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Scientists develop new model for neurodegenerative disease

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has developed a new model for how inherited genes contribute to a common but untreatable and incurable neurodegenerative disease.

10 Mar 2011

Research: CREBBP mutation may help cancer resist steroid treatment, fuel ALL's return

Despite dramatically improved survival rates for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, relapse remains a leading cause of death from the disease. Work led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators identified mutations in a gene named CREBBP that may help the cancer resist steroid treatment and fuel ALL's return.

10 Mar 2011

Swine flu virus may evolve into a deadlier form

In the fall of 1917, a new strain of influenza swirled around the globe. At first, it resembled a typical flu epidemic: Most deaths occurred among the elderly, while younger people recovered quickly. However, in the summer of 1918, a deadlier version of the same virus began spreading, with disastrous consequence. In total, the pandemic killed at least 50 million people - about 3 percent of the world's population at the time.

10 Mar 2011

ITCs in vegetables appear to target and block p53 gene linked with cancer

Scientists are reporting discovery of a potential biochemical basis for the apparent cancer-fighting ability of broccoli and its veggie cousins. They found for the first time that certain substances in the vegetables appear to target and block a defective gene associated with cancer.

10 Mar 2011

Vascular disorder of the brain most frequently misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis

A devastating vascular disorder of the brain called CADASIL, which strikes young adults and leads to early dementia, often is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

10 Mar 2011

CUBN gene mutation linked with albuminuria in individuals with or without diabetes

A team of researchers from the United States and Europe has identified a single genetic mutation in the CUBN gene that is associated with albuminuria both with and without diabetes. Albuminuria is a condition caused by the leaking of the protein albumin into the urine, which is an indication of kidney disease.

9 Mar 2011

RainDance, 454 Life Sciences collaborate to launch core ADME gene screening research panel

RainDance Technologies, Inc., and 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, today announced a collaboration for the development and commercialization of a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) solution for the simple and cost-effective investigation of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).

9 Mar 2011

Study supports DNA mismatch repair test for bowel cancer

Bowel cancer patients whose tumors contain defects in specific DNA repair systems are much less likely to experience tumour recurrence post surgery, results from a major clinical study have demonstrated.

9 Mar 2011

Postdoctoral research fellows receive Pancan- AACR Pathway to Leadership Grants

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research have awarded Jennifer M. Bailey, Ph.D., and E. Scott Seeley, M.D., Ph.D., the 2011 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network - AACR Pathway to Leadership Grants.

9 Mar 2011

Parkinson's disease medication turns on critical gene, protects brain cells

In a major breakthrough in the battle against Parkinson's disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a drug that stops the progression of the degenerative illness in mice and is now being tested in humans.

9 Mar 2011

Chemotherapy drugs also kill malaria parasite

A group of researchers from EPFL's Global Health Institute (GHI) and Inserm (Institut National de la Sant- et de la Recherche M-dicale, the French government agency for biomedical research) has discovered that a class of chemotherapy drugs originally designed to inhibit key signaling pathways in cancer cells also kills the parasite that causes malaria. The discovery could quickly open up a whole new strategy for combating this deadly disease.

9 Mar 2011

New insight into malaria

A group of researchers from EPFL's Global Health Institute and Inserm has discovered that a class of chemotherapy drugs originally designed to inhibit key signaling pathways in cancer cells also kills the parasite that causes malaria.

8 Mar 2011

New discovery can provide insight into lung cancer

A discovery at University of Colorado Cancer Center shows testing lung cancer on a molecular level can produce new insights into this deadly disease.

8 Mar 2011

New study reveals role of INK4, ARF proteins in Burkitt's lymphoma

Burkitt's lymphoma is one of the most aggressive tumors affecting humans. Multiple alterations in genes that regulate cell proliferation rate explain its aggressive behavior.

8 Mar 2011

Ambry, RainDance enter new collaboration to develop and commercialize ADME screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc. and Ambry Genetics, today announced a new collaboration focused on the development and commercialization of a comprehensive drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion genetic screening panel for use on next-generation sequencing systems.

8 Mar 2011

Duchenne Parent Project awards grant to AMT for DMD gene therapy

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that the Duchenne Parent Project, based in the Netherlands, has awarded AMT a grant of EUR 145,000 to support the development of AMT-080, AMT's gene therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

7 Mar 2011

Scientists discover SNPs linked with high risk of sick sinus syndrome

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from Iceland, The Netherlands, Denmark, USA and Illumina, Inc., today report the discovery of single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome associated with high risk of sick sinus syndrome.

6 Mar 2011

Dr Russell Wallis, Reader and RCUK Academic Fellow to give Frank May Prize Lecture 2010

The Frank May Prize Lecture 2010, entitled 'Fishing for Complement: innate targeting of microbial pathogens', will be given by Dr Russell Wallis, Reader and RCUK Academic Fellow in the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, and Department of Biochemistry.

5 Mar 2011

Novel gene therapy can promote removal of amyloid plaques and prevent Alzheimer's disease

Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment - which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease.

5 Mar 2011

Scientist discovers new mechanism for regulation of gene expression

Dr. David Levin, Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and Professor of Microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine discovered recently a novel, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the regulation of gene expression.

4 Mar 2011