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Stony Brook team creates live attenuated influenza virus vaccine by computer-aided rational design

A team of molecular biologists and computer scientists at Stony Brook University have used a novel method to weaken (attenuate) influenza virus by way of designing hundreds of mutations to its genetic code to create an effective vaccine. Reported online and in the July issue of Nature Biotechnology, the method may be a major step in developing more effective and safe vaccines against influenza, which claims 250,000 to 500,000 lives annually worldwide, partly because existing vaccines are not fully effective.

17 Jun 2010

Curis reports topline results from GDC-0449 Phase II clinical trial for metastatic colorectal cancer

Curis, Inc., a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced topline results from a Phase II clinical trial conducted by Roche and Genentech, Curis' collaborator and a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, of GDC-0449, a first-in-class Hedgehog pathway inhibitor. GDC-0449 was tested in combination with Avastin® (bevacizumab) and FOLFOX or FOLFIRI chemotherapy in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

17 Jun 2010

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

A team of researchers from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Universit- de Montr-al have defined for the first time the mechanism behind three cancer-causing genes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Published in the journal Genes and Development, the findings offer insight on the complex interaction between the genes and their contributions to leukemia, thereby providing the foundation for the design of targeted therapies.

17 Jun 2010

RG7204 holds promise for metastatic melanoma with V600E BRAF mutation

Preclinical findings recently published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, showed RG7204 (PLX4032) inhibited proliferation of tumor cell lines that expressed V600E-BRAF, a mutation found in several human cancers, including melanoma.

16 Jun 2010

Identification of key player in signaling pathway offers hope for new targeted melanoma therapies

Identification of a key player in a signaling pathway involved in the development of melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer - may offer hope for new targeted melanoma therapies.

16 Jun 2010

3 new genes in genetic research of suicidal behaviour

Three genes that have barely been studied to date have now provided fresh knowledge about patients with suicidal backgrounds. This is the result of a study by a team of Spanish researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia University in the City of New York (United States), which found that several mutations are involved. This finding could help to develop future genetic tests to identify predisposition to suicide, without ignoring the importance of social and cultural factors.

16 Jun 2010

Many Huntington's disease patients suffer from weight loss, sleeping problems

An aggregating protein causes many of the symptoms of Huntington's disease, an incurable and frequently fatal brain disorder. Mosaic winner Ahmad Aziz discovered that the abnormal protein also aggregates in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system.

16 Jun 2010

Florida State University researcher explores role of key protein in cell division

A Florida State University researcher has identified the important role that a key protein plays in cell division, and that discovery could lead to a greater understanding of stem cells.

16 Jun 2010

Disorder in degradation of proteins and other macromolecules in cells leads to serious diseases

The degradation of proteins and other macromolecules in cells is vital to survival. Disruption of this process can result in serious disease. The research group of Professor Thomas Jentsch (Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, FMP/ Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch) has now succeeded in identifying an essential cellular process necessary for the transport and degradation of macromolecules in endosomes and lysosomes, respectively.

16 Jun 2010

ISB, GIND collaborate on whole-genome sequencing to identify drug targets for Huntington's Disease

The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) of Seattle, WA, is collaborating with the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) and its Taube-Koret Center for Huntington's Disease Research to use whole-genome sequencing to identify genes and novel drug targets related to the onset and progression of Huntington's disease (HD). The research team, led by GIND associate director and senior investigator Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, will also use induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients with HD to screen for drugs that might delay, prevent, or even reverse this devastating condition.

16 Jun 2010

High vitamin B levels in blood reduce lung cancer risk: Study

Regular intake of Vitamin B complex can reduce the risk of getting lung cancer, researchers have found. The research paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association however emphasized that quitting smoking was the best method to reduce the risk of lung cancer. It is too early to say that vitamin supplements can actually prevent lung cancer say researchers. Lung cancer kills nearly 1.3 million people globally each year according to the World Health Organization and 10 to 15 percent of smokers develop lung cancer.

15 Jun 2010

Alexion's Soliris may benefit patients with thrombotic microangiopathy from uncontrolled complement activation

Researchers reported today that Soliris® (eculizumab), a first-in-class terminal complement inhibitor developed by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., may provide clinical benefits to patients with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) resulting from uncontrolled complement activation. TMA, the formation of blood clots in capillaries and small arteries, can lead to life-threatening damage in multiple organs including kidney failure, thrombocytopenia (abnormally low platelet count) and anemia.

