Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

21 Oct 2010

Researchers discover link between hereditary and sporadic ALS

For the first time, researchers have discovered a disease mechanism that links hereditary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to the more common "sporadic" form of ALS and points to a possible therapeutic target.

21 Oct 2010

New mechanism controlling transmission of abnormal signal at origin of several cancers identified

Researchers at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit- de Montr-al have identified a new mechanism controlling the transmission of an abnormal signal at the origin of several cancers. In an article published in the journal Cell, Marc Therrien's team explains the recent discovery of a protein complex that controls the RAS/MAPK signalling pathway, responsible for some of the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic, colon and lung cancers, and melanomas.

21 Oct 2010

Quark initiates dosing NAION patients in QPI-1007 Phase I study for ocular neuroprotection

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced it has dosed the first patient with recent onset of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) in its ongoing Phase I study of QPI-1007, the Company's proprietary synthetic siRNA drug candidate for ocular neuroprotection.

21 Oct 2010

Study: p63 gene stifles spread of cancer

Long overshadowed by p53, its famous tumor-suppressing sibling, the p63 gene does the tougher, important job of stifling the spread of cancer to other organs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Oct. 21 issue of Nature.

21 Oct 2010

FDA approves Herceptin with chemotherapy for HER2-positive metastatic cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Herceptin (trastuzumab) in combination with chemotherapy (cisplatin plus either capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil [5-FU]) for HER2-positive metastatic (cancer that has spread) cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction, in men and women who have not received prior medicines for their metastatic disease.

21 Oct 2010

Quest Diagnostics third quarter revenues decrease 1.7% to $1.9 billion

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, announced that for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010, income from continuing operations increased to $198 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, from $192 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2009.

From Quest Diagnostics 20 Oct 2010

LANL's researcher to implement first human trial of mosaic HIV vaccine candidate

Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher Bette Korber is part of an international team of investigators working to design and implement the first human trial of a mosaic HIV vaccine candidate. The vaccine represents a novel strategy for fighting the virus that causes AIDS by attempting to address one of the most daunting challenges in HIV vaccine design: the virus's extensive genetic diversity.

20 Oct 2010

Carbon dioxide plays a role in gene regulation: Research

UCD Conway researchers have found that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not only involved in climate change and a waste product of respiration in cells but also plays an active role in regulating the genes involved in inflammation and innate immunity. Their research findings were highlighted recently in the The Journal of Immunology.

20 Oct 2010

New approaches to explore causes of autoimmunity and immune deficiency diseases

A newly identified regulatory process affecting the biology of immune system T cells should give scientists new approaches to explore the causes of autoimmunity and immune deficiency diseases.

20 Oct 2010

Study finds different activity patterns of genes in brain of individuals with different genetic backgrounds

Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have found that the same genes have different activity patterns in the brain in individuals with different genetic backgrounds. These findings may help to explain individual differences in the effectiveness and side-effect profiles of therapeutic drugs and thus have implications for personalized medicine. The study is available in this week's online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org).

20 Oct 2010

Mirna announces USPTO allows claims to therapeutic application of let-7 miRNA

Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the USPTO has allowed claims related to the therapeutic application of let-7 in the regulation of oncogenes. The claims derive from a patent application that was submitted by Yale University and exclusively licensed to Mirna related to the pioneering work of Dr. Frank Slack, Professor of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology at Yale University in New Haven, CT.

20 Oct 2010

SHIP and PTEN enzymes act cooperatively to suppress B cell lymphoma: Study

Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. White blood cells divide again and again, spreading abnormally throughout the body. Lymphomas can arise from two types of white blood cells, T cells or B cells, which divide uncontrollably when the molecular mechanisms that keep them in check go awry.

20 Oct 2010

USPTO grants two additional patents to Ryogen

Ryogen LLC, a genomic research and development company focusing on genes with applications in biomedical research, has been awarded two additional patents on human genes.

20 Oct 2010

Gene that protects against alcoholism discovered

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene variant that may protect against alcoholism.

20 Oct 2010

Jefferson researchers progress in understanding mechanism behind systemic fibrotic disorder

Scientists from the Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University are now several steps closer to understanding the mechanism behind a novel systemic fibrotic disorder that affects some patients with renal insufficiency who receive imaging contrast agents for MRI. Two of their studies on the disorder appear together in the November issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.

20 Oct 2010

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Ceregene, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that enrollment has begun in a new double-blind sham surgery-controlled Phase 2b study evaluating CERE-120 in Parkinson's disease patients. CERE-120 is a gene therapy product that delivers the neurotrophic factor neurturin to degenerating or dying dopamine neurons. Data from the first Phase 2 clinical trial of CERE-120 are being published later this year in Lancet Neurology (to appear online October 21, 2010).

20 Oct 2010

Genes and alcoholism link explored: Study

According to the latest research in the U.S., a genetic variation may protect against alcoholism, and this could lead to a novel preventative treatment. The researchers say that a gene variant known as CYP2EI is linked to people's response to alcohol.

19 Oct 2010

Agendia establishes contract with Humana for coverage of MammaPrint breast cancer recurrence test

Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, announced today that it has established a contract with leading insurance provider Humana to reimburse for the company's MammaPrint test. Agendia's contract with Humana expands the coverage for MammaPrint by more than 17 million lives. In November 2009, Palmetto GBA, California's Part B Medicare administrator, established coding guidelines for MammaPrint, allowing healthcare providers from across the United States to submit claims for the test.

19 Oct 2010

BioMarin announces BMN-111 program for treatment of achondroplasia

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. today announced its program for BMN-111, a peptide therapeutic for the treatment of achondroplasia. BioMarin plans to file an IND in the fourth quarter of 2011 and to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial by the first quarter of 2012.

19 Oct 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Researchers discover link between hereditary and sporadic ALS

New mechanism controlling transmission of abnormal signal at origin of several cancers identified

Quark initiates dosing NAION patients in QPI-1007 Phase I study for ocular neuroprotection

Study: p63 gene stifles spread of cancer

FDA approves Herceptin with chemotherapy for HER2-positive metastatic cancer

Quest Diagnostics third quarter revenues decrease 1.7% to $1.9 billion

LANL's researcher to implement first human trial of mosaic HIV vaccine candidate

Carbon dioxide plays a role in gene regulation: Research

New approaches to explore causes of autoimmunity and immune deficiency diseases

Study finds different activity patterns of genes in brain of individuals with different genetic backgrounds

Mirna announces USPTO allows claims to therapeutic application of let-7 miRNA

SHIP and PTEN enzymes act cooperatively to suppress B cell lymphoma: Study

USPTO grants two additional patents to Ryogen

Gene that protects against alcoholism discovered

Jefferson researchers progress in understanding mechanism behind systemic fibrotic disorder

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Genes and alcoholism link explored: Study

Agendia establishes contract with Humana for coverage of MammaPrint breast cancer recurrence test

BioMarin announces BMN-111 program for treatment of achondroplasia

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