Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Centenary Institute researchers take lead on promising new class of drugs for melanoma treatment

Researchers at Sydney’s Centenary Institute have taken the lead on a promising new class of drugs that may prove to be highly effective for the treatment of certain cases of melanoma.

14 Aug 2015

NSF awards EAGER grant to expand use of temperature-activated protein switches in neurons

Troy Zars, Mirela Milescu, and Lorin Milescu, faculty members of the Division of Biological Sciences and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Missouri, have been awarded an Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) from the National Science Foundation to expand the use of a temperature-activated protein switches in neurons. The new technology could lead to a better understanding of brain disorders in humans.

14 Aug 2015

New data assesses actionability of multigene panel testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk

Multigene testing of women negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 found some of them harbored other harmful genetic mutations, most commonly moderate-risk breast and ovarian cancer genes and Lynch syndrome genes, which increase ovarian cancer risk, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology.

14 Aug 2015

New study uses big data analytical methods to reveal 'social character' of genes

A new study at the University of Haifa has used "big data" analytical methods to reveal the "social character" of genes - a phenomenon in certain diseases whereby genes operate jointly rather than independently.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers use advanced photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals

Researchers at Oregon State University have made a significant advance in the use of photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals, using a combination of techniques that achieved complete cancer cell elimination with no regrowth of tumors.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers help explain how malaria infection increases children's risk of developing Burkitt's lymphoma

In equatorial Africa, a region of the globe known as the "lymphoma belt," children are ten times more likely than in other parts of the world to develop Burkitt's lymphoma, a highly aggressive blood cancer that can be fatal if left untreated. That area is also plagued by high rates of malaria, and scientists have spent the last 50 years trying to understand how the two diseases are connected.

14 Aug 2015

Rhythm Metabolic completes $40 million Series A financing

Rhythm announced today the completion of a $40 million Series A financing for its subsidiary, Rhythm Metabolic, Inc., which is developing setmelanotide (RM-493), a novel peptide MC4 agonist for the treatment of obesity caused by genetic deficiencies in the MC4 pathway.

13 Aug 2015

Charlotte charity Taylor's Tale inspires new law to create treatments for rare diseases, spur growth in NC

Charlotte charity Taylor's Tale helped inspire a law designed to stimulate the creation of new treatments for rare diseases and spur economic development in North Carolina.

13 Aug 2015

Researchers reveal cellular origin of PIK3CA-induced breast tumors

In a study published in Nature, researchers lead by Cédric Blanpain, MD/PhD, WELBIO investigator and Professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, in collaboration with Pr Wayne Phillips, Australia and Pr Christos Sotiriou, Bordet Institute, Belgium, uncovered the cellular origin of PIK3CA-induced breast tumors and demonstrated that the cancer cell of origin controls tumor heterogeneity and is associated with different breast tumors types and clinical prognosis.

13 Aug 2015

Researchers identify potential drug target to fight TB

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first new drug to fight tuberculosis (TB) in more than 40 years, but treatment still takes six months, 200 pills and leaves 40 percent of patients uncured. Thus, new targets are needed. Today in ACS Central Science, researchers report they have identified one such target -- a gene that allows the disease to camp out in human immune cells, and is thus essential for the organism's proliferation.

13 Aug 2015

Study suggests potential target for treating familial form of ALS

A healthy motor neuron needs to transport its damaged components from the nerve-muscle connection all the way back to the cell body in the spinal cord. If it cannot, the defective components pile up and the cell becomes sick and dies. Researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have learned how a mutation in the gene for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which causes ALS, leads cells to accumulate damaged materials.

13 Aug 2015

Ceres receives U.S. patent for iCODE multi-gene trait development system

Ceres, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company, has been awarded a U.S. patent for its iCODE multi-gene trait development system. The company indicated that the patent award is a key milestone in its plan to further develop and license this technology to other crop companies and organizations.

12 Aug 2015

Researchers elucidate mechanism that induces skeletal muscle atrophy in patients with congestive heart failure

It is a paradox: Patients with advanced congestive heart failure lose skeletal muscle mass, but their heart muscles become enlarged to provide the body with an adequate supply of blood and thus with oxygen. It has long been known that the protein angiotensin II plays a villainous role in this process, but the exact mechanism has remained unclear.

12 Aug 2015

Researchers develop user-friendly platform for analyzing transcriptomic and epigenomic big data

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed a user-friendly, integrated platform for analyzing the transcriptomic and epigenomic "big data."

12 Aug 2015

Researcher study potential biomarker to determine patients at risk for aggressive breast cancer

Biomarkers are an important part in detecting certain cancers such as the BRCA gene in breast cancer and the PSA antigen in prostate cancer. They are easy to identify in a blood test and can help in diagnosing and giving a prognosis.

12 Aug 2015

New study reveals role of hydrogen sulfide gas in autoimmune disease

The immune system not only responds to infections and other potentially problematic abnormalities in the body, it also contains a built-in brake in the form of regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Tregs ensure that inflammatory responses don't get out of hand and do damage. In autoimmune diseases, sometimes these Treg cells don't act as they should.

12 Aug 2015

New TSRI discovery could open way to incorporate sulfur into natural antibiotic products

In a discovery with implications for future drug design, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown an unprecedented mechanism for how a natural antibiotic with antitumor properties incorporates sulfur into its molecular structure, an essential ingredient of its antitumor activity.

11 Aug 2015

Embryonic stem cells may help researchers to study physiological effects of environmental pollutants on human health

A recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Sciences shows that embryonic stem cells could serve as a model to evaluate the physiological effects of environmental pollutants efficiently and cost-effectively.

11 Aug 2015

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University participate in NCI MATCH Trial

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, in partnership with Wayne State University School of Medicine, is one of the lead academic centers participating in the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) MATCH (Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice) Trial in the United States, set to begin in the next few weeks.

11 Aug 2015

New technology advances genome engineering

In his mind, Basil Hubbard can already picture a new world of therapeutic treatments for millions of patients just over the horizon. It's a future in which diseases like muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and many others are treated permanently through the science of genome engineering.

11 Aug 2015

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Centenary Institute researchers take lead on promising new class of drugs for melanoma treatment

NSF awards EAGER grant to expand use of temperature-activated protein switches in neurons

New data assesses actionability of multigene panel testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk

New study uses big data analytical methods to reveal 'social character' of genes

Researchers use advanced photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals

Researchers help explain how malaria infection increases children's risk of developing Burkitt's lymphoma

Rhythm Metabolic completes $40 million Series A financing

Charlotte charity Taylor's Tale inspires new law to create treatments for rare diseases, spur growth in NC

Researchers reveal cellular origin of PIK3CA-induced breast tumors

Researchers identify potential drug target to fight TB

Study suggests potential target for treating familial form of ALS

Ceres receives U.S. patent for iCODE multi-gene trait development system

Researchers elucidate mechanism that induces skeletal muscle atrophy in patients with congestive heart failure

Researchers develop user-friendly platform for analyzing transcriptomic and epigenomic big data

Researcher study potential biomarker to determine patients at risk for aggressive breast cancer

New study reveals role of hydrogen sulfide gas in autoimmune disease

New TSRI discovery could open way to incorporate sulfur into natural antibiotic products

Embryonic stem cells may help researchers to study physiological effects of environmental pollutants on human health

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University participate in NCI MATCH Trial

New technology advances genome engineering

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting