Nucleic Acid News and Research

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Direct RNA sequencing performed using Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing technology

Helicos BioSciences Corporation a life science company focused on innovative genetic analysis technologies, today announced the publication of a landmark study in which Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS)™ technology was used to directly sequence individual molecules of RNA. The paper appeared yesterday in the on-line edition of Nature and will appear in an upcoming 2009 print issue of Nature.

24 Sep 2009

Magnetic nanoworms and nanocrystals deliver siRNA to tumors

Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs in development. Indeed, at least two siRNA-based anticancer therapies, both delivered to tumors in nanoparticles, have begun human clinical trials.

23 Sep 2009

Bio-Path Holdings to develop liposome tumor targeting technology

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: BPTH), a publicly traded biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today the Company has executed an exclusive license with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to develop liposome tumor targeting technology. Bio-Path is currently developing a neutral-lipid based liposome delivery technology for nucleic acid cancer drugs (including antisense and siRNA molecules).

23 Sep 2009

SEQUENOM's first laboratory developed cystic fibrosis test launched

SEQUENOM, Inc. today announced that the company's first laboratory developed test, the SensiGene(TM) Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Carrier Screening test, has been launched.

18 Sep 2009

Applied Biosystems launches MeltDoctor High-Resolution Melt Reagents for scanning DNA

Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), today announced the launch of genomic analysis tools that will help researchers in studies that associate genetic variation with specific diseases. These new tools, known as the MeltDoctor™ High-Resolution Melt (HRM) Reagents, are for research use only and are part of a PCR-based workflow that enables researchers to cost-effectively scan DNA from a variety of biological sample types to detect the smallest genetic variations among samples.

16 Sep 2009

Santaris Pharma establishes its operations in the U.S.

Santaris Pharma A/S, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing RNA-based drugs targeted to disease-related mRNAs and microRNAs, today announced it has established operations in the United States. Internally and through its partners, the Company has a robust drug development pipeline including programs to treat metabolic disorders, infectious and inflammatory diseases, cancer and rare genetic disorders.

16 Sep 2009

Study reveals that daily bathroom showers may deliver pathogenic bacteria

While daily bathroom showers provide invigorating relief and a good cleansing for millions of Americans, they also can deliver a face full of potentially pathogenic bacteria, according to a surprising new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

15 Sep 2009

Millipore and Roka Bioscience collaborate for developing molecular assays

Millipore Corporation, a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today announced that it will collaborate with Roka Bioscience, Inc. to develop molecular assays and portable instruments for biopharmaceutical production.

14 Sep 2009

Promega unveils Maxwell 16 Viral Total Nucleic Acid Purification Kit

Promega announces the release of the Maxwell 16 Viral Total Nucleic Acid Purification Kit which, among other labs, currently serves the OCA Hospital in Mexico for H1N1 clinical research.

10 Sep 2009

RIKEN Yokohama Institute to purchase Genetic Analysis Systems from Helicos BioSciences

Helicos BioSciences Corporation (NASDAQ:HLCS) today announced that the RIKEN Yokohama Institute Omics Science Center (OSC) has agreed to purchase four Helicos™ Genetic Analysis Systems. The transaction represents the first multisystem sale of the Helicos system to a large genome center. Shipments are expected to take place in September, with one system remaining in Cambridge to be used in a scientific collaboration between the two parties that began last year.

8 Sep 2009

Aptamer nanoflares for molecular detection in living cells

By combining a gold nanoparticle with a unique family of nucleic acids, researchers at Northwestern University have created a new type of intracellular reporting system that with a flash of light reveals the presence and quantity of a wide variety of biologically important molecules. These so-called nanoflares could provide cancer biologists with a highly sensitive method of tracking complex biochemical processes in real time without interfering with those processes.

7 Sep 2009

NAT gains importance as traditional testing methods become inadequate

An expanding population of bacterial strains that are drug resistant, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), will be the most important justification for nucleic acid-based tests (NAT).

28 Aug 2009

Shire collaborates with Santaris Pharma to develop Locked Nucleic Acid technology

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces today that it has entered into a research-based collaboration with Santaris Pharma A/S, a leading player in RNA-based therapeutics, to develop its proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) technology in a range of rare diseases, thereby enabling Shire to build on its already strong competitive position for its Human Genetic Therapies (HGT) business.

25 Aug 2009

Santaris Pharma to discover and develop new RNA-based medicines for treating rare genetic disorders

Santaris Pharma A/S, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing RNA-based drugs targeted to disease-related mRNAs and microRNAs, today announced a multi-year worldwide strategic alliance with Shire plc to discover and develop new RNA-based medicines to treat rare genetic disorders.

24 Aug 2009

Alnylam and Tekmira to collaborate on RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that they will jointly participate in a new research collaboration focused on the discovery of novel cationic lipids and lipid nanoparticles for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

6 Aug 2009

Expression Analysis launches new look

The url stays the same, but www.ExpressionAnalysis.com looks a lot different today. The redesigned website allows researchers and scientists to more easily navigate and locate the information and services they are looking for, in most cases in just one click. Additionally a revamped search tool enables users to find valuable information on a wide range of scientific topics.

6 Aug 2009

A quantum dot-based method for analysis of DNA methylation

One of the earliest events that changes a normal cell into a malignant one is known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hypermethylation, a biochemical alteration that inactivates critical tumor-suppressor genes.

21 Jul 2009

Scientists create simple chemical system that mimics DNA

A team of Scripps Research scientists has created a new analog to DNA that assembles and disassembles itself without the need for enzymes. Because the new system comprises components that might reasonably be expected in a primordial world, the new chemical system could answer questions about how life could emerge.

13 Jun 2009

QIAGEN launches novel product enabling non-invasive prenatal diagnostics and cancer detection

QIAGEN today announced the launch of a novel product for extraction of free circulating fragments of tumor- and fetal-derived nucleic acids as well as viral nucleic acids in human blood. Scientists consider these DNA and RNA fragments to have great potential for the highly sensitive and non-invasive diagnosis of a wide range of diseases, including congenital disorders, malignancies such as colon and lung cancer, and infections.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 25 May 2009

New insights into a new strain of chlamydia

New sequencing and analysis of six strains Chlamydia will result in improved diagnosis of the sexually transmitted infection. This study provides remarkable insights into a new strain of Chlamydia that was identified in Sweden in 2006 after spreading rapidly across the country by evading most established diagnostic tests.

20 May 2009