Transcription News and Research

RSS

Inventiva’s IVA337 receives EMA COMP positive opinion on orphan drug designation for SSc treatment

Inventiva, a drug discovery company that focuses on therapeutic approaches involving transcription factors and epigenetic targets, today announces that the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given a positive opinion on the designation of IVA337 as an orphan medicinal product.

4 Nov 2014

Epicure project: an interview with Frédéric Cren

Epicure is a project led by Inventiva and Institut Curie that aims to deliver pre-clinical candidates on two novel epigenetic targets that have been selected due to their potential to activate immune responses against cancer cells. In addition one of these two targets has potential in respiratory indications such as asthma or COPD.

3 Nov 2014

Two major studies newly implicate dozens of genes in autism

Two major genetic studies of autism, led in part by UC San Francisco scientists and involving more than 50 laboratories worldwide, have newly implicated dozens of genes in the disorder. The research shows that rare mutations in these genes affect communication networks in the brain and compromise fundamental biological mechanisms that govern whether, when, and how genes are activated overall.

31 Oct 2014

Genetic differences contribute to risk for autism

Small differences in as many as a thousand genes contribute to risk for autism, according to a study led by Mount Sinai researchers and the Autism Sequencing Consortium, and published today in the journal Nature.

29 Oct 2014

Researchers use DNA sequencing to uncover genes that heighten autism risk

In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers have used DNA sequencing to uncover dozens of genes that heighten the risk for autism. Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, Mark Daly, Ph.D., Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and their colleagues examined more than 14,000 DNA samples from affected children, parents and unrelated people.

29 Oct 2014

Salk Institute scientists identify promising target for HIV/AIDS treatment

Like a slumbering dragon, HIV can lay dormant in a person's cells for years, evading medical treatments only to wake up and strike at a later time, quickly replicating itself and destroying the immune system.

27 Oct 2014

Researchers identify genetic variant in Latina women that protects against breast cancer

An international research collaboration led by UC San Francisco researchers has identified a genetic variant common in Latina women that protects against breast cancer.

20 Oct 2014

Research: Ageing and depression are associated with epigenetic changes

Psychological stress and stress-related psychiatric disorders are associated with increased risk for aging-related diseases, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this relation are unknown.

20 Oct 2014

Blocking STAT3 in immune system cells increases anti-tumour immunity

The STAT transcription factors are involved in the development of many forms of cancer. STAT3 is frequently activated in tumour cells, so drugs targeting STAT3 could be used in cancer therapy. However, STAT3 is also important in the development of the immune system. Dagmar Gotthardt and colleagues at the Vetmeduni Vienna now show that blocking STAT3 in cells of the immune system actually leads to increased anti-tumour immunity. Anti-STAT3 therapy may thus be highly promising.

13 Oct 2014

Researchers discover mitochondrial and nuclear tRNA-lookalikes in human genome

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are ancient workhorse molecules and part of the cellular process that creates the proteins, critical building blocks of life that keep a cell running smoothly.

9 Oct 2014

New model predicts replication rate in genome-wide studies based on SNP characteristics

To reduce false positives when identifying genetic variations associated with human disease through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Dartmouth researchers have identified nine traits that are not dependent on P values to predict single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) reproducibility as reported in Human Genetics on October 2, 2014.

9 Oct 2014

New England Biolabs inks deal to supply critical reagents to TriLink BioTechnologies

New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB®) has strengthened its position as a key supplier to the fast-growing RNA synthesis market by signing an agreement to supply critical reagents to TriLink BioTechnologies, Inc., a leading manufacturer of mRNA and long RNA for research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

From New England Biolabs 7 Oct 2014

USC scientists find new way to suppress obesity

Imagine being able to take a pill that lets you eat all of the ice cream, cookies, and cakes that you wanted – without gaining any weight.

7 Oct 2014

Researchers create speech-to-text software for Google Glass to help hard-of-hearing users

A team of Georgia Institute of Technology researchers has created speech-to-text software for Google Glass that helps hard-of-hearing users with everyday conversations. A hard-of-hearing person wears Glass while a second person speaks directly into a smartphone.

3 Oct 2014

Study provides support for new understanding of the immune system

A study published in the journal Science provides support for a new-and still controversial-understanding of the immune system. The research was conducted by collaborators in the U.S. and Europe, including Robert Cramer, PhD, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine and member of the Dartmouth Lung Biology Center, and Kelly Shepherdson, PhD, at the time a graduate student in Cramer's lab.

29 Sep 2014

High-throughput ChIP analysis platform introduced in new technical article

Porvair Sciences, in conjunction with researchers at Swansea University (UK) have written a new technical article entitled 'Chromatrap® 96: a new solid-state platform for high-throughput Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP)'.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 24 Sep 2014

Mfn2 protein: A future therapeutic target for neuronal death reduction in ischemic stroke

A new study published in the prestigious publication The EMBO Journal shows that the mitochondrial protein Mfn2 may be a future therapeutic target for neuronal death reduction in the late phases of an ischemic stroke.

24 Sep 2014

MIT engineers find new strategy to combat superbugs

In recent years, new strains of bacteria have emerged that resist even the most powerful antibiotics. Each year, these superbugs, including drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and staphylococcus, infect more than 2 million people nationwide, and kill at least 23,000. Despite the urgent need for new treatments, scientists have discovered very few new classes of antibiotics in the past decade.

22 Sep 2014

Curcumin, cancer-inhibiting peptides show promise in slowing progression of mesothelioma

A common Asian spice and cancer-hampering molecules show promise in slowing the progression of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung's lining often linked to asbestos. Scientists from Case Western Reserve University and the Georg-Speyer-Haus in Frankfurt, Germany, demonstrate that application of curcumin, a derivative of the spice turmeric, and cancer-inhibiting peptides increase levels of a protein inhibitor known to combat the progression of this cancer.

22 Sep 2014

Rosuvastatin promotes bone growth in mice with achondroplasia symptoms

Skeletal dysplasia is a group of rare diseases that afflict skeletal growth through abnormalities in bone and cartilage. Its onset hits at the fetal stage and is caused by genetic mutations.

18 Sep 2014