Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

British scientists find seven new gene variants linked to prostate cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have taken a further step to identifying men at a greater risk of prostate cancer with the discovery of seven new variants in the human genome that increase the chances of developing the disease. The research is published in Nature Genetics.

3 Aug 2011

GSK, NPS enter agreement to evaluate ronacaleret in new indications

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing orphan therapeutics for rare gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders, today reported that it has entered into a new agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), that terminates and replaces a prior collaborative research and license agreement between NPS and GSK from 1993, which focused on the discovery and development of small molecule antagonists of the calcium receptor that increase secretion of parathyroid hormone.

3 Aug 2011

Lipid nanocarriers in cancer diagnosis and therapy: New book

This book introduces fundamental principles of lipid nanocarriers science relevant to cancer therapy. The first in this field, it fills a need for an accurate, coherent and authoritative introduction to lipid nanocarriers focusing in cancer therapy; both because of the growing popularity of these modern drug delivery systems and also because of the emergent need of dealing with cancer treatment.

2 Aug 2011

Scientists look to create blood platelets from stem cells to study genetics of blood clotting disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists have launched a pioneering research program to create, for the first time, human platelet cells from stem cells in order to study inherited blood clotting abnormalities ranging from clots that cause heart attacks and stroke to bleeding disorders. The study is funded by a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a nationwide initiative to examine how genetic variations cause heart, lung and blood diseases.

2 Aug 2011

Lack of TLR1 surface expression linked with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis

Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn. That's because new research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that two frequent mutations in an immune system gene called TLR1 are responsible for cellular changes that ultimately make us less likely to resist the disease.

2 Aug 2011

Positive results from Jennerex JX-594 proof-of-concept trial on metastatic melanoma

Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic products for cancer, today announced that positive results from a proof-of-concept clinical trial using JX-594 to treat patients with metastatic melanoma were published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Therapy.

2 Aug 2011

Elsevier launches new interactive feature for life sciences journals

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, introduces the Genome Viewer, a new interactive feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect for applicable life sciences journals.

2 Aug 2011

Alnylam second quarter revenue decreases to $20.6 million

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today reported its consolidated financial results for the second quarter 2011, and company highlights.

From Precision NanoSystems Inc. 2 Aug 2011

Positive results from Alnylam's ALN-VSP Phase I trial for liver cancer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has completed its Phase I study with ALN-VSP, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors with liver involvement.

1 Aug 2011

Affymetrix to commercialize four Axiom genotyping arrays for the major populations

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced plans to commercialize four Axiom population-optimized arrays used to analyze 100,000 samples collected from volunteers in one of the nation's largest and most diverse genomics projects funded by the National Institutes of Health.

1 Aug 2011

Myb protein suppression can help eliminate acute myelogenous leukemia

A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has laid bare the mechanism behind a phenomenon called oncogene addiction in mice suffering from a form of leukemia that mimics acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in humans.

1 Aug 2011

Three new loci linked to asthma susceptibility in Japanese population

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM), together with colleagues at Kyoto University, Tsukuba University, Harvard University, and other medical institutions have identified three new loci associated with susceptibility to adult asthma in the Japanese population.

1 Aug 2011

Researchers reveal novel gene linked with asthma in African-Americans

A new national collaboration of asthma genetics researchers has revealed a novel gene associated with the disease in African-Americans, according to a new scientific report.

1 Aug 2011

Human genes can be patented in U.S. - Court overrules previous ruling

A lower court in the U.S. had earlier ruled that human genes cannot be patented by biotech companies who use them for diagnostic purposes. Now a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that genes can be patented. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, said that Myriad Genetics was entitled to patents on two human genes used to predict if women have an increased risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer.

31 Jul 2011

Scientists study how nervous system translates sensory information into coordinated motor output

Escape responses are some of the most studied behaviors by neurobiologists who want to understand how the brain processes sensory information. The ability to evade predators plays a vital role in the process of natural selection.

30 Jul 2011

New fluorescent tool can track mysterious workings of cellular RNAs

The ability to tag proteins with a green fluorescent light to watch how they behave inside cells so revolutionized the understanding of protein biology that it earned the scientific teams who developed the technique Nobel Prizes in 2008.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers examine drug that has potential to stop Parkinson's progression

Researchers from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, Van Andel Research Institute and the Translational Genomics Research Institute are investigating a drug that has the potential to not only alleviate Parkinson's symptoms but also halt the disease's progression.

30 Jul 2011