Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers uncover protein structure that regulates blood cell formation and activity

A Finnish research team together with researchers from New York, USA, has uncovered a protein structure that regulates cell signalling and the formation of blood cells. The team's results, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the most prestigious journal in the field, shed light on the mechanisms at play in haematological disorders and provide new opportunities for the design of disease-specific treatment.

23 Jul 2012

Foundation Fighting Blindness grants US$125,000 to Oxford BioMedica for UshStat Phase I/IIa trial

Oxford BioMedica plc, the leading gene-based biopharmaceutical company, today announces that the US non-profit organisation, the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), has granted an award of US$125,000 to the Company via its translational research arm, the Foundation Fighting Blindness Clinical Research Institute (FFBCRI) formerly known as the National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI).

23 Jul 2012

Researchers identify several gene mutations responsible for medulloblastoma

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have identified several gene mutations responsible for the most common childhood brain tumor, called medulloblastoma, adding evidence to the theory that the diagnosis is a group of genetically distinct cancers with different prognoses. These and accompanying findings are likely to lead to less-toxic, better-targeted treatment approaches over the next two years, the researchers said.

23 Jul 2012

Yeast gene can increase ethanol production yield by up to 34%

iDiverse announced that it has discovered a yeast gene that when inserted into yeast and properly modulated can increase ethanol production yield by up to 34%.

23 Jul 2012

Researchers link specific gene mutations with four recognized subtypes of medulloblastoma

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) and several collaborating institutions have linked mutations in specific genes to each of the four recognized subtypes of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of children. The discovery, reported July in the journal Nature, provides doctors with potential biomarkers for guiding and individualizing treatment and reveals prospective therapeutic opportunities for countering this devastating malignancy.

23 Jul 2012

IAS releases 'road map' to find HIV cure ahead of AIDS 2012 Conference

The International AIDS Society (IAS) on Thursday in Washington, D.C., "released what they call a road map for research toward a cure for HIV -- a strategy for global teams of scientists to explore a number of intriguing leads that just might, years from now, pan out," the Associated Press reports (Neergaard, 7/20).

21 Jul 2012

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

While many bacteria exist as aggressive pathogens, causing diseases ranging from tuberculosis and cholera, to plague, diphtheria and toxic shock syndrome, others play a less malevolent role and some are critical for human health.

21 Jul 2012

RPB awards $110,000 grant to Mass. Eye and Ear and HMS for research into blinding diseases

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has awarded a grant of $110,000 to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases. The research will be directed by Joan W. Miller, M.D., Chief of the Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass. General Hospital's Departments of Ophthalmology and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

21 Jul 2012

uniQure receives positive recommendation from EMA CHMP for Glybera

uniQure announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion that recommends marketing authorization of Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) as a treatment for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) under exceptional circumstances.

21 Jul 2012

New class of chemically produced antimicrobial agents could become future infection treatment alternative

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named antimicrobial resistance one of the most important threats to human health. We therefore need to find new compounds that can be used as future alternatives to conventional antibiotics.

20 Jul 2012

VDR polymorphisms may predict vitiligo in Chinese individuals

Polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor gene may be involved in the etiology of vitiligo, suggest study findings from a population of Chinese individuals.

20 Jul 2012

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.

20 Jul 2012

Researchers identify six genes with driving mutations in melanoma

It's been a burning question in melanoma research: Tumor cells are full of ultraviolet (UV)-induced genetic damage caused by sunlight exposure, but which mutations drive this cancer? None have been conclusively tied to melanoma. The sheer abundance of these passenger mutations has obscured the search for genetic driver mutations that actually matter in melanoma development and progression.

20 Jul 2012

GUMC, MedStar GUH launch Huntington Disease Care, Education and Research Center

Georgetown University Medical Center in collaboration with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital announce the launch of the Huntington Disease Care, Education and Research Center.

20 Jul 2012

Researchers discover potential drug targets that might reduce ventilator-induced lung inflammation

When hospital patients need assistance breathing and are placed on a mechanical ventilator for days at a time, their lungs react to the pressure generated by the ventilator with an out-of-control immune response that can lead to excessive inflammation, new research suggests.

19 Jul 2012

Statistical method uses evolutionary information to enhance identification of disease-associated alleles

A book containing misprints may cause annoyance for the reader, but typos in an individual's genetic blueprint (DNA) can mean serious disease or even death. The search for genetic correlates for the wide range of diseases plaguing humankind has inspired a wealth of research falling under the heading of genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

19 Jul 2012

Jade, BioTime sign exclusive sublicense and supply agreement for HyStem

BioTime, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced the signing of an exclusive sublicense agreement and a supply agreement with Jade Therapeutics, LLC, a developer of an ophthalmological therapeutic sustained-release drug delivery platform.

18 Jul 2012

Mu-opioid receptors put brakes on appetite

Activation of mu-opioid receptors in the nerves of the portal vein walls triggers a gut–brain neural circuit that leads to feelings of satiety, researchers report in Cell.

17 Jul 2012

Premier research institutions, Biogen Idec partner to sequence genomes of patients with ALS

Biogen Idec today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with premier academic and research institutions to sequence the genomes of up to 1,000 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in an effort to gain a deeper understanding about the fundamental genetic causes of ALS.

17 Jul 2012

Promising path to Parkinson’s disease treatment

Using adult stem cells, Johns Hopkins researchers and a consortium of colleagues nationwide say they have generated the type of human neuron specifically damaged by Parkinson’s disease (PD) and used various drugs to stop the damage.

17 Jul 2012

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Researchers uncover protein structure that regulates blood cell formation and activity

Foundation Fighting Blindness grants US$125,000 to Oxford BioMedica for UshStat Phase I/IIa trial

Researchers identify several gene mutations responsible for medulloblastoma

Yeast gene can increase ethanol production yield by up to 34%

Researchers link specific gene mutations with four recognized subtypes of medulloblastoma

IAS releases 'road map' to find HIV cure ahead of AIDS 2012 Conference

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

RPB awards $110,000 grant to Mass. Eye and Ear and HMS for research into blinding diseases

uniQure receives positive recommendation from EMA CHMP for Glybera

New class of chemically produced antimicrobial agents could become future infection treatment alternative

VDR polymorphisms may predict vitiligo in Chinese individuals

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

Researchers identify six genes with driving mutations in melanoma

GUMC, MedStar GUH launch Huntington Disease Care, Education and Research Center

Researchers discover potential drug targets that might reduce ventilator-induced lung inflammation

Statistical method uses evolutionary information to enhance identification of disease-associated alleles

Jade, BioTime sign exclusive sublicense and supply agreement for HyStem

Mu-opioid receptors put brakes on appetite

Premier research institutions, Biogen Idec partner to sequence genomes of patients with ALS

Promising path to Parkinson’s disease treatment

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