Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

k-MITOMI device can simultaneously measure up to 768 biomolecular interactions

Inside our cells, molecules are constantly binding and separating from one another. It's this game of constant flux that drives gene expression asides essentially every other biological process.

26 Sep 2012

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Alnylam in patent infringement case against Tekmira

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the U.S. District Court of the District of Massachusetts has ruled in favor of Alnylam and has denied Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation's motion to dismiss certain claims and motion to disqualify Alnylam's counsel in an infringement suit filed in January 2012.

26 Sep 2012

Biologists reveal one way that biological clocks control neuronal activity

Biologists at New York University have uncovered one way that biological clocks control neuronal activity - a discovery that sheds new light on sleep-wake cycles and offers potential new directions for research into therapies to address sleep disorders and jetlag.

26 Sep 2012

Increasing marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X

American and European scientists have found that increasing natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism.

26 Sep 2012

New insights into filaminopathies

New insights into certain muscle diseases, the filaminopathies, are reported by an international research team led by Dr. Rudolf Andre Kley of the RUB's University Hospital Bergmannsheil in the journal Brain.

26 Sep 2012

Maternal obstetric problems linked to schizophrenia risk

Certain maternal pregnancy complications are associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia spectrum psychoses among individuals at high genetic risk for the condition, Finnish research shows.

25 Sep 2012

Pervenio Lung RS from Life Technologies

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of Pervenio Lung RS. First-of-its-kind, the molecular test has been documented to reliably identify early stage lung cancer patients who are at high risk for mortality following surgery. It also fulfills an unmet need for prognostic information to guide preventative treatment and improve disease management.

25 Sep 2012

LIFR protein suppresses local invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells

A receptor protein suppresses local invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells, the most lethal aspect of the disease, according to a research team headed by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

25 Sep 2012

Researchers discover genetics secrets of ovarian cancer tumors

A new discovery that sheds light on the genetic make up of ovarian cancer cells could explain why some women survive longer than others with this deadly disease.

25 Sep 2012

NVIDIA video cards can help reduce radiation exposure from X-ray and CT scans

Video gamers are generally the biggest consumers of computer graphics cards, using the devices to boost the speed and resolution of their digital quests to fend off invading extraterrestrials or outwit hostile dragons. But researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seek to harness the power of these computer graphics cards to solve one of the world's most pressing health care technology challenges: radiation exposure from X-ray and CT imaging scans.

25 Sep 2012

New KSU molecule may deliver drugs inside the body to treat diseases

Kansas State University researchers have discovered a molecule that may be capable of delivering drugs inside the body to treat diseases.

25 Sep 2012

University of Iowa, Mayo Clinic to continue SPORE for lymphoma research

The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa have received a five-year, $11.5 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to continue the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) for lymphoma research.

25 Sep 2012

Small fragments of keratin protein in the eye play a key role in warding off pathogens

When it comes to germ-busting power, the eyes have it, according to a discovery by University of California, Berkeley, researchers that could lead to new, inexpensive antimicrobial drugs.

25 Sep 2012

New clinical trial to evaluate DEX-M74 against hereditary inclusion body myopathy

Researchers have launched a clinical trial to evaluate the drug candidate DEX-M74 as a treatment for a rare degenerative muscle disease, hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM). National Institutes of Health scientists from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will conduct the clinical trial at the NIH Clinical Center.

25 Sep 2012

Anti-cancer EGFR inhibitors effective in reversing memory loss in animal models of Alzheimer's

A team of neuroscientists and chemists from the U.S. and China today publish research suggesting that a class of currently used anti-cancer drugs as well as several previously untested synthetic compounds show effectiveness in reversing memory loss in two animal models of Alzheimer's disease.

25 Sep 2012

PAM50 potentially simplifies underlying breast tumor biology

On September 23, researchers published online in the journal Nature a study of the molecular biology of breast cancer, using the intrinsic subtypes as defined by the PAM50 gene signature as an organizing framework for analyzing genomic and proteomic aberrations. This landmark study both underscores the emergence of the intrinsic subtypes as a powerful taxonomy of breast cancer in research, and PAM50's role as the gold standard for categorizing breast cancer by subtype.

From NanoString Technologies 25 Sep 2012

Lonafarnib proves effective for children with progeria

Results of the first-ever clinical drug trial for children with Progeria, a rare, fatal "rapid-aging" disease, demonstrate the efficacy of a farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI), a drug originally developed to treat cancer. The clinical trial results, completed only six years after scientists identified the cause of Progeria, included significant improvements in weight gain, bone structure and, most importantly, the cardiovascular system, according to The Progeria Research Foundation (PRF) and Boston Children's Hospital.

25 Sep 2012

Researchers identify gene linked to common cause of lower back pain

Researchers at King's College London have for the first time identified a gene linked to age-related degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the spine, a common cause of lower back pain.

24 Sep 2012

Conceptually novel mechanism for biological regulation of cell suicide

Death plays a big role in keeping things alive. Consider the tightly orchestrated suicide of cells--a phenomenon essential to everything from shaping an embryo to keeping it free of cancer later in life. When cells refuse to die, and instead multiply uncontrollably, they become what we call tumors. An intricate circuitry of biochemical reactions inside cells coordinates their self-sacrifice. Tracing that circuitry is, naturally, an important part of cancer research.

24 Sep 2012

Biologists unravel why some people infected with HIV have more virus

Biologists at UC San Diego have unraveled the anti-viral mechanism of a human gene that may explain why some people infected with HIV have much higher amounts of virus in their bloodstreams than others.

24 Sep 2012