Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Engineered immune cells show antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers

Engineered immune cells, called CARTmeso cells, designed to direct antitumor immune responses toward tumors that carry a protein called mesothelin, showed antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers that had not responded to prior treatments, according to a study published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Dec 2013

Six common diseases arise from DNA changes, finds new research

Many rare disorders are caused by gene mutation, like sickle cell anemia. Yet until now the underlying genetic cause of more common conditions - for example, rheumatoid arthritis - has evaded scientists for years.

22 Dec 2013

Neuroscience researchers discover gene that controls response to cocaine

UT Southwestern neuroscience researchers have identified a gene that controls the response to cocaine by comparing closely related strains of mice often used to study addiction and behavior patterns.

22 Dec 2013

Intrexon enters into definitive agreement to acquire Medistem

Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire, for approximately $26 million, San Diego-based Medistem, Inc. a pioneer in the development of Endometrial Regenerative Cells, universal donor adult stem cells that stimulate new blood vessel formation and are capable of generating different tissues including heart, brain, pancreas, liver, bone, cartilage and lung.

21 Dec 2013

Further boost for copy number variant role in schizophrenia

A large study confirms that 11 previously identified copy number variants are likely associated with schizophrenia.

20 Dec 2013

Study reveals that K-Ras gene mutations behave in ways that subvert normal mechanisms of cell death

Cells with a mutation in the gene called K-Ras—found in close to 30 percent of all cancers, but mostly those with worst prognosis, such as pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer—behave in ways that subvert the normal mechanisms of cell death, according to a cell-culture study by researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

20 Dec 2013

Researchers discover way to identify artemisinin-resistant malaria

An international team of researchers has discovered a way to identify, at a molecular level, malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasites that are resistant to artemisinin, the key drug for treating this disease.

20 Dec 2013

IQWiG reassesses vemurafenib for treatment of advanced melanoma

Pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) reassessed vemurafenib (trade name: Zelboraf), a drug for the treatment of adults with a certain type of advanced melanoma.

20 Dec 2013

FDA approves Baxter's FEIBA for prophylactic treatment of hemophilia patients with inhibitors

Baxter International Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration granted approval of Baxter's FEIBA [Anti-Inhibitor Coagulant Complex], the first and only FDA-approved treatment for routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia A or B who have developed inhibitors.

From Baxter International Inc. 20 Dec 2013

Researchers receive Doris Duke Foundation award to predict sickle cell crisis, monitor treatments

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have received a $486,000 Doris Duke Foundation award to discover how to predict when sickle cell disease patients will suffer an acute crisis and monitor the effectiveness of treatments.

20 Dec 2013

Regenerative medicine may offer ways to banish baldness

Regenerative medicine may offer ways to banish baldness that don't involve toupees. The lab of USC scientist Krzysztof Kobielak, MD, PhD has published a trio of papers in the journals Stem Cells and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that describe some of the factors that determine when hair grows, when it stops growing and when it falls out.

19 Dec 2013

Study reveals why people are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and death

A genetic trait known to make some people especially sensitive to stress also appears to be responsible for a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack or death in patients with heart disease, scientists at Duke Medicine report.

19 Dec 2013

New RUB project to unravel role of enzyme Parkin in promoting neuronal survival

Cell biologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum have launched a new project to unravel the role of the enzyme Parkin in promoting neuronal survival. The team of Prof Dr Konstanze F. Winklhofer from the Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, is looking for new therapeutic options to treat Parkinson's disease. The Michael J. Fox Foundation finances this research project with 125,000 US Dollars.

18 Dec 2013

MSCs isolated from MS patients have decreased suppressive function

Multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting more than one million people worldwide, is caused by an immune reaction to myelin proteins, the proteins that help form the myelin insulating substance around nerves. Demyelination and MS are a consequence of this immune reaction. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have been considered as an important source for cell therapy for autoimmune diseases such as MS because of their immunosuppressive properties.

18 Dec 2013

UCD Conway Institute researchers identify potential biomarker of idiopathic pulmonary ﬁbrosis

Researchers in UCD Conway Institute have identified a potential biomarker of rapidly progressive pulmonary fibrosis and pinpointed a defective molecular function as a potential therapeutic target.

18 Dec 2013

Researchers develop potential treatment for atherosclerosis

Researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have developed a potential treatment for atherosclerosis that targets a master controller of the process.

18 Dec 2013

Researchers produce first definitive evidence that MERS-CoV infects camels

Scientists from the Netherlands and Qatar have produced the first definitive evidence that Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infects camels. The researchers used gene-sequencing techniques to show that three camels from a site where two humans contracted MERS-CoV were infected with the virus.

18 Dec 2013

NUS scientists open possible new route for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

A recent study led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) opens a possible new route for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a devastating disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant death and also affects young adults.

18 Dec 2013

Scientists back ovarian cancer preventative surgery to improve survival

A study by Manchester scientists backs preventative surgery to improve survival for women who are at greater risk of getting ovarian cancer and suggests it appears helpful for women at risk of getting breast cancer because of genetic faults.

18 Dec 2013

Researchers discover that adult stem cells suppress cancer during dormant phase

Researchers at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have discovered a mechanism in adult stem cells by which the cells suppress their ability to initiate cancer during their dormant phase, an understanding that could be exploited for better cancer prevention strategies.

18 Dec 2013