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Scientists identify networks of genes critical in embryonic-heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified networks of genes that play an important role in embryonic-heart development, advancing knowledge of how healthy hearts develop-and offering clues about how to combat a common birth defect known as congenital heart disease.

18 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new compound for multiple sclerosis treatment

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have developed the first of a new class of highly selective compounds that effectively suppresses the severity of multiple sclerosis in animal models.

18 Apr 2011

Scientist discovers new molecular mechanism underlying asthma, COPD

Michael Croft, Ph.D., a researcher at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, has discovered a molecule's previously unknown role as a major trigger for airway remodeling, which impairs lung function, making the molecule a promising therapeutic target for chronic asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and several other lung conditions.

18 Apr 2011

Chronic exposure to polluted air can lead to inflammation

Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.

16 Apr 2011

New treatment improves immune function in 13-year-old with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

In a novel approach that works around the gene defect in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, an inherited immune deficiency disorder, researchers used an alternative cell signaling pathway to significantly improve immune function in a 13-year-old boy with the disease.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers pinpoint new approach that can treat pediatric leukemia

A Loyola University Health System study points to a promising new approach to treating an aggressive and usually fatal leukemia in babies.

15 Apr 2011

Insight into Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital have identified a cell receptor, which is responsible for cell death in the spinal cord in a condition called Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

Normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer - healthy cells.

15 Apr 2011

NIST's new reference can aid in Huntington's disease diagnosis

A new Standard Reference Material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help clinical genetics labs accurately diagnose Huntington's disease, an inherited degenerative brain disorder that usually begins between ages 35 and 50 and progressively leads to physical impairment, dementia and death.

15 Apr 2011

Simulations Plus announces release of MedChem Studio 2.0

Simulations Plus, Inc., a leading provider of simulation and modeling software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, announced today the release of MedChem Studio™ version 2.0 with an impressive set of expanded and powerful capabilities for data mining and de novo molecule design.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new method for enzyme immobilization

Virtually all processes in the human body rely on a unique class of proteins known as enzymes. To study them, scientists want to attach these molecules to surfaces and hold them fast, but this can often be a tricky undertaking.

12 Apr 2011

Nano Terra announces acquisition of Surface Logix

Nano Terra, Inc., a leading surface engineering and nanotechnology co-development company, today announced it is acquiring Surface Logix, Inc., a drug development company founded by renowned Harvard scientist Professor George Whitesides. Surface Logix has made significant breakthroughs in enhancing the molecular functionality of pharmaceuticals and advancing several drug candidates.

12 Apr 2011

Obesity impacts gene clock of cardiovascular system

Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model.

12 Apr 2011

Novelos Therapeutics acquires Cellectar

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for treatment and diagnosis of cancer, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Cellectar, Inc., a Wisconsin-based drug development company, in a stock-for-stock transaction.

12 Apr 2011

Bruker offers new TopSpin NMR software to MAC users

At the 52nd ENC, Bruker is welcoming Apple users to its industry-leading TopSpin™ NMR software. Mac OS X joins Windows and Linux as supported operating systems for Bruker's TopSpin processing software, providing NMR scientists in academia and industry with the ability to use the operating environment of their choice.

11 Apr 2011

Study unravels how interferon-induced factors inhibit viruses

When viruses attack, one molecule more than any other fights back. Interferon triggers the activation of more than 350 genes, and despite the obvious connection, the vast majority have never been tested for antiviral properties.

11 Apr 2011

Almirall strengthens its respiratory franchise with a new generation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) treatment

Almirall strengthens its position in the respiratory field with a positive development progress of another New Chemical Entity (NCE). LAS190792 is a new dual long-acting Muscarinic Antagonist β2 Agonist (MABA), which combines two bronchodilator mechanisms in a single molecule for the treatment of COPD.

11 Apr 2011

Scientists identify new treatment to combat PFAPA syndrome in children

A preliminary study conducted by a team at the National Institutes of Health has identified a promising new treatment in children for the most common form of a rare disorder.

11 Apr 2011

Key regulator of fat cell development may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs

New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and collaborating institutions has identified a key regulator of fat cell development that may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs.

8 Apr 2011