Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have discovered a way to overcome one of the major hurdles in gene therapy for cancer: its tendency to kill normal cells in the process of eradicating cancer cells.
In a new study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers demonstrated that the technique works by incorporating it into a specially designed virus. The virus eradicated prostate cancer cells in the
Rapid enzyme-free platform allows robust gene identification without gene amplification
Researchers at Nanosphere, Inc. today reported unprecedented benefits in the company’s technology for the medical analysis of human DNA.
Nanosphere’s nanoparticle-based technology allows for rapid, highly-sensitive and specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, which is the direct detection of a particular gene and the extent to which it is normal or mutated.
Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a previously unknown form of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and muscle degeneration. This newly identified form develops after age 40 and causes heart muscle damage, limb muscle weakness and nerve damage. The researchers have named the newly defined disorder “zaspopathy” (Zas-PO-path-ee).
Some 50,000 Americans have some form of muscular dystrophy, and there are currently no cures. M
At the III International Symposium on Advanced Therapy for Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease, held in Madrid, the biotechnological company, Progenika, presented a DNA-chip the purpose of which is the optimisation of the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and Ulcerous Colitis).
The project developing the biochip, known as the IBDChip, was carried out with the collaboration of Dr. Miquel Sans of the Gastroenterology Serv
A simple, chemical way to attach electrical contacts to molecular-scale electronic components has been developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The recently patented* method attaches a layer of copper on the ends of delicate molecular components to avoid damage to the components that commonly occurs with conventional techniques.
Molecular electronics–designing carbon-based molecules to act as wires, diodes, transistors and other micr
A spin-out company from the University of Nottingham has been awarded around £250,000 of Government funding to develop innovative stem cell therapies that could one day provide new treatments for patients suffering from illnesses including Parkinson’s disease and stroke.
RegenTec, a company at the cutting-edge of regenerative medicine that specialises in the development of stem cell and tissue engineering technology, is a partner in two projects that have attracted a total of £3.7
Our evolutionary ancestors’ lack of choice in the mating game has left modern humans exposed to disease, according to new research published in the journal PLOS Biology tomorrow (Tuesday 25 January 2005).
Key regions of our DNA, that control when genes are switched on and off, have been altered by around 140,000 naturally-occurring mutations over the last six million years, the researchers found. This has left modern humans with ‘sloppy’ gene control mechanisms which can make us s
Temple University researchers have developed a new drug that could potentially treat all forms of Gleevec-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Their work is published in this week’s early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to lead researcher, Prem Reddy, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research at Temple University School of Medicine, most patients with advanced CML, a rare but deadly
A group of four-footed mammals that flourished worldwide for 40 million years and then died out in the ice ages is the missing link between the whale and its not-so-obvious nearest relative, the hippopotamus.
The conclusion by University of California, Berkeley, post-doctoral fellow Jean-Renaud Boisserie and his French colleagues finally puts to rest the long-standing notion that the hippo is actually related to the pig or to its close relative, the South American peccary. In doing
Carnegie Mellon University research enables location proteomics
For the first time, researchers have automatically grouped fluorescently tagged proteins from high-resolution images of cells. This technical feat opens a new way to identify disease proteins and drug targets by helping to show which proteins cluster together inside a cell.
The approach, developed by Carnegie Mellon University, outperforms existing visual methods to localize proteins inside cells, says Profe
Lack of the enzyme, acetyl CoA carboxylase 2 or ACC2, appears to turn the adipose or fat cells of mice into fat burners, explaining in part why the animals can eat more and weigh less than their normal counterparts, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers. The report that appears online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We studied the fat cells in these mice bred to lack ACC2,” said Dr. Salih Wakil, chair of the BCM department of biochemistry an
Research responds to need for protection against potential bioweapons
A new technique devised by UC Irvine researchers can greatly facilitate the development of vaccines against infectious diseases such as smallpox, malaria and tuberculosis. Because the new technique can synthesize a large number of proteins very quickly, it has potential to accelerate vaccine development, particularly crucial in the fight against bioterrorism.
The technique is based on “polymerase chain
A common protein that protects plants from fungal infection mimics the activity of a hormone in mammals that is linked to weight loss and is believed to play a role in mitigating heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a team of researchers at Purdue University and several collaborating institutions.
The research has the potential to lead to a simple screening system for developing new drugs to treat these and several other human diseases, including some forms of ca
One of the most basic yet least understood processes in our bodies is how cells crawl along tissues. This behavior is essential to the formation of an embryo and other processes, but it must be tightly controlled. A disturbance can lead to the spread of cancer cells or diseases like Spina bifida and Lissencephaly, in which cells fail to reach their proper destinations. Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo have now made a significant step forward in un
Microbes living in the brilliantly colored hot springs of Yellowstone National Park use primarily hydrogen for fuel, a discovery University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say bodes well for life in extreme environments on other planets and could add to understanding of bacteria inside the human body.
A team of CU-Boulder biologists led by Professor Norman Pace, one of the world’s leading experts on molecular evolution and microbiology, published their report “Hydrogen an
Extraterrestrial molecules found in meteorites may hold the key to the origin of life on Earth, according to chemistry research at the University.
Dr Terence Kee and a team from Leeds and Bradford universities are examining a particular source of phosphorus found naturally only in space to discover whether it could have helped form the building blocks of life.
Phosphorus is found in all living cells, but some scientists doubt that the most common form of phosphorus
Feedback
