Tag: genomics
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New Class of Insect Repellant Developed, Patent Filed
Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee have developed a new type of insect repellant that they say is more effective than current products on the market. Their results appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). The new type of repellant, from the lab of biology and pharmacology…
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Diagnostics Companies Get European Grant for Bladder Cancer
Molecular diagnostics companies MDxHealth SA in Liege, Belgium and NovioGendix B.V. in Nijmegen, Netherlands have received a $1.1 million grant from Eurotrans-Bio to advance their bladder cancer program. NovioGendix is a spin-off company from Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (RUNMC). Eurotrans-Bio is a European Commission initiative to encourage cross-border research and development between small companies…
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Genes Associated with Glaucoma Identified
Researchers in Australia and the U.K. have identified two genes associated with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), the most common form of the disease that can lead to blindness. The team’s findings are published online this week in the journal, Nature Genetics. The researchers tested some 4,500 patients in Australia and New Zealand, including 590 individuals with…
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Dow Chemical, Biotech to Partner on Bio-Based Acrylic Acid
Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan and OPX Biotechnologies Inc. in Boulder, Colorado have agreed to develop an industrial scale process for the production of bio-based acrylic acid from renewable feedstocks. OPX Bio recently completed an 18-month pilot project showing that its technology based on genomic engineering could manufacture acrylic acid from renewable sources. The…
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Gene Added to Soybean Plants Adds Protein to Seeds
Research conducted at Iowa State University in Ames found an external gene introduced to soybeans can substantially increase the amount of protein in soybean seeds. The university has filed a patent and aims to commercialize the technology. Professor of genetics Eve Wurtele and adjunct professor Ling Li placed a gene found only in Arabidopsis plants…
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Elm Variety Discovered with Possible Disease Resistance
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists believe they have found a missing variety of American elm tree with genes that carry resistance to Dutch elm disease. Botanist Alan Whittemore and geneticist Richard Olsen, with the USDA’s National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., will publish their findings in the April edition of the American Journal of…
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Yale, Gilead Sciences to Collaborate on Cancer Therapies
Gilead Sciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Foster City, California and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut agreed on a multi-year research collaboration for the discovery of new cancer therapies. Gilead will have the first option to license Yale’s findings that result from the collaboration. The research effort will initially span four years…
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Old Type of Forage Grass Rediscovered for Dairy Farmers
A farmer’s report about an unusual forage grass for dairy cattle led a geneticist at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to rediscover a forgotten type of grass with advantages for today’s farms. The grass, known as meadow fescue (Schedonorus pratensis), has been found in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. Charles Opitz found the…
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Agencies Use Robotics to Test Chemicals for Toxicity
National Institutes of Health (NIH) today unveiled a new robotic screening system that will test 10,000 different chemicals for potential toxicity. The system is a result of a collaboration among several federal agencies known as Tox21. The system is located at NIH’s Chemical Genomics Center in Rockville, Maryland. Tox21 is a joint effort started in…
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Trial to Test Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and 10 other U.S. hospitals are testing a gene therapy called CERE-120 to evaluate if it can improve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. CERE-120 is an experimental gene transfer drug being developed by Ceregene Inc. in San Diego, California. The drug contains the human gene for neuturin, a…