Applied Genetics News articles from August 2000

Applied Genetics News archives from August 2000

BASIC SCIENCE: Gatekeeper Controls Protein Insertion.
August 1, 2000... A protein called YidC found within the membranes of bacteria controls the insertion of other proteins into the membrane. When YidC isn't present, the bacteria die. Proteins similar to YidC may play similar roles in mitochondria and chloroplasts...

"One Hit" Model of Neuron Death.
August 1, 2000... Researchers at the University of Toronto have proposed a model of neurodegenerative disease that they say explains data for 15 different diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and retinitis pigmentosa. According to the...

Mutant Proteins in Huntington's Disease.
August 1, 2000... Xiao-Jiang Li and his colleagues at Emory University School of Medicine have identified one of the biochemical changes associated with Huntington's disease. They has discovered that fragments of mutant proteins implicated in the development of...

Calcium Modulator Fends Off Alzheimer's.
August 1, 2000... A key protein involved in the regulation of calcium in brain cells may influence the development of therapies and preventive methods for early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease. Malcolm A. Leissring and Frank M. LaFerla, in collaboration with...

GENOMICS: APOE-4 Prevents Kidney Damage.
August 1, 2000... The use of bypass surgery over the past 30 years has saved millions of patients with clogged coronary arteries. However, physicians have noticed a disturbing, and so far unsolved, trend-- up to 8% of these heart patients will suffer impairment...

Checkpoint Gene Discovered.
August 1, 2000... Precisely controlled mitosis is vital to cell survival, and checkpoint mechanisms are in place to ensure that each step in the process is properly executed before the cell moves on to the next step. Many human cancers likely stem from defective...

GENE THERAPY: E1A Gene/Chemotherapy Combination Patented.
August 1, 2000... U.S. Patent No. 6,100,243, covering the use of E1A, a tumor inhibitor gene, in combination with chemotherapeutic agents and/or radiation therapy has been issued to the Burnham Institute (La Jolla, CA), and is licensed exclusively to Targeted...

Canavan Trial Called Promising.
August 1, 2000... The results of a gene therapy trial on two children with Canavan disease, a rare, fatal, inherited metabolic brain disorder, show the transfer of a therapeutic gene can be successfully and safely introduced into the brain of young patients,...

Naked DNA for Autoimmune Diseases.
August 1, 2000... Naked DNA vaccination holds the potential of overcoming autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Under development by Nathan Karin of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel), the vaccine has...

CLONING: Happy Birthday to Second Chance.
August 1, 2000... A birthday party was held August 12 in Swiss Alp, Texas in honor of a Brahmin bull named Second Chance, who is a year old. The party was sponsored by Genetic Savings and Clone, Inc. (3312 Longmire Dr., College Station, TX 77845-5812; Tel:...

ANTISENSE: Baylor, CytoGenix to Collaborate.
August 1, 2000... Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine have initiated studies that will examine the effectiveness of a new technology under a sponsored research agreement with CytoGenix, Inc. (9881 South Wilcrest, Houston TX 77099; Tel: 281/988-6118, Fax:...

Fas Antisense Benefits Hepatitis Patients.
August 1, 2000... Scientists at Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2292 Faraday Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008; Tel: 760/931-9200, Fax: 760/931-9639) published results from a study that explored the role of the Fas gene in a mouse model of two cellar pathways of hepatitis...

Inhibition of PTP-1B Reduces Glucose Levels.
August 1, 2000... Scientists from Isis Pharmaceuticals have recently (2292 Faraday Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008; Tel: 760/931-9200, Fax: 760/931-9639) presented data demonstrating that an antisense inhibitor of the PTP-1B gene produced statistically significant...

BIOMANUFACTURING Plant Proteases Win Patent.
August 1, 2000... ProdiGene (101 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100, College Station, TX 77845; Tel: 409/690-8537, Website: prodigene.com) has been issued U.S. Patent 6,087,558 for the commercial production of proteases in plants. Industrial sales of proteases are...

ANTIBODIES: Anti-GnRH Patent Granted.
August 1, 2000... Aphton Corp.'s (444 Brickell Ave, Miami, FL; Tel: 305/374-7338, Fax: 305/374-7615, Web: aphton.com) granted European Patent 0741744 for "Immunogens Against Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH)" has completed the opposition period in the...

