Cures in Biological News

Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro

LA JOLLA, CAA study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell t...

It's all about geometry: Protein contact surfaces hold key to cures

Your mother always told you to do your geometry homework, and for scientists seeking new treatments for diseases like Parkinsons and Alzheimers, this advice turns out to be right on the mark. In the atomic-level landscape of proteins, shape determines the all-important function of these molecul...

Radiation therapy combo cures prostate cancer long-term

Seventy-four percent of men treated with a combination of radiation seed implants and external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer are cured of their disease 15 years following their treatment, according to a study released today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Phy...

Gene therapy cures inherited liver disease in rats

A single dose of gene-virus combination cured rats of a inherited liver disease in which lack of a gene causes the accumulation of bilirubin –which, untreated, results in jaundice and brain damage, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy ...

Promising new West Nile therapy cures disease in mice

West Nile virus alarmed Americans when it made its first U.S. appearance in New York City in 1999. It has since spread from coast to coast, sickened more than 16,000 Americans and killed more than 600. As the virus spread, medical investigators hastened research to develop an effective vaccine or t...

Gene Therapy Cures Inherited Liver Disease In Rats

A single dose of gene-virus combination cured rats of a inherited liver disease in which lack of a gene causes the accumulation of bilirubin –which, untreated, results in jaundice and brain damage, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy ...

Finding Cures For Tropical Diseases: Is Open Source An Answer?

There's a paradigm in life science and drug development : only "lucrative" "markets" get exploited by R&D companies. In many occasions I've seen very promising drugs candidates or related research get canned because no money was to be made with it, even if millions would have been saved worldw...

'Show me the money!' MDA greenlights grants

...ion. MDA committed approximately $43million to new and ongoing research in 2008," said MDA Chairman of the Board R. Rodney Howell. There are no cures yet for most muscle diseases, but the research MDA has funded has created the basis for progressive treatments of muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic late...

Mount Sinai's Dr. Benjamin tenOever to be honored by White House

...edical Center. "Mount Sinai's ability to secure research funding, such as the Presidential Award, is critical to our mission of discovering tomorrow's cures today." This is not the first time Dr. tenOever's research has earned accolades. A year ago, he was selected as a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sc...

UT scientist receives hemophilia research award

...igible for up to $70,000 per year for a maximum of three years. The National Hemophilia Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1948 to find cures for bleeding disorders. People with Hemophilia A are born with a shortage of a blood-clotting protein called Factor VIII and current treatments inc...

Another JDRF partner moves research forward with collaboration agreement for diabetes treatment

...s unique role helping to accelerate and translate research discoveries into cures and better treatment of type 1 diabetes and its complications. By supporti...late-stage trials and regulatory approvals. The goal, he said, is to bring cures and treatments for type 1 diabetes to market faster. Other IDDP partner...

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 2009

...or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov . OPTICS -- Boost for biology . . . Scientists examining cells to study diseases and potential cures could one day have a new tool that advances the field to a level previously only imagined. The digital holography technique detailed in OPTICS EXPRES...

A new mouse model provides insight into genetic neurological disorders

... of muscle that is significant enough in some cases to lead to death. The symptoms become progressively worse over time and no effective treatments or cures exist for these diseases. Researchers came together from the University College London (UCL), the Medical Research Centre (MRC) Harwell, the Universi...

Mount Sinai Hospital researcher makes stem cell breakthrough

...udy to be released on March 1, 2009, Mount Sinai Hospital's Dr. Andras Nagy discovered a new method of creating stem cells that could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The study, to be published by Nature ...

Rett Syndrome Research Trust advisor makes significant discovery

...c advisor of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT) a recently formed nonprofit organization intensively focused on the development of treatments and cures for Rett Syndrome and related MECP2 disorders. Rett Syndrome strikes little girls almost exclusively, with first symptoms usually appearing before ...

Singapore research organisations team up to advance drug discovery using brain tumor stem cells

...g closely with LSCDD and NNI to develop cutting-edge approaches for novel drug development." "NNI's research aims to improve treatment and discover cures for neurological disease. This collaboration will enable all parties to benefit from the exchange of multidisciplinary expertise and will expedite the...

Texas Medical Center researchers win collaborative grants

... HOUSTON (Jan. 21, 2009) Finding cures for hearing loss, breast cancer and childhood cancer and a way to identify people at risk for tuberculosis are goals of the first recipients of grants...

New technology aims to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths

...have life-long impact such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and blindness. Screening and early detection are key given that there are no known cures for preeclampsia, and the only treatment available to date is to deliver the baby and placenta at any stage of gestation at which the disease is diagn...

The Burnham buzz

...ystrophin mutation to normal histology and function. This advancement may lead to novel therapies for muscular dystrophy. Microscopic Race for New cures Jeff Price, M.D., Ph.D. has created a next generation robotic microscope which can be used for high-throughput cellular image analysis to discover n...

UC Davis researchers exploring gene therapy to fight AIDS

...logy and oncology and director of a good manufacturing practice (GMP) laboratory now under construction in the new UC Davis Institute for Regenerative cures in Sacramento. "We are working on a similar approach to genetically engineer a patient's own stem cells in a way that mimics this natural immunity. Th...

JDRF to provide $1M in funding to SmartCells, Inc.

...l solution to the real needs of people with diabetes, and this collaboration illustrates our dedication to accelerating the pace of science leading to cures and treatments for people with type 1 diabetes by helping innovative companies test concepts and bring their products to patients faster." Under t...

