Tag: genomics
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Agriculture Research Companies to Partner on Insect Control
Syngenta, a developer of agricultural products in Basel, Switzerland and Devgen, an agro-biotech company in Ghent, Belgium have agreed on a licensing and development partnership for new insect-control products based on genetic technologies. The six-year agreement has an estimated value of at least €50.8 million ($US 65.5 million). The partnership will enable Syngenta to add…
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Stem Cells Found to Protect Against Chemo Side Effects
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and four other institutions have developed a method for transplanting brain cancer patients’ own gene-modified blood stem cells to protect their bone marrow against the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. Their findings appear in this week’s issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription…
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Early Trial Results Indicate Cystic Fibrosis Drug Efficacy
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts says interim data from a clinical trial of its cystic fibrosis drugs point to improved lung function among patients who took the drugs. The results reported from the trial were for patients with two copies of the most common mutation of the cystic fibrosis regulator gene. The phase 2…
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Genomic Test Developed for ADHD Drug Decisions
AssureRx Health Inc. in Mason, Ohio has developed a test to help clinicians prescribe the appropriate medications for patients — both children and adults — with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The test, called GeneSightRx ADHD, gauges genomic differences in the way different patients would tolerate ADHD medications. Understanding a patient’s unique genomic composition may…
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DNA Bar Code Identifiers Developed for Species Tracking
Botanists at University of Bonn, with researchers from 10 other German institutions, are devising a system of standard identifiers based on DNA sequencing to identify plant and animal species more efficiently. The German Barcode of Life (GBOL) project is coordinated by the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. “In the DNA of living beings,…
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Start-Up Commercializing Genetic Microfluidic Chip
Aquila Diagnostic Systems in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is taking to market a technology that collects small blood samples on a microfluidic chip for multiple genetic tests. The technology, now in prototype, was developed at University of Alberta, also in Edmonton, and licensed to Aquila for commercialization when the company was formed in 2009. The chip…
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Biopharm Lands $25M Venture Funding for Phase 3 Trial
Argos Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Durham, North Carolina, says it secured $25 million in series D venture financing, the fourth funding installment after initial start-up. The funds are expected to support a planned clinical trial of Argos Therapeutics’ immunotherapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. The financing was led…
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Lab-Made Heart Cells Found Useful for Research, Testing
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California have devised a process for generating artifical heart cells from the skin of patients with a common cardiac condition. Their findings appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The team led by Joseph Wu, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and of…
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Bioengineered Microbe Developed for Low-Temperature Enzymes
Molecular biologists at University of Georgia in Athens have devised a process for engineering a microorganism to generate enzymes at lower temperatures than in its natural state. Their findings appear today in the online journal mBio published by American Society for Microbiology. The team, led by Georgia professor Michael Adams, engineered a type of microbe…
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Skin, Umbilical Cord Cells Converted to Nerve Cells
Researchers at University of Bonn, with colleagues from medical centers in Germany, have developed a process for converting human cells from skin and umbilical cords directly into usable quantities of nerve cells, bypassing previous intermediate steps. Their findings appear this week in the journal Nature Methods (paid subscription required). Converting one type of human cell…