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New TSRI study may have important implications for better drug design

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute Florida campus have uncovered the structural details of how some proteins interact to turn two different signals into a single integrated output. These new findings could aid future drug design by giving scientists an edge in fine tuning the signal between these partnered proteins—and the drug's course of action.

25 Aug 2015

Agena Bioscience releases Chip prep module to automate sample handling after PCR for MassARRAY System

Agena Bioscience today introduced the Chip prep module to automate sample handling after PCR for the MassARRAY 96-well System. This enables laboratories to operate the MassARRAY System largely unattended for high-throughput, multiplex genetic analysis.

24 Aug 2015

caprotec bioanalytics issued U.S. patent for CCMS proteome analysis technology

caprotec bioanalytics GmbH announced today that the United States Patent Office has issued patent No. US9,034,789 covering its revolutionary Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry (CCMS) technology.

20 Aug 2015

Synthorx employs synthetic DNA technology to produce proteins containing novel amino acids

Synthorx Inc. announced today that the company has employed its proprietary protein expression system to successfully produce proteins containing novel amino acids. Using a semi-synthetic DNA template (containing the synthetic base pair X and Y), Synthorx scientists were able to produce RNA containing X and Y, which was used with an otherwise fully natural biological system, to efficiently direct the incorporation of multiple novel amino acids at different sites in proteins.

19 Aug 2015

New endoscopic system differentiates between malignant and benign tumors in gastrointestinal tract

Cancer or no cancer? This question can usually only be answered after a days-long wait for a histological examination. With the use of a mass spectrometric technique, the answer may soon be available in real time.

13 Aug 2015

Study determines structure of plant hormone that helps regulate plants’ responses to insects, microorganisms

An international collaboration including scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has determined the structure of a plant hormone that plays a crucial role in regulating plants’ responses to insects and disease-causing microorganisms as well as normal growth and development.

12 Aug 2015

Scientists develop technique to identify Viagra and other hidden ingredients in dietary supplements

To lose weight, boost energy or soothe nerves, many consumers turn to dietary supplements. But some of these products contain undeclared substances. To protect consumers from taking something without their knowledge, scientists have developed a technique to determine what secret ingredients could be lurking in these supplements.

6 Aug 2015

New Penn study questions relevance of fish oil-derived SPMs and their anti-inflammatory effects in humans

The importance of a diet rich in fish oils - now a billion dollar food-supplement industry -- has been debated for over half a century. A few large clinical trials have supported the idea that fish oils confer therapeutic benefits to patients with cardiovascular disease. Researchers think that hearts and blood vessels may benefit in part from their anti-inflammatory properties.

31 Jul 2015

Using physical processes to treat ships' ballast water can prevent spread of harmful organisms into local environment

Untreated ballast water discharge from ships can spread living organisms and even pathogens across the world thereby introducing non-native or invasive species into the local environment. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München therefore recommend using physical treatment processes such as filtration rather than electrochemical disinfection, which creates countless potentially toxic compounds.

30 Jul 2015

WSU scientists suggest that glyphosate not present in human breast milk

Washington State University scientists have found that glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, does not accumulate in mother's breast milk.

24 Jul 2015

Experts to highlight new diagnostic products, tools to identify heart attacks at 2015 AACC Annual Meeting

The 2015 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, the leading annual event for laboratory medicine, will open on Sunday, July 26, in Atlanta, Georgia. This year's meeting will host more than 400 educational sessions on topics ranging from personalized medicine and infectious diseases to point-of-care and laboratory-developed tests, and will feature more than 200 new cutting edge diagnostic products.

23 Jul 2015

Study points to potential treatment for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

A rare autoimmune disease creates sudden pain in the abdomen or the head, sending a patient to the emergency room with a potentially fatal condition. The pain comes from a multitude of blockages of tiny blood vessels, formed after the patient's own immune system somehow inhibits an enzyme that is vital to control clotting.

23 Jul 2015

C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12) gets orphan drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

C2N Diagnostics and AbbVie today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted their investigational recombinant humanized anti-tau antibody, C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12), an orphan drug designation for the treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

17 Jul 2015

Scientists gain insights into dynamic remodeling of tissue during lung repair

Our lungs are permanently exposed to harmful environmental factors that can damage or even destroy their cells. In a specific regenerative process these injured cells must be replaced as soon as possible. In collaboration with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now, for the first time, gained detailed insights into the dynamic remodeling of the tissue during lung repair.

14 Jul 2015

Transitioning Infrared Imaging into Clinical Use

The CLIRSPEC network is a UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC – EP/L012952/1) funded network in clinical infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy can identify the hallmarks of disease and distinguish between diseased and non-diseased samples based upon inherent chemistry.

From Daylight Solutions Inc 7 Jul 2015

Histones steadily replaced in brain cells throughout life, find Mount Sinai researchers

For decades, researchers in the genetics field have theorized that the protein spools around which DNA is wound, histones, remain constant in the brain, never changing after development in the womb.

2 Jul 2015

Nuclea and Aelan partner to develop, commercialize novel biomarker tests using STEM cells as models

Nuclea Biotechnologies Inc. announced today that it is partnering with Aelan Cell Technologies Inc. (San Francisco, California) for the development, validation and commercialization of novel biomarker tests and companion diagnostics using human STEM cells as models.

1 Jul 2015

Bacterial ‘fight club’ approach effective for finding new drugs from natural sources

Creating bacterial "fight clubs" is an effective way to find new drugs from natural sources. That is the conclusion of a team of Vanderbilt chemists who have been exploring ways to get bacteria to produce biologically active chemicals that they normally hold in reserve. These compounds are called secondary metabolites.

30 Jun 2015

New informatics technology could accelerate search for potential new drug targets on protein structures

Researchers have developed a new informatics technology that analyzes existing data repositories of protein modifications and 3D protein structures to help scientists identify and target research on "hotspots" most likely to be important for biological function.