More Research News
> Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN say that they have found that cell death occurs as a rapid event that occurs with the almost simultaneous release of apoptosis proteins. Researchers had believed that cell death was a sequential event. Apoptosis, they say, swiftly eliminates extraneous, damaged or harmful cells. Article
> A scientific team says that they have identified two genes that trigger cell response to electricity and demonstrated that electrical currents can alter cell movement and speed healing. Article
> Researchers say that different genes may trigger autism in boys and girls, and that different genes may also be responsible for early-onset and late-onset autism. Article
> Researchers at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease have identified an enzyme that works to repair damaged cells as a potential target for Huntington's disease. Inhibiting Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP1)--which works to repair cells but can in turn kill them when over-activated--may prove a method for treating Huntington's. Article
> CV Therapeutics says that the Journal of Clinical Investigation has published a preclinical study suggesting that CVT-6883 significantly reduced elevated markers of inflammation, fibrosis and pulmonary injury in two separate in vivo models. Release
> Researchers have been struggling to discover why testicular cancer is easier to treat than other metastatic cancers. One working theory by a group of researchers at Johns Hopkins is exploring the "hyperthermic stress response," in which germ cells that make sperm are retained at lower temperatures in the scrotum and die when exposed to normal body temperature. If they're right, they could identify new ways to treat other cancers. Article
> A scientific team at Glasgow's Beatson Institute for Cancer Research has found that mouth cancer develops in two distinct ways. In the most aggressive form of the disease, faults were found in the p53 gene with no expression of the p16 gene that regulates cells. In the first way, cells kept dividing and multiplying, spreading the disease. In the second way, cells were less likely to divide and multiply, making the disease less likely to spread. Article
> A new mouse model has been developed that provides clues why a gene therapy used to treat the rare "Bubble Boy" disease sometimes causes the patient to develop leukemia. Article
> Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have concluded that gout is linked to a higher risk of heart attacks. Article
> Citizens groups have been waging a battle against a $178 million bioweapons lab in south Boston, saying they could be exposed to the lethal pathogens that would be studied there. Article
Tools and Technology
> Keith Elliston, the CEO of Genstruct, talks with Bio-IT World about the upsurge in systems biology and how it is likely to influence drug development work. Article
> PharmaWeek looks at the problems and potential of ongoing stem cell research programs and the different strategies drug developers have taken to position themselves in this field. Article
> Government agencies are raising alarms about direct-to-consumer DNA tests. Article
> SuperArray Bioscience has released the RT2Profiler PC Arrays, which now covers 36 different human and mouse pathways, or disease states. Article
> Bruker Daltonics has inked a distribution deal for Isis Pharmaceuticals' Ibis T5000, a universal biosensor system that can simultaneously identify thousands of types of infectious organisms in a sample. Release
Deals and Dollars
> The Foundation for Fighting Blindness will fund preclinical studies of RetinoStat for vision loss at Oxford Biomedica. Article
> Javelin Pharmaceuticals has been selected to receive a $750,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute/U.S. National Institutes of Health to advance clinical development of PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) for pain control. Article
> Australia's Hunter Medical Research Institute has received a $6.6 million from the government to support its research work in cancer, heart disease and mental illness. Article
And Finally… Scientists say bumblebees use the color of plants to learn how to find the warm nectar they like the most. Article