal cells.

11 Jul 2012

DRCRF names 21 new Damon Runyon Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 21 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its spring Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jul 2012

SRI International receives DoD grant to develop novel therapy for MS

The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SRI International a one-year grant to develop a novel therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune nervous system disease that affects about 400,000 people in the United States and more than two million people worldwide. There is currently no cure for this disorder, which can impair vision and movement.

11 Jul 2012

Scientists identify novel strategy to target Taspase1 enzyme

Scientists at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany identified a novel strategy to target the oncologically relevant protein-cleaving enzyme Taspase1.

10 Jul 2012

Oligomers may be responsible for onset of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most dreaded and debilitating illnesses one can develop. Currently, the disease afflicts 6.5 million Americans and the Alzheimer's Association projects it to increase to between 11 and 16 million, or 1 in 85 people, by 2050.

10 Jul 2012

Read-through molecule improves muscle function in DMD

A compound that results in a read-through on nonsense mutations in messenger RNA restores dystrophin expression in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, research shows.

9 Jul 2012

Positive data from Tonix's sublingual TNX-102 PK study for fibromyalgia

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing non-addictive treatments for chronic pain syndromes, including fibromyalgia, reported positive data from an animal pharmacokinetic study of its novel sublingual formulation of TNX-102, the Company's very low dose cyclobenzaprine.

9 Jul 2012

Human immune response: TCD scientists make breakthrough which could lead to new drug therapies

A team of researchers at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine has gained new insights into a protein in the human immune system that plays a key role in the protective response to infection and inflammation. The research findings have just been published in the internationally renowned peer-reviewed Journal of Biological Chemistry.

9 Jul 2012

Targeting double-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase could treat inflammation

Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that inflammation could be treated by targeting a molecule called the double-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR). These findings are published in the July issue of Nature.

9 Jul 2012

High expression of interleukin-9 in immune cells inhibits melanoma growth

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have made a groundbreaking discovery that will shape the future of melanoma therapy. The team, led by Thomas S. Kupper, MD, chair of the BWH Department of Dermatology, and Rahul Purwar, PhD, found that high expression of a cell-signaling molecule, known as interleukin-9, in immune cells inhibits melanoma growth.

9 Jul 2012