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Positive results from Vertex VX-770 Phase 3 STRIVE study in patients with CF

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced positive results from the Phase 3 STRIVE study of VX-770, an oral medicine in development that targets the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis.

24 Feb 2011

Research: Gene mutation linked to schizophrenia may aid in new drug development

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists led by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and involving Trinity College Dublin researchers has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia that may be an important new target for the development of drug therapies.

24 Feb 2011

Progeria-derived iPS cells may treat aging-related disease in children

The current pace of population aging is without parallel in human history but surprisingly little is known about the human aging process, because lifespans of eight decades or more make it difficult to study. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have replicated premature aging in the lab, allowing them to study aging-related disease in a dish.

24 Feb 2011

Scientists complete protein 3D structural sequence essential for cellular function

Researchers at IRB Barcelona have completed the 3D structural sequence adopted by several essential proteins in the exchange of substances between the extra and intracellular milieu. This finding provides a global perspective of the structural changes that occur in these relevant proteins during basic cell processes, such as protein synthesis, the regulation of metabolism and cell volume, and nerve transmission.

24 Feb 2011

New vaccine offers hope against Hepatitis C

Immunology: Three percent of the world's population is currently infected by hepatitis C. The virus hides in the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, and it's the most frequent cause of liver transplants in Denmark.

24 Feb 2011

Mass polio vaccination campaigns in Burma and Sudan

After a seven-month-old baby was diagnosed with polio, Myanmar is planning a mass polio vaccination said the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF revealed that just one case is enough to trigger an “emergency response”, and health officials promptly vaccinated 10,000 children in the Mandalay region, central Myanmar, after the illness was first suspected in December 2010.

23 Feb 2011

New DNA technology to study cystic fibrosis 'superbug' during infection

The bacterium, called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is the most common cause of persistent and fatal lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. Scientists at Liverpool identified a particularly virulent strain of the bacteria that is transmissible between patients. The Liverpool Epidemic Strain (LES), referred to as a cystic fibrosis 'superbug', can cause aggressive infection and results in progressive lung decline.

23 Feb 2011

Researchers to explore genomes of childhood cancers

In a project supported by Genome BC, a Vancouver pediatric pathologist at the BC Cancer Agency/University of British Columbia is leading the team that will explore the genomes of four of the most challenging childhood cancers known.

23 Feb 2011

Mutated cancer pathway studies identify therapeutic targets for congenital heart disease

Cross-disciplinary teams of scientists studying genetic pathways that are mutated in many forms of cancer, but which also cause certain forms of congenital heart disease - including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscle that is the leading cause of sudden death in children and young adults -, have introduced these mutations into mice and successfully treated HCM in the lab.

22 Feb 2011

New study: Rapamycin reverses cardiac muscle damage in LEOPARD syndrome mouse model

Congenital heart diseases affect approximately one in 100 patients, making them the most common type of birth defect and the number-one cause of pediatric deaths.

21 Feb 2011

Scientists identify new cellular mechanism underlying hydronephrosis

One of the most common congenital defects in humans - it is detected in approximately 0.5% of fetuses analyzed by routine antenatal sonography - is a kidney abnormality known as hydronephrosis. Hydronephrosis arises because the flow of urine from the kidney to the bladder is impeded.

21 Feb 2011

International study shows reprogramming cells lead to genomic aberrations

It's a discordant note in the symphony of good news that usually accompanies stem cell research announcements. Stem cells hold enormous promise in regenerative medicine, thanks to their ability to regenerate diseased or damaged tissues.

21 Feb 2011

A special type of Dwarfism protects against cancer & diabetes: Study

Researchers have found that some individuals living in remote villages in Ecuador have a mutation that could throw light on human longevity and ways to increase it. These villagers, all dwarfs with heights less than three and a half feet, have a rare condition called Laron syndrome or Laron dwarfism.

20 Feb 2011

Predictive to present results on development of real-time multiplexed PCR FGFR3 assay at ASCO 2011

Predictive Biosciences today announced that the Company will be presenting results on the development of a real-time multiplexed PCR assay for detection of FGFR3 mutations in urine and tissue at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium being held February 17 - 19 in Orlando, Florida. Results will also focus on the application of the assay which is currently being used in Predictive's first commercial molecular grading product, the CertNDxTM Molecular Grading Assay.

19 Feb 2011

Biologist investigates CAPV-EAE population for hereditary breast and ovary cancer

Between 5 % and 10 % of breast cancer cases are hereditary, arising because the patient inherits from the father or mother a mutation in a gene that is susceptible to causing the illness. BRCA1 and BRCA2 have already been identified as two of the genes to be monitored. It is estimated that 30 % of hereditary breast cancer cases are due to mutations in one of these two genes.

19 Feb 2011

Scientists establish biomarker strategy to diagnose variety of cancer types

A team of biologists, clinical oncologists, pathologists and information scientists has established a strategy for identifying biomarkers. If a particular pattern of these biomarkers can be detected in the blood, this indicates a cancerous disease. An interdisciplinary research breakthrough that opens many doors.

18 Feb 2011

Two researchers receive Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2011

Today, the Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research 2011 goes to two researchers who have contributed to better understanding of the genetics underlying the growth of tumors.

17 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Mutations in gene linked to structure of the heart seen in Ebstein's anomaly patients

Ebstein's anomaly is a rare congenital valvular heart disease. Now, in patients with this disease, researchers of the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the University of Newcastle, UK and the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have identified mutations in a gene which plays an important role in the structure of the heart.

16 Feb 2011

Break-induced Replication more likely to cause genetic mutation than normal cell repair

Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Umea- University report in a study published in the February 15, 2011, issue of PLoS Biology that a method by which cells repair breaks in their DNA, known as Break-induced Replication, is up to 2,800 times more likely to cause genetic mutation than normal cell repair.

16 Feb 2011