Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Radiolabeled hedgehog can differentiate stem-like cancer cells, identify aggressive tumors

At the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010, scientists and clinicians will present more than 6,300 abstracts dealing with innovative aspects of biology, technology and emerging therapies.

19 Apr 2010

New p53 knockout rat model improves timelines for carcinogenicity screening

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services brand of Sigma-Aldrich, today introduced the world's first p53 'knockout' rat model, an important development that is expected to, due to the rat's closer physiological and metabolic similarity to humans, significantly improve timelines for carcinogenicity screening and reduce time to market for therapeutics.

19 Apr 2010

Amgen announces results from pivotal Phase 3 "408" trial of Vectibix

Amgen today announced detailed results from a new biomarker analysis of the pivotal Phase 3 "408" trial of Vectibix® (panitumumab) plus best supportive care compared to BSC alone. The analysis used massively parallel, next-generation sequencing technology to investigate whether mutations in nine genes known to be mutated in colorectal cancer, including the previously unanalyzed exon 3 mutation of the KRAS gene, are predictive of response to Vectibix in metastatic colorectal cancer.

19 Apr 2010

Clues to molecular markers on breast tumors that may predict spread of lymph node cancer

Predicting breast cancer spread from a sentinel lymph node removed during surgery is a hit or miss affair, say researchers: there are still many false negatives, which means the node, when analyzed under a microscope, appears clean of cancer cells, but metastasis can still occur in the patient. The sentinel node is the first lymph node in the axilla that cancer spreads to.

19 Apr 2010

LIN28B gene influences height growth in a sex-specific manner

Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) have shown that a gene called LIN28B strongly influences height growth from birth to adulthood in a complex and sex-spesific manner.

17 Apr 2010

EAU honours urological experts at 25th Anniversary Congress

On 16 April 2010 the European Association of Urology opened its 25th Anniversary Congress. During the ceremony, several urological experts were honoured with awards for the outstanding work they did for the urological community. EAU Secretary General Per-Anders Abrahamsson handed them out.

17 Apr 2010

IMAGE trial results to be presented at International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation meeting

XDx, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company focused on noninvasive tests for the monitoring of immune-mediated conditions, today announced that results from its Invasive Monitoring Attenuation through Gene Expression trial will be presented by Dr. Michael X. Pham, Stanford University Medical Center, during a plenary session at the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation 30th Anniversary Meeting & Scientific Sessions in Chicago this month.

17 Apr 2010

TGen, Asuragen sign microRNA technology agreement for pancreatic cancer research

The Translational Genomics Research Institute and Asuragen Inc. today announced a research agreement that could lead to ways of detecting cancer before it spreads.

17 Apr 2010

Illumina announces first named family DNA sequence

Illumina, Inc. today announced that it has sequenced the DNA of John, Judy, Anne and Paul West, the first publicly named family to have their DNA sequenced to full coverage by the company.

From Illumina, Inc. 17 Apr 2010

MiRNA-21 interferes with Herceptin therapy, says study

Overexpression of a specific type of microRNA can derail treatment by disabling an important molecular brake on breast cancer cell proliferation, according to evidence presented by researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010.

17 Apr 2010

Genomic portrait may predict liver cancer recurrence: Study

Results of an international clinical study conducted in Europe and the US presented today at the International Liver CongressTM 2010, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Vienna, Austria, have identified a genomic portrait able to predict recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer in men.

17 Apr 2010

Marker found in iPS cells correlates with levels of pluripotency: Researchers

Researchers in China are reporting that they have found a way to determine which somatic cells -- or differentiated body cells -- that have been reprogrammed into a primordial, embryonic-like state are the most viable for therapeutic applications.

17 Apr 2010

ADHD behaviors in children associated with serotonin activity and self-blame

ADHD may be caused by alterations in the serotonin neurotransmission system combined with a tendency to experience psychosocial distress. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions found that ADHD behaviors in children and adolescents were associated with interactions between low and high serotonin activity and self-blame in relation to inter-parental conflict.

17 Apr 2010

Researchers receive honorary Doctor of Medicine degrees

Two genetics researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been awarded prestigious honorary Doctor of Medicine degrees by European scientific institutions.

17 Apr 2010

Tikcro Technologies reports net loss of $1.8M for fourth-quarter 2009

Tikcro Technologies Ltd. today reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

17 Apr 2010

UDH to participate in Abbott's new PLEX-ID BPEP

Abbott today announced that the Utah Department of Health is one of five sites in the United States to participate in Abbott's new PLEX-ID Biopreparedness Evaluation Program, which involves Abbott, the Association of Public Health Laboratories and five state public health labs.

16 Apr 2010

New therapeutic approach for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers from Universit- Laval's Faculty of Medicine and the CHUQ Research Center have proven that it is possible to repair the defective gene responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

16 Apr 2010

DNA modification can define early onset glioblastoma

A class of brain tumor that tends to emerge in younger patients but is less aggressive than others can be identified by examining DNA methylation of a specific set of genes, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues with The Cancer Genome Atlas report today online at Cancer Cell.

16 Apr 2010

Cequent Pharmaceuticals commences toxicology study of CEQ508 tkRNAi-based therapeutic candidate

Cequent Pharmaceuticals, a pioneer in the development of novel products to deliver RNAi-based treatments to prevent and treat human disease, has initiated a long-term (26-week) toxicology study of CEQ508 – the company's lead drug candidate based on its proprietary tkRNAi technology. This study is designed to enable a Phase II clinical trial slated for 2011. CEQ508 targets beta-catenin, a key oncogene implicated in the formation of colonic polyps and in the progression of polyps to colorectal cancer.

16 Apr 2010

Certain genetic variations linked to tooth decay, periodontitis

Certain genetic variations may be linked to higher rates of tooth decay and aggressive periodontitis, according to two recently published papers by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and their collaborators.

16 Apr 2010