Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Discovery of a genetic mutation underlying late-onset Leigh syndrome

Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have discovered a genetic mutation underlying late-onset Leigh syndrome, a rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by the degeneration of the central nervous system.

11 Aug 2009

New approach to remove toxic agent that causes myotonic dystrophy

Cell biologists from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) describe a new approach to remove the toxic agent that causes the neuromuscular disease myotonic dystrophy. Their findings are published in the scientific journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Aug 2009

PTC Therapeutics achieves milestone in Schering-Plough hepatitis C collaboration

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced that it has reached a major research milestone in its collaboration with Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) receiving a $2 million payment in connection with the designation of a development candidate for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

11 Aug 2009

Gene Signal publishes phase I data on GS-101 for diseases of the eye

Gene Signal, a company focused on developing innovative drugs to manage angiogenesis based conditions, has announced publication of data from a phase I study demonstrating that the antisense oligonucleotide GS-101 (eye drops) is safe, with no signs of intolerability following administration to healthy volunteers.

11 Aug 2009

STAT3 is required for proliferation and maintenance of multipotency in glioblastoma stem cells

In a study published online in advance of print in Stem Cells, Tufts researchers report that the STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer. Cancer stem cells have many characteristics of stem cells and are thought to be the cells that drive tumor formation. The researchers report that STAT3 could become a target for cancer therapy, specifically in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of malignant and aggressive brain tumor.

11 Aug 2009

'Nanobee' drug delivery to tumors

When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees.

11 Aug 2009

Stemcells, Inc. reports Q2 financials

Results for the quarter reflect the Company’s acquisition of the operations of Stem Cell Sciences Plc (SCS), a UK-based company focused on cell-based technologies for drug discovery and screening.

10 Aug 2009

Estrogen-dependent switch tempers killing activity of immune cells

The sex hormone estrogen tempers the killing activity of a specific group of immune cells, the cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), which are known to attack tumor cells and cells infected by viruses. The key player in this process is a cytotoxic T cell molecule which has been known for a long time and which scientists have named EBAG9.

10 Aug 2009

New hope for sufferers of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Florida in Gainesville have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

10 Aug 2009

Discovery of gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes

Scientists at Stanford University have identified a gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's insulin-producing cells. Insulin, a hormone produced by cells of the pancreas, helps the body to absorb sugars found in food and to maintain blood sugar at appropriate levels.

10 Aug 2009

Discovery of gene linked to maturity-onset diabetes of the young

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have linked another gene to a rare form of diabetes, a finding that could prove beneficial to those with the more common type 2 diabetes.

10 Aug 2009

At health care town halls, lawmakers try to cope with very opinionated citizens

Town hall meeting fracases continue, as members of Congress 'feel the heat' of very strong opinions on health reform.

10 Aug 2009

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. A conference call to discuss these results and recent developments in the company's business will be webcast live tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11, at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time/12 noon GMT/1pm British Summer Time (details below).

10 Aug 2009

Ministrokes predict memory problems, strokes predict non-memory problems

Areas of brain damage seen on brain scans and originally thought to be related to stroke may help doctors predict a person’s risk of memory problems in old age, according to research published in the August 11, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Aug 2009

Secretary Sebelius announces Senate confirmation of Dr. Francis Collins as Director of NIH

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Francis Collins as the next Director of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Aug 2009

Cost-effectiveness of Cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer

From a health-care system perspective, it may be more efficient to use the drug cetuximab only in colorectal cancer patients whose tumors have a wild-type KRAS gene, according to a study published online August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

9 Aug 2009

NIH stimulus funding supports Emory - grants to advance research, create jobs, support students

At least 50 research projects so far, supported by more than $10 million in stimulus grants from the National Institutes of Health, are expected to lead to new discoveries at Emory University that will improve medical treatment, create new jobs, and provide additional educational opportunities for students. Emory has received half of all the NIH ARRA grants awarded to Georgia academic institutions thus far.

9 Aug 2009

Unlikely genetic suspect implicated in Dandy-Walker malformation

A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and sometimes autism, providing a new mechanism and potentially improving treatment for the disorder.

9 Aug 2009

Scientists discover link between mutations in INPP5E gene and ciliopathies

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have discovered a connection between mutations in the INPP5E gene and ciliopathies. Their findings, which may lead to new therapies for these diseases, will appear in the online edition of Nature Genetics on August 9.

9 Aug 2009

More insulin-producing cells from a single transcription factor switch

Researchers have found a way in mice to convert another type of pancreas cell into the critical insulin-producing beta cells that are lost in those with type I diabetes. The secret ingredient is a single transcription factor, according to the report in the August 7th issue of Cell, a Cell Press journal.

7 Aug 2009