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Illumina launches new kits for targeted resequencing studies

Illumina, Inc. today introduced Nextera Exome and Custom Enrichment kits, the Company's latest targeted resequencing solutions offering sample preparation and enrichment in a single, integrated workflow.

From Illumina, Inc. 17 Jul 2012

Researchers begin to uncover important clues about SCAD

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a tear of the layers of the artery wall that can block normal blood flow into and around the heart, is a relatively rare and poorly understood condition. It often strikes young, otherwise healthy people -- mostly women -- and can lead to significant heart damage, even sudden death.

17 Jul 2012

Venom protein could treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

While Spider-Man is capturing the imagination of theatergoers, real-life spider men in Upstate New York are working intently to save a young boy's life. It all began in 2009, when Jeff Harvey, a stockbroker from the Buffalo suburbs, discovered that his grandson, JB, had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The disease is fatal. It strikes only boys, causing their muscles to waste away.

17 Jul 2012

New Alzheimer's model derived from skin cells of patients may prove to be more accurate

Researchers at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) today reported the creation of a new model of Alzheimer's derived from the skin cells of people with the disease that were reprogramed into Alzheimer's brain cells.

17 Jul 2012

Duke University to receive CHAVI-Immunogen Discovery grant for effective HIV vaccine

A large federal grant awarded to Duke University will fund a highly focused program to discover how to induce the precise immune factors needed for effective vaccines against HIV.

17 Jul 2012

Relationship between two biological risk factors for schizophrenia

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another.

17 Jul 2012

Helper T cells may be frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection

Helper cells traditionally thought to only assist killer white blood cells may be the frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

17 Jul 2012

Activating NOTCH and AKT gene may trigger cholangiocarcinoma

A rare type of cancer thought to derive from cells in the bile ducts of the liver may actually develop when one type of liver cell morphs into a totally different type, a process scientists used to consider all but impossible. UCSF researchers triggered this kind of cellular transformation-and caused tumors to form in mice-by activating just two genes.

17 Jul 2012

Researchers identify cannabinoid-making pathway

U of S researchers have discovered the chemical pathway that Cannabis sativa uses to create bioactive compounds called cannabinoids, paving the way for the development of marijuana varieties to produce pharmaceuticals or cannabinoid-free industrial hemp.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists discover new way to convert cord blood cells into iNC

For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.

17 Jul 2012

Ampio announces advancement of NCE001 to preclinical development

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing repurposed drugs and new molecular entities (NMEs) that treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis, diabetic macular edema (DME) and sexual dysfunction and conducting clinical trials on its four lead drugs announced today the advancement of NCE001, from its proprietary methylphenidate derivatives family of compounds, to preclinical development for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, renal cell carcinoma and inflammatory breast cancer following the granting of multiple composition of matter and use patents in the USA, Canada, Europe and China.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists develop first cell-based model of Alzheimer's disease

A team of scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory led by Scott Noggle, PhD, NYSCF-Charles Evans Senior Research Fellow for Alzheimer's Disease, has developed the first cell-based model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by reprogramming skin cells of Alzheimer's patients to become brain cells that are affected in Alzheimer's.

17 Jul 2012

BRAF L597 mutation in melanoma patients responds to MEK inhibitor drugs

An uncommon mutation of the BRAF gene in melanoma patients has been found to respond to MEK inhibitor drugs, providing a rationale for routine screening and therapy in melanoma patients who harbor the BRAF L597 mutation.

17 Jul 2012

People with amnestic MCI more likely to die

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that people with a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease, have twice the risk of dying compared with cognitively normal people. Those with dementia have three times the risk.

17 Jul 2012

Patients with early-stage MS show sodium accumulation in specific brain regions

A buildup of sodium in the brain detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be a biomarker for the degeneration of nerve cells that occurs in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

17 Jul 2012

Cadherin-catenin-actin structure exerts force inside and between cells in living tissues

If you place certain types of living cells on a microscope slide, the cells will inch across the glass, find their neighbors, and assemble themselves into a simple, if primitive tissue. A new study at Stanford University may help explain this phenomenon, and then some, about the mechanical structure and behavior of complex living organisms.

17 Jul 2012

Studies provide evidence of connections between MCI and negative health outcomes

Two studies presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) in Vancouver provide evidence of connections between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and negative health outcomes – increased isolation and death.

17 Jul 2012

New CD141hi DC subset plays a critical role in activating immune response against pathogens

Scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), in collaboration with Newcastle University, UK, the Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences and clinicians from multiple hospitals in Singapore, have identified a new subset of dendritic cells (DCs) in human peripheral tissue which have a critical role in activating our immune response against harmful pathogens.

17 Jul 2012

Introducing missing gene could help extend lives of patients with SMA

A team of University of Missouri researchers has found that introducing a missing gene into the central nervous system could help extend the lives of patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - the leading genetic cause of infantile death in the world.

17 Jul 2012

Stress management treatment reduces formation of new brain lesions in people with MS

Research conducted by Jesus Lovera, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has shown that stress management treatment significantly reduced the formation of new brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) over the course of treatment.

17 Jul 2012