Landmark study unlocks stem cell, DNA secrets to speed therapies

...dult tissue back to an embryo-like state so that it can be used to regenerate or replace damaged tissue. Such therapies hold out hope of treatments or cures for cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and a host of other devastating disorders. Using mouse and human embryon...

New way to make malaria medicine also first step in finding new antibiotics

... This combination therapy approach is how HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases are now treated. In the case of malaria, combination therapy both cures the patient and prevents wider infection, since an uninfected mosquito can acquire (and spread) the parasite by biting an infected person. But in many...

The Rett Syndrome Research Trust launches operations

...ms, the Trust has been formed to pursue the next steps toward treatment and cures for Rett Syndrome and the increasing range of MECP2 spectrum disorders. Our...ally to emerging research. A private effort is essential if treatments and cures are to be developed in a time frame that the devastating nature of this dis...

NIH extends commitment to transformative research with 2008 Pioneer, New Innovator Awards

...imary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov . 2008 NIH Director's Pioneer Award Recipi...

Eli and Edythe L. Broad make unprecedented gift to endow Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT

...d support of the industry, academia, business and government through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative we are on our way to helping find new cures for diseases, creating new jobs, and positioning ourselves for long-term economic growth." In the Broad Institute's short history, its researchers ...

$3.2M for Rutgers to apply biology, engineering, physical sciences toward stem cells

...g the scope of stem cell research to encompass molecular biosciences, engineering and physical sciences, the grant will strengthen our efforts to find cures for brain and spinal cord injuries and disorders," said Dr. Wise Young, Richard H. Shindell Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers. Young, a world leade...

Blood pressure response to daily stress provides clues for better hypertension treatment

... pups. But as stressed adult rats, they have higher pressure increases and a delayed recovery unless they are missing an endothelin receptor gene. "It cures it," says Dr. Jennifer Pollock. "This early life stressor is being mediated through the endothelin pathway." Her postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Analia Loria...

Building bridges between the clinic and the laboratory

...ch necessary to develop treatments for illness. The field of translational medicine where basic science research is "translated" into treatments and cures for disease has been growing exponentially, particularly given the recent advances in genomics and life sciences, and shifts in global research fundi...

UCF professor develops vaccine to protect against black plague bioterror attack

...adly disease. Three to five doses seem to do the trick. Daniell, who was born and raised in India, has dedicated his life to finding treatments and cures to diseases that ravage poor countries. He is conducting research into seven of the top 10 diseases ranked by the World Health Organization and the Ce...

RNA emerges from DNA's shadow

...uality. The great potential of the RNA research field to solve a variety of fundamental problems relevant for understanding of life and predicting cures for diseases was unleashed at the RNAQuality Programme's first conference, held in Granada in June 2008. As well as many European groups, the conferen...

Florida researchers receive JDRF 'Excellence in Clinical Research Award'

...nge conventional wisdom and consequent ground-breaking work in translating novel scientific insights into new, potentially life-changing therapies and cures represents the sort of leadership we value most. Their pioneering research in the area of preservation and restoration of pancreatic beta cell mass a...

UC Davis stem researchers demonstrate safety of gene therapy using adult stem cells

...orking hard to establish safe and effective human embryonic stem cell-based cures for patients as well." Nolta and Bauer have worked on eighteen cell and...nding for this new facility to help bring a wide range of stem cell therapy cures to patients throughout California. According to Nolta, the results of t...

'Death protein' research secures funding for UCF scientists

... funding for her work, which could have profound benefits in the search for cures to cancer and heart disease. UCF assistant professor Annette Khaled is c... have her as part of our team, making significant strides in our search for cures to some of the worlds most common and deadly diseases. ...

Genetic breakthrough offers promise in tackling kidney tumors

...ransformed our understanding of disease in recent years. We now know which genes are linked to a wide variety of conditions. However, so far, very few cures and treatments have developed as a result of this knowledge. Now a UK study led by researchers at Cardiff University suggests that a chemical first...

Southern California institutions to collaborate on stem cell research

...raining programs, scientific core facilities and expertise, and to team up on a wide range of research programs. "For patients and their families, cures for cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases cannot come soon enough," says Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer, City of Hope....

Life-threatening gene defect located by UT-Houston researchers

... implications for diseases affecting blood vessels, from the aorta to the arteries in the brain. I believe that Dr. Milewiczs work is going to lead to cures in the near future, and I feel privileged to be able to work with her. The aorta supplies blood to the rest of the body. Some people develop a pro...

Penn biochemist receives NIH New Innovator's Award

...d in many neurodegenerative diseases. He aims to test his ideas using a panel of proteins that are implicated in human disease to search for potential cures for these disorders. When amyloid fibers grow and divide they can be infectious, and are then termed prions. Prion and amyloid formation are assoc...

Using nanotubes to detect and repair cracks in aircraft wings, other structures

...to detect the crack, but also to heal the crack, he said. We use the nanotubes to create localized heat, which melts the healing agent, and thats what cures the crack. Koratkar said he envisions the new system for detecting cracks to eventually be integrated into the built-in computer system of a fight...

NIH awards nearly $23M to University of Chicago for translational research

...nt for Medical Affairs, and Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. "Few cures for common health problems have emerged from strategies that ignore personalized needs," Madara said. "We believe this reflects not only the complexit...