Scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have identified a previously unknown gene variant that doubles an individual’s risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The new functional variant, or allele, is a component of the serotonin transporter gene (SERT), site of action for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that are today’s mainstay medications for OCD, other anxiety disorders, and
The first gene therapy human trial in the United States for a form of muscular dystrophy is under way.
The clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) tests the safety and effectiveness of a therapy that was developed over two decades by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.
The trial was launched March 28, at Columbus Children’s Hospital in Ohio, an affiliate of Ohio State Universit
A pain–killing medication appears to halt the production of an enzyme that is key to a common form of breast cancer, a new study using tissue cultures suggests.
The drug is called nimesulide. In laboratory experiments on breast cancer cells, scientists found that derivatives of nimesulide stopped the production of aromatase, the enzyme implicated in estrogen-dependent breast cancer. This form of breast cancer is the most common kind of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
The sequencing of the rice genome could help mitigate the impact of climate change on the world’s poor
New evidence is emerging that climate change could reduce not only the world’s ability to produce food but also international efforts to cut poverty. However, the recent sequencing of the rice genome is already providing researchers with some of the tools they need to help poor rice farmers and consumers avoid the worst effects of the problem.
The new knowledge genera
Breakthrough method in growing replacement cartilage
A breakthrough self-assembly technique for growing replacement cartilage offers the first hope of replacing the entire articular surface of knees damaged by arthritis. The technique, developed at Rice University’s Musculoskeletal Bioengineering Laboratory, is described in this month’s issue of the journal Tissue Engineering.
“This has significant ramifications because we are now beginning to talk, for the first time, abou
Identifying alterations in DNA methylation may also be useful in determining cancer progression
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have narrowed the search for effective prostate cancer biomarkers (genetic variations that point to a specific disease or condition), identifying changes in the expression of genes of the whole genome closely correlated to prostate cancer development and progression. They also showed that DNA hypermethylation (DNA modification without changing sequence)
Enzymes that can harm the brain immediately after a stroke may actually be beneficial days later, according to new research. Insights from the study could change the way stroke is treated, extending the window for effective treatment from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. The results may suggest new ideas for drug development.
Working with rats, a team from the Harvard Medical School Departments of Radiology and Neurology found that the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-9 (M
Finding could help speed SARS drug discovery
The study was conducted by researchers from Scripps Research; the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan; and the National Taiwan University. It is being published today in the journal Chemistry and Biology (Vol. 13, No. 3).
Chi-Huey Wong is currently the Ernest W. Hahn Chair in Chemistry at the Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology and directs the Scripps Research lab heading the study. He said the new finding
University of Michigan researchers have discovered how to measure the absorption of multi-walled carbon nanoparticles into worms and cancer cells, a breakthrough that will revolutionize scientists’ understanding of how the particles impact the living environment.
A team led by U-M chemical engineering professor Walter J. Weber Jr. tagged multi-walled carbon nanotubes—one of the most promising nanomaterials developed to date—with the carbon-14 radioactive isotope, which enabled
Using the unusual color properties of gold at the nanoscale, scientists at Northwestern University have developed a “litmus test” for DNA and small molecule binding that eventually could be used by pharmaceutical companies to rapidly identify promising candidates for new anti-cancer drugs.
The detection system, called colorimetric screening, can be used to detect a variety of targets, such as DNA, small molecules and proteins, that bind to DNA, and the strength of the bond is ind
Cancer vaccines are being investigated in early-phase clinical trials around the world, with many of those trials recruiting patients with melanoma. Although tumor regressions have been seen in 10% to 20% of patients with metastatic melanoma, the great promise of cancer vaccines – controlling tumor growth and cancer spread without serious side-effects – remains as yet unrealized. This could be set to change with the publication of a new mouse model technology in Cancer Research, the journal of t
One of the most effective chemotherapy drugs against cancer is cisplatin because it attaches to cancer DNA and disrupts repair. However, it also kills healthy tissue. Many scientists are creating alternative drugs or cisplatin analogs in attempts to find treatments without side effects. One approach to analog development is light activated drugs, or photodynamic therapy (PDT). Now a Virginia Tech chemistry-biology research team that has been working on both non-cisplatin drugs and cisplatin analog
In diverse ecosystems, packed with wildly different species, evolution whizzes along. As different species accumulate mutations, some adapt particularly well to their environment and prosper. It happens in marine sediments, mountain forests – and, as a new study illustrates, in precancerous tumors, too.
In a study published online today in Nature Genetics, Carlo Maley, Ph.D., a researcher at The Wistar Institute, and his colleagues report that precancerous tumors containing a po
Microscopic specs of lead are offering clues about the enormous cultural changes that swept across northern Africa a thousand years ago.
At The University of Arizona in Tucson, a young archaeologist is analyzing lead traces in artifacts to shed light on the relatively little-understood archaeology of Africa, especially the period marked by the spread of the new religion of Islam.
Thomas R. Fenn, a doctoral student in the UA anthropology department, is unraveling evidence o
Researchers are using an innovative, multi-functional sensing tool to investigate adenosine triposphate (ATP) release and its role in cystic fibrosis. The ATP study marks the first application of a novel sensing system developed by a research team led by Christine Kranz at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
This patented technology adds recessed micro- and nano-electrodes to the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM), creating a single tool that can simultaneously monitor topography
Antibodies against the bird flu virus H5N1, derived from horses, prevent mice infected with H5N1 from dying from the virus. A study published today in the open access journal Respiratory Research (http://respiratory-research.com) reveals that a dose of 100 µg of horse anti-serum effectively protects infected mice. These results suggest that anti-H5N1 antibodies developed in horses could potentially be used to prevent death from H5N1 influenza, or as early treatment for the disease, in humans.
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