Nucleic Acid News and Research

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Nanocantilever biosensors detect multiple genes

Using nanoscale cantilevers in a microfluidics device, a team of European researchers has developed a portable biosensor capable of detecting specific genetic sequences.

19 Sep 2006

SemBioSys Genetics granted immunoglobulin related patent

SemBioSys Genetics has announced it has been granted U.S. patent 7,098,383 entitled "Methods for the production of multimeric immunoglobulins, and related compositions".

11 Sep 2006

Children with chronic otitis media have biofilms in their middle ears

Direct evidence of bacterial biofilms has been found on the middle ear tissue of children who suffer from chronic ear infections

12 Jul 2006

Gen-Probe and Bayer to settle patent disputes

Gen-Probe has announced that Bayer HealthCare LLC has agreed to end a series of disputes involving multiple patent litigations and contract arbitrations.

29 Jun 2006

Evidence of RNA in structures essential to cell division

Evidence for the first time that centrosomes, which play a key role in cell division, may carry their own genetic machinery, answering a controversial question of long standing.

14 Jun 2006

Centrosomes may contain ribonucleic acid

Despite more than a century of study, scientists know relatively little about the inner workings of centrosomes - organelles essential to cell division in humans and animals.

7 Jun 2006

"Junk" RNA regulates important cellular processes

It has been known for a long time that much of a cell’s RNA stems from DNA regions called intergenic spacers (IGS) that lie between two genes and do not code for proteins.

9 May 2006

DNA taxi

Despite few successes to date, gene therapy is a highly promising approach for medical therapy in the future.

1 May 2006

DNA "dark state" findings help explain evolution of life

Chemists at Oregon State University have pioneered a controversial theory about how supposedly-stable DNA bases can be pushed into a "dark state" in which they are highly vulnerable to damage from ultraviolet radiation - an idea that has challenged some of the most basic concepts of modern biochemistry.

11 Apr 2006

New discovery could help improve some forms of chemotherapy

The research looked at XPB helicase from an archaea, a single cell organism similar to bacteria. Helicases are enzymes that unwind or separate the strands of the nucleic acid double helix, an action that is critical to transcription and nucleotide excision repair (NER), as well as other cell processes.

11 Apr 2006

Intracellular observation of RNA metabolism will help identify disease-associated RNAs

For the first time, researchers can now peer inside intact cells to not only identify RNA-binding proteins, but also observe-in real-time-the intricate activities of these special molecules that make them key players in managing some of the cell's most basic functions.

7 Feb 2006

Human body has a unique immune system response to foreign DNA

The human body has a unique immune system response to foreign DNA, suggesting that DNA viruses and RNA viruses are detected by different mechanisms, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this week in Immunity.

23 Jan 2006

New real-time test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Abbott today announced that a highly sensitive new test for the simultaneous detection of the sexually transmitted pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neissera gonorrhoeae (NG) has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be marketed in the European Union.

23 Jan 2006

Study explains complex infection fighting mechanism

Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature Immunology how infection fighting mechanisms in the body can distinguish between a virus and the healthy body, shedding new light on auto immune disorders.

11 Jan 2006

World's deadliest malaria parasite cloaking gene revealed

The world's deadliest malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, sneaks past the human immune system with the help of a wardrobe of invisibility cloaks. If a person's immune cells learn to recognize one of the parasite's many camouflage proteins, the surviving invaders can swap disguises and slip away again to cause more damage. Malaria kills an estimated 2.7 million people annually worldwide, 75 percent of them children in Africa.

29 Dec 2005

Study suggests a way to eliminate glioblastoma

Scientists have devised a strategy to treat tumors by selectively targeting and killing the malignant cells. A new preclinical study, published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, has applied the approach to combat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

7 Dec 2005

Nanogen issued patent relating to synthetic polymer hydrogels

Nanogen has announced it was issued Patent No. 6,960,298, "Mesoporous permeation layers for use on active electronic matrix devices" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

8 Nov 2005

Targeted drug delivery now possible using nanoparticle-apatamer conjugates

Ground-breaking results from researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, disclosed at the 13th European Cancer Conference (ECCO) have shown for the first time that targeted drug delivery is possible using nanoparticle-apatamer conjugates.

3 Nov 2005

Targeted drug delivery achieved with nanoparticle-aptamer bioconjugates

Ground-breaking results from researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, disclosed at the 13th European Cancer Conference (ECCO) in Paris have shown for the first time that targeted drug delivery is possible using nanoparticle-apatamer conjugates.

1 Nov 2005

Nanogen subsidiary, Epoch Biosciences issued new patent

Nanogen announced today its subsidiary, Epoch Biosciences, was issued Patent No. 6,951,930, "Hybridization-Triggered Fluorescent Detection of Nucleic Acids" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

11 Oct 2005