Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Phase 1 study of STX107 for Fragile X syndrome begins

NIH-supported scientists at Seaside Therapeutics in Cambridge, Mass., are beginning a clinical trial of a potential medication designed to correct a central neurochemical defect underlying Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability. There has to date been no medication that could alter the disorder's neurologic abnormalities. The study will evaluate safety, tolerability, and optimal dosage in healthy volunteers.

3 Nov 2009

Therapy with EBV-specific CTLs effective for severely immune-compromised patients

Specially developed immune system cells that target the common Epstein-Barr virus can protect immune-suppressed bone marrow transplant recipients against lymph system disease and cancers that arise from the viral infection, said a group of researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital.

3 Nov 2009

Brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary: Study

New research shows that a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary. The study is published in the November 3, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Nov 2009

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents new data from its transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis program

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it presented new pre-clinical research findings from its transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR) program at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (“The Liver Meeting”).

2 Nov 2009

Scientists discover gene that controls the metabolism of fat

Scientists at the University of Bonn have discovered a previously unknown fruit fly gene that controls the metabolism of fat. Larvae in which this gene is defective lose their entire fat reserves.

2 Nov 2009

Nu Skin Enterprises celebrates 25th Anniversary Convention in LA

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) concluded its 25th Anniversary Convention in Los Angeles with record attendance, record product sales and record contributions to its nonprofit foundation. The biannual global distributor convention attracted more than 12,000 distributors from the company's 48 international markets. The largest delegations of sales representatives came from the United States, Japan and Korea.

31 Oct 2009

Johns Hopkins researchers find life in blood-starved retinas; shed light on vision loss

Like all tissues in the body, the eye needs a healthy blood supply to function properly. Poorly developed blood vessels can lead to visual impairment or even blindness. While many of the molecules involved in guiding the development of the intricate blood vessel architecture are known, only now are we learning how these molecules work and how they might affect sight.

31 Oct 2009

Immunotherapy, a new therapeutic area to destroy tumor cells

Targeted immunotherapy has been an attractive new therapeutic area for a number of cancers because it has the potential to destroy tumor cells without damaging surrounding normal tissue. New study results demonstrate high success rates using specialized white blood cells to prevent or treat lymphoma associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-lymphoma) in patients who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

31 Oct 2009

Study: Gene therapy can reduce symptoms of Huntington's disease

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown that a highly specific intrabody (an antibody fragment that works against a target inside a cell) is capable of stalling the development of Huntington's disease in a variety of mouse models.

31 Oct 2009

NCI awards $4.8M for project to measure all the proteins in the human body

An expert in cancer proteomics at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has received $4.8 million in federal stimulus funding from the National Cancer Institute to co-lead a pilot study to assess the feasibility and scalability of a project that aims to measure all of the proteins in the human body.

31 Oct 2009

IGR Genomic Center awarded ISO 9001 certification

The Institut de cancérologie Gustave Roussy (IGR) France announced today that its Genomic Center has been awarded ISO 9001 certification for quality management and compliance to the highest standards of quality by Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR), France’s national organization for standardization and certification.

30 Oct 2009

Scientists present new perspective on antigenic drift of flu viruses

Influenza viruses evade infection-fighting antibodies by constantly changing the shape of their major surface protein. This shape-shifting, called antigenic drift, is why influenza vaccines-which are designed to elicit antibodies matched to each year's circulating virus strains-must be reformulated annually.

30 Oct 2009

Genetists identify gene signature expressed in skin associated with the occurrence of lung disease

At its most benign, the autoimmune disease scleroderma can discolor parts of the skin of its sufferers. At its most pernicious, it can thicken and harden their skin, their blood vessels, and their internal organs before, in many cases, killing them.

30 Oct 2009

UCSF scientists receive grants to advance stem cell based strategies for diabetes and brain tumors

Two teams of UCSF scientists have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance their stem cell based strategies for treating diabetes and brain tumors.

30 Oct 2009

Absence of male hormones extends transplanted cell survival, says new study

Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial for cell and gene therapies. Further, the survivability of TSCs has been thought to require the presence of ovarian hormones. However, none of these assumptions has ever been verified.

30 Oct 2009

Research provides new insight on gene fusion, a phenomenon known to cause prostate cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered what leads to two genes fusing together, a phenomenon that has been shown to cause prostate cancer to develop.

30 Oct 2009

Researchers discover new bend in gene control

Since the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome significantly more gene-control proteins?

30 Oct 2009

Antiviral protein produced by immune system can tame HIV and other viruses, show researchers

Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells.

30 Oct 2009

Researchers use BEZ235 drug to eliminate NSCL cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have eliminated non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancer in mice by using an investigative drug called BEZ235 in combination with low-dose radiation.

30 Oct 2009

Online resource to illustrate genetic networks in common autoimmune diseases published

Currently, 5-8% of the U.S. population is afflicted with an autoimmune disease (www.niaid.nih.gov). Many of these are chronic and require life-long care. Moreover, different autoimmune diseases aggregate within a single family, suggesting they are caused by disruptions in common biological pathways.

30 Oct 2009

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Phase 1 study of STX107 for Fragile X syndrome begins

Therapy with EBV-specific CTLs effective for severely immune-compromised patients

Brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary: Study

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents new data from its transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis program

Scientists discover gene that controls the metabolism of fat

Nu Skin Enterprises celebrates 25th Anniversary Convention in LA

Johns Hopkins researchers find life in blood-starved retinas; shed light on vision loss

Immunotherapy, a new therapeutic area to destroy tumor cells

Study: Gene therapy can reduce symptoms of Huntington's disease

NCI awards $4.8M for project to measure all the proteins in the human body

IGR Genomic Center awarded ISO 9001 certification

Scientists present new perspective on antigenic drift of flu viruses

Genetists identify gene signature expressed in skin associated with the occurrence of lung disease

UCSF scientists receive grants to advance stem cell based strategies for diabetes and brain tumors

Absence of male hormones extends transplanted cell survival, says new study

Research provides new insight on gene fusion, a phenomenon known to cause prostate cancer

Researchers discover new bend in gene control

Antiviral protein produced by immune system can tame HIV and other viruses, show researchers

Researchers use BEZ235 drug to eliminate NSCL cancer

Online resource to illustrate genetic networks in common autoimmune diseases published

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