Applied Genetics News articles from December 2000

Applied Genetics News archives from December 2000

BASIC SCIENCE: Ribavirin Mutates RNA Viruses.
December 1, 2000... The antiviral drug ribavirin works by creating such extreme mutation rates in viruses that it drives them into "genetic meltdown," according to a report in the December 2000 issue of Nature Medicine. The paper was submitted by Shane Crotty, a...

Plasminogen Binds Prions.
December 1, 2000... Research published in the November 22 issue of the scientific journal Nature (M. B. Fischer et al) describes a naturally occurring blood protein that selectively and efficiently binds to infectious prions, but not to the normal form. It is...

RNA Editing Needed for Embryogenesis.
December 1, 2000... Scientists at The Wistar Institute (3601 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-4265; Tel: 215/898-3700) report in the December 1 issue of Science that RNA editing is essential to mammalian embryo development. RNA editing is a normal but not yet...

GENOMICS: Toxin-Loving Bacteria Sequenced.
December 1, 2000... Understanding the genetic makeup of microbes that thrive in polluted environments may make it possible to engineer bacteria that can clean contaminants from soil. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has just...

Sitosterolemia Genes Discovered.
December 1, 2000... Tularik, Inc. (Two Corporate Dr., South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 650/825-7000, Fax: 650/825-7303; Website: www.tularik.com) researchers, working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,...

Regions Mapped for Artery Disease.
December 1, 2000... Scientists from DeCode Genetics (Lynghals 1, IS-110 Reykjavik, Iceland; Tel: 354/570-1900, Fax: 354/570-1901; Website: www.decode.com) have successfully located a chromosomal region carrying a putative gene whose molecular variants contribute...

ATM Linked to Ataxia-Telangiectasia.
December 1, 2000... Michael B. Kastan, chairman of the department of hematology oncology at St. Jude Research Hospital (332 N. Lauderdale, Memphis TN 38105-2729; Tel: 901/495-3300) and Da-Qing Yang, a postdoctoral fellow, discovered a potentially important new...

Genetic Cause of Type-1 Diabetes.
December 1, 2000... Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine (660 Euclid Ave., #8057, St. Louis, MO; Tel: 314/362-3567) have identified a gene that causes an inherited form of Type-1, or insulin-dependent diabetes and autoimmunity. This finding...

Screening for Disease Genes.
December 1, 2000... U.S. Patent 6,153,380, entitled, "Methods For Screening For Transdominant Intracellular Effector Peptides and RNA Molecules," has been issued to Garry P. Nolan, a Rigel Pharmaceuticals (240 Grand Ave., South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel:...

GENE THERAPY: Gene Therapy Halts Cardiac Arrhythmia.
December 1, 2000... Scientists at