Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study describes relationship between gene expression and intelligence in WS patients

Although genetics is the most significant known determinant of human intelligence, how specific genes affect intelligence remains largely unknown. A multi-institution team led by a University of Utah USTAR researcher has found that the brain gene STX1A plays a significant role in the level of intelligence displayed by patients with Williams Syndrome.

23 Apr 2010

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals announces new TGEM Rat Model product line

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Lexington, KY, has announced today that it has added 170 genetically modified rats and related biomaterials to its database of laboratory rats with a genetic modification that can mimic a human disease. These animals are used by academic, pharmaceutical, and biotech scientists for drug discovery and development research and will be sold under Transposagen's new TGEM(TM) Rat Models brand.

23 Apr 2010

Waxman Foundation honors molecular biologist Alan Ashworth with the David T. Workman Memorial Award

Molecular biologist Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., FRS, the director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research in London will receive the David T. Workman Memorial Award on May 17. The two-year grant of $50,000 from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation will support Dr. Ashworth's work with PARP inhibitors in BRCA-mutated cancers.

23 Apr 2010

Genetic tests that may replace biopsies

Genetic tests conducted on blood samples may replace the current biopsies when it comes to checking if immune systems are rejecting new organs of heart transplant patients. The test would be far less invasive and uncomfortable as compared to the biopsies, not to mention more affordable.

23 Apr 2010

IAVI, Lentigen to design preventive AIDS vaccine

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Lentigen today announced a collaboration to design a preventive AIDS vaccine based on Lentigen's technology. The candidate AIDS vaccine will be devised to safely mimic biological aspects of HIV infection and tested first in pre-clinical studies as part of an initial 18-month agreement.

23 Apr 2010

New gene therapy to restore retinal cone function and day vision

Veterinary ophthalmology researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to restore retinal cone function and day vision in two canine models of congenital achromatopsia, also called rod monochromacy or total color blindness.

22 Apr 2010

Human lymphocytes produce hepcidin that regulate iron levels in the body: Study

For some years now a small group of scientists have been pioneering a revolutionary idea - that the vertebrate immune system could have a role in the regulation of iron in the body. And now, a work soon to be published in the journal Immunology, shows that human lymphocytes (white blood cells) actually produce hepcidin, the most important protein in the regulation of iron levels in the body.

22 Apr 2010

IL-10 Gene Therapy helps repair damaged lungs found unfit for transplant

Promising research brings hope for the almost two thousand lung transplant candidates who currently make up The United Network for Organ Sharing's (UNOS) wait list. A new technique that uses gene therapy to help repair damaged lungs previously found unfit for transplant shows promise for addressing the critical shortage of healthy donor organs.

22 Apr 2010

Removable methyl groups on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing identified

A new study by researchers at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences' Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought.

22 Apr 2010

New insight into mechanism regulating early mammalian development

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have recently generated significant single cell expression data crucial for a detailed molecular understanding of mammalian development from fertilization to embryo implantation, a process known as the preimplantation period. The knowledge gained has a direct impact on clinical applications in the areas of regenerative medicine and assisted reproduction.

22 Apr 2010

Gen-Probe's PROGENSA PCA3 assay helps determine necessity of initial biopsy in prostate cancer suspect men

Gen-Probe's PROGENSA® PCA3 assay can help predict the outcome of initial prostate biopsies in men suspected of having prostate cancer, according to a study of the molecular urine test presented in a scientific poster last week at the 25th annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

22 Apr 2010

New studies on cancer prevention presented at 101st AACR Annual Meeting 2010

Interest in cancer prevention is increasing as scientists continue to learn new information and confirm what was already suspected.

22 Apr 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents new data on ALN-TTR01 RNAi therapeutic at amyloidosis symposium

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, presented new pre-clinical data from its ALN-TTR program at the XII International Symposium on Amyloidosis in Rome on April 18 - 21, 2010. ALN-TTR01 is a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic being developed for the treatment of transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR), including familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) and familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy (FAC).

22 Apr 2010

AVEO Pharmaceuticals presents data on potential utility of Notch1-specific monoclonal antibody at 101st AACR

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced preclinical data which demonstrate that its Notch1-specific monoclonal antibody is a highly potent inhibitor of Notch1 function in both in vitro and in vivo models. These data were presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010 in Washington, D.C.

22 Apr 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered why statins -- popular drugs that lower cholesterol and appear to protect against colorectal cancer development -- work for some people, but not for all.

22 Apr 2010

WaferGen Biosystems introduces SmartChip Multi-Sample Dispenser for faster biomarker validation

WaferGen Biosystems, Inc., a leading developer of state-of-the-art genetic analysis systems, today announced that it has launched its SmartChip Multi-Sample Dispenser to enable significant speed and cost advantages for biomarker validation using gene expression and genotyping. The new SmartChip Multi-Sample Dispenser, which is part of the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System, can load up to 384 samples or sample replicates on a single SmartChip with its 5,184 nanowells, offering the highest number of samples that can be run on a nano-chip.

22 Apr 2010

PharmaMar presents new trials with Yondelis, Zalypsis and Irvalec anti-tumor drugs at 101st AACR meeting

PharmaMar, a biopharmaceutical company owned by Grupo Zeltia (ZEL.MC), presented six new trials with marine-based anti-tumor drugs Yondelis(R), Zalypsis(R) and Irvalec(R) at the American Association for Cancer Research's (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting, held in Washington, D.C. from April 17-21.

22 Apr 2010

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

Agios Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the field of cancer metabolism, today announced multiple presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting that highlight cancer metabolism as an approach to identify new ways to treat cancer, opening the potential for a new class of cancer drugs targeting metabolic enzymes.

22 Apr 2010

SpectraCell Laboratories introduces apolipoprotein E genotyping

Effective immediately, SpectraCell Laboratories now offers apolipoprotein E genotyping. This test determines a person's genetic risk for heart disease associated with the commonly studied gene called apoE, which is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood).

22 Apr 2010

Study links mutations in RAD51C gene to breast and ovarian cancer

The discovery 15 years ago that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 confer high risks for breast and ovarian cancer was a breakthrough for cancer prediction and therapy, especially for familial cases. Now the research group of Prof. Alfons Meindl (Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen), in collaboration with other groups from Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., can identify another gene that increases susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.

22 Apr 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Study describes relationship between gene expression and intelligence in WS patients

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals announces new TGEM Rat Model product line

Waxman Foundation honors molecular biologist Alan Ashworth with the David T. Workman Memorial Award

Genetic tests that may replace biopsies

IAVI, Lentigen to design preventive AIDS vaccine

New gene therapy to restore retinal cone function and day vision

Human lymphocytes produce hepcidin that regulate iron levels in the body: Study

IL-10 Gene Therapy helps repair damaged lungs found unfit for transplant

Removable methyl groups on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing identified

New insight into mechanism regulating early mammalian development

Gen-Probe's PROGENSA PCA3 assay helps determine necessity of initial biopsy in prostate cancer suspect men

New studies on cancer prevention presented at 101st AACR Annual Meeting 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents new data on ALN-TTR01 RNAi therapeutic at amyloidosis symposium

AVEO Pharmaceuticals presents data on potential utility of Notch1-specific monoclonal antibody at 101st AACR

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

WaferGen Biosystems introduces SmartChip Multi-Sample Dispenser for faster biomarker validation

PharmaMar presents new trials with Yondelis, Zalypsis and Irvalec anti-tumor drugs at 101st AACR meeting

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

SpectraCell Laboratories introduces apolipoprotein E genotyping

Study links mutations in RAD51C gene to breast and ovarian cancer

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut