Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer
... gene could one day offer patients with hemoglobin diseases the promise of a cure," Persons said. Other authors of this paper are Phillip W. Hargrove, Steven Kepes, Deo K. Srivastava, and Arthur W. Nienhuis. ...Touching research: How white blood cells navigate
... when white cells are extremely active. Autoimmune diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis and lupus happen when our white blood cells attack our own tissues somehow our cells have gained admittance and are allowed to congregate and operate where they shouldn't. The same is true of much heart disease, whe...Gladstone researchers resolve key Huntington's disease mystery in Nature cover story
...also be used in studies of other neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of cellular prot...sease, and a group of nine so-called polyglutamine diseases of which Huntington's is the most widely known. Moreover, the approach could be used to measure the ...Study using robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's protein affects neurons
...osis (ALS). The role of inclusion bodies in these diseases has long been controversial. Some studies suggest that they may be a critical part of the disease process, while others indicate that they may help protect the cells from toxic proteins or that they are merely bystanders in the disease process. ...Johns Hopkins team wins British biotech business plan competition
...y care physicians to diagnose potentially blinding diseases before patients lose their sight. "Our team found the workshop and competition offered a fun platform to learn basic business planning and were very effective in conveying the challenges faced by modern entrepreneurs," said team captain Noren. "W...Amphibians in dramatic decline; Up to 122 extinct since 1980
...atural areas and accelerated research on amphibian diseases to stem the extinction tide." Scientists from CI, IUCN, and NatureServe collaborated on the Global Amphibian Assessment. They analyzed data contributed by more than 500 of the world's leading amphibian specialists, and assessed each species fo...Scientists explain how morphogens work
...ction of morphogens," Lin said. "In order to treat diseases related with morphogen malfunctions, scientists must first understand the mechanisms that trigger diseases. This understanding can lead to new insight into the possibility of developing new strategies to treat related diseases." There are several...Sniffing out the culprits of dust allergies
...reasing evidence suggesting that allergic-response diseases such as asthma, perennial rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis result from proteolytic or other enzymatic activity in common allergens. Dust is commonly allergenic, and to investigate the presence of active proteases in dust, researchers led by Jennifer H...Zebrafish may offer researchers powerful new tool for studying innate immunity
...could lead to a better understanding of infectious diseases and certain cancers. Their paper, titled "Resolution of the novel immune-type receptor gene cluster in zebrafish," appears online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This is the most genetically complex system of innate i...Peakadilly nv biopharmaceutical firm created
...The bio-markers will also enable doctors to detect diseases sooner and, because many medicines work effectivel... also enable earlier detection of life-threatening diseases like cancer. The impact of bio-markers for the patient - and, indirectly, for the socia...Dr. Harris receives NIH Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award
...ber but also pave the way for better treatments of diseases that disrupt these processes. Her latest grant helps take critical forward steps, from studying slices of brain tissue to intact, living models." Dr. Harris' studies focus on synapses where brain cells share chemical messengers called neurotran...Other highlights in the October 20 JNCI
... approval of drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases based on surrogate endpoints so that drugs may reach patients more quickly. After approval is granted, however, drug companies are required to complete studies designed to confirm a drug's clinical benefit. In a review of the FDA's accelerated approv...Lag-3 gene dampens immune responses by controlling regulatory T-cell function
...ines or preventing autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are those in which the immune system attacks specific tissues of a person's own body as if they were foreign matter. The researchers showed that the ability of regulatory T cells to control an attack by effector T cells is substantially prevented or ...Scientists fear threat of second wave of 'mad cow' prion infection
...down of public health systems, bioterror, emerging diseases and implications for vCJD. Sam Coker, PhD. Principal Scientist and Technical Director, Pall Medical: Results of new research on prion reduction by blood filtration technology (Scientific presentation: Monday, October 25, 2:45 pm, Baltimore...Stony Brook University medical researcher developing new medication to prevent colon cancer
...ach year and more than 56,000 Americans die of the diseases annually, according to the American Cancer Society. In order to arrive at a more accurate diagnosis in less time, Dr. Rigas and his colleagues are using an advanced imaging technique called magnifying endoscopy to examine the growth of the earlies...Genetic data crunching achieves milestone at Stanford
... immune system attacks in patients with autoimmune diseases and to pinpoint genes involved in multiple sclerosis. Sherlock estimates the database now supports 400 campus researchers doing work on 30 different organisms (more are added as needed), and he believes it to be the world's largest academic microarra...International human genome sequencing consortium describes finished human genome sequence
...o locations in the human genome. A number of human diseases are known to be associated with mutations in segmentally duplicated regions, including Williams syndrome, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and DiGeorge syndrome. "Segmental duplications were almost impossible to study in the draft sequence. Now, through the unsti...Babies born after surgery on eggs
...se nuclear transfer to prevent children inheriting diseases caused by mitochondrial mutations in their mothers. Pressure groups attacked the idea as an unacceptable step towards genetic engineering of humans. Cohen says Tzeng's work is impressive, but he has concerns. He points out that we do not understand t...Molecular mechanism sheds light on neurodegenerative diseases
...ou Gehrig's. Huntington's. These neurodegenerative diseases exhibit loss of nerve function in different ways, ...cular movements, but it is now believed that these diseases share many common molecular mechanisms. A team of Northwestern University scientists, led by Richa......derstanding the genetic causes of a range of human diseases and toward pharmacogenetic analysis of how various drugs that are used commonly to treat disease work in humans. The paper, entitled "In Silico Genetics: Identification of a Novel Functional Element Regulating H2-Ea Gene Expression," reports that...