Antibody/Receptor Structure Solved.
August 1, 2000... Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (Am Klopferspitz 18 a, D-82142 Martinsreid, Germany; Tel: +49 89 85 78-2701, Fax: 49 89 78-3516) have crystallized the complex between the Fc fragment of IgG antibodies and their FC...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Individualized Cancer Vaccine Marketed.
August 1, 2000... M-Vax, from AVAX Technologies, Inc. (4520 Main St., Suite 930, Kansas City, MO; Tel: 816/960-1333, Fax: 616/960-1334, Website: avax-tech.com), is now commercially available in Australia, for administration to individuals with stage III melanoma...

HIV Resistance Emerges in Africa.
August 1, 2000... Two studies using Virco's (Intercity Business Park, Generaal De Wittelaan, 2800 Mechelen, Belgian, Website: vircolab.com) HIV drug resistance monitoring systems as part of the UNAIDS Drug Access Initiative have revealed the development of high...

Eat Your Vaccine, Dear.
August 1, 2000... An edible vaccine is being tested at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), in the form of cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes carried the gene for the major protein on the outside envelope of the respiratory syncytial (RSV) virus under...

Rotavirus Vaccines Trigger Diabetes.
August 1, 2000... Infection with rotavirus, the commonest cause of gastro-enteritis in children, may lead to childhood diabetes. Australian researchers led by Margo Honeyman of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (Melbourne, Australia)...

CELL THERAPY: Dendritic Cells to Be Mass-Produced.
August 1, 2000... Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., PO Box 376, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; Tel: 313/930-5555, Fax: 313/665-0485) has received a small business innovation and research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute, providing...

Islet Transplantation to Be Supported.
August 1, 2000... President Clinton has announced the 10 centers chosen to participate in the immune tolerance network (ITN) multicenter study of the Edmonton Protocol for islet transplantation. The trial is slated to begin this fall and the planned centers will...

AG-BIO: Arabidopsis GeneChip Probe Array Launched.
August 1, 2000... Affymetrix, Inc., (3380 Central Expwy., Santa Clara, CA 95051; Tel: 408/731-5000, Fax: 408/481-0422, Web: affymetrix.com) has launched its first GeneChip expression analysis product for agricultural research, the arabidopsis genome array....

Which Came First, Stem Cell or the Egg?
August 1, 2000... Origen Therapeutics, Inc. (651 Gateway Blvd., No. 980, S. San Francisco, CA 94080-7025; Tel: 650/827-0200) has received a phase I SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant is designed to support research and development aimed...

Dow AgroSciences Gets Brazilian Unit.
August 1, 2000... Dow AgroSciences (9330 Zionsville Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46268; Tel: 317/337-3000 or 800/258-3033, Website: dowagro.com) has bolstered its Latin American seed presence with the acquisition of Empresa Brasileira de Sementes (EBS) located in Sao...

INDUSTRY NEWS AVAX Buys Genopoietic.
August 1, 2000... AVAX Technologies, Inc. (4520 Main St., Suite 930, Kansas City, MO 6411; Tel: 816/960-1333, Fax: 616/960-1334, Website: avax- tech.com) has signed an agreement to acquire Genopoietic S.A. and its corporate affiliates. Genopoietic is a privately...

Invitrogen Licenses Polymerases.
August 1, 2000... Diversa Corp. (10665 Sorrento Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 858/453-7020, Fax: 858/453-7032) and Invitrogen Corp. (1600 Faraday Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008; Tel: 760/603-7200, Fax: 760/603- 7201) have signed a licensing agreement granting...

Targeted Genetics Makes Some Moves.
August 1, 2000... Targeted Genetics Corp. (1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/623-7612, Fax: 206/223-0288) has entered into a definitive agreement to establish a major multi-product development and commercialization collaboration with Biogen,...

Tissue Sealant Collaboration.
August 1, 2000... FibroGen, Inc. (225 Gateway Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 650/866-7200, Fax: 650/866-7201, Website: fibrogen.com) and ZymoGenetics, Inc. (12201 Eastlake Ave. East, Seattle, WA; Tel: 206/442-6600 or 800/775-6685, Fax: 206/442-6608)...

PUBLICATIONS The Good Old Days.
August 1, 2000... It is not hard to imagine a day when the entire body of knowledge hard won by geneticists will be contained in a stack of CD ROMs labeled Man, Mouse, Drosophila, Worm, etc. In each, you will find all the genes for that species, their sequence,...

CALENDAR.
August 1, 2000... September 14, Gene Medicine: Breaking Down Cancer, Washington D.C. Sponsored by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Contact: Logic Media Group; Tel: 615/301-8313, Email: Silas@logicmediagroup.com. October 16-17, Win-Win Agreements...