15 Jun 2010

Pediatric oncologist describes current state of science in combating neuroblastoma

Pediatric oncologist John M. Maris, M.D., describes the current state of the science in combating neuroblastoma, the most common solid cancer of early childhood. In his article in the June 10, 2010 New England Journal of Medicine, "Recent Advances in Neuroblastoma," Maris reviews the field's latest research knowledge—much of it based on efforts by Maris and his colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

15 Jun 2010

CLC-5 protein plays active part in inherited kidney disorder: Scientists

Scientists from the University of Leeds have discovered the mechanisms of a protein known to play an active part in the inherited kidney disorder, Dent's disease. The findings provide a new focus for future therapies for the disease, for which there is currently no cure.

15 Jun 2010

Children born after ART at increased risk of congenital malformation

Couples considering undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment should be informed about the increased risk of congenital malformation posed by the use of ART, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear today (Monday). Dr. G-raldine Viot, a clinical geneticist at the Maternit- Port Royal hospital, Paris, France, will say that she believed that most doctors working in ART clinics in France only told couples about such risks if they were asked specific questions.

14 Jun 2010

Research on genetic mutations could lead to accurate diagnosis of USH, says scientist

Usher syndrome, an inherited condition involving both hearing and vision loss, is not a simply recessively inherited disease, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday). Dr. Hanno Bolz, Associate Medical Director of the Bioscientia Centre for Human Genetics, Ingelheim, Germany, and active in teaching and research at the University Hospital of Cologne, will say that his team's research challenges the traditional view that USH was inherited as a single gene disorder, and shows that it may result from at least two different genetic mutations.

14 Jun 2010

Emerging science of epigenetics offers new insights at crossroads of genes and the environment: Article

An emerging arm of molecular biology is introducing a new interpretation of traditional concepts of human disease, explains an article published today in Nature. According to author Dr. Arturas Petronis at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the emerging science of epigenetics is offering new insights at the crossroads of genes and the environment, or nature and nurture. Dr. Petronis is head of the Krembil Family Epigenetics Laboratory at CAMH and an international expert in the field.

11 Jun 2010

Telomere length can act as stopwatch to predict progression of leukaemia: Research

Scientists have pinpointed key changes to the telomeres in the cells of leukaemia patients which could play a crucial role in the earliest stages of the disease, according to research published online in the journal Blood.

11 Jun 2010

Study demonstrates p53 protein becomes activated during gamete formation

Protein p53 is known as the guardian of the genome since it is basic for the genome's integrity by preventing the accumulation of mutations originating either by the cell's own mechanisms or by the action of external agents.

11 Jun 2010

New methodology may help control influenza

Scientists have uncovered the flu's secret formula for effectively evolving within and between host species: balance. The key lies with the flu's unique replication process, which has evolved to produce enough mutations for the virus to spread and adapt to its host environment, but not so many that unwanted genomic mutations lead to the flu's demise (catastrophic mutagenesis).

11 Jun 2010

Mutation News and Research

Stony Brook team creates live attenuated influenza virus vaccine by computer-aided rational design

Curis reports topline results from GDC-0449 Phase II clinical trial for metastatic colorectal cancer

Research findings could lead to less invasive treatments for ALL

RG7204 holds promise for metastatic melanoma with V600E BRAF mutation

Identification of key player in signaling pathway offers hope for new targeted melanoma therapies

3 new genes in genetic research of suicidal behaviour

Many Huntington's disease patients suffer from weight loss, sleeping problems

Florida State University researcher explores role of key protein in cell division

Disorder in degradation of proteins and other macromolecules in cells leads to serious diseases

ISB, GIND collaborate on whole-genome sequencing to identify drug targets for Huntington's Disease

High vitamin B levels in blood reduce lung cancer risk: Study

Alexion's Soliris may benefit patients with thrombotic microangiopathy from uncontrolled complement activation

Pediatric oncologist describes current state of science in combating neuroblastoma

CLC-5 protein plays active part in inherited kidney disorder: Scientists

Children born after ART at increased risk of congenital malformation

Research on genetic mutations could lead to accurate diagnosis of USH, says scientist

Emerging science of epigenetics offers new insights at crossroads of genes and the environment: Article

Telomere length can act as stopwatch to predict progression of leukaemia: Research

Study demonstrates p53 protein becomes activated during gamete formation

New methodology may help control influenza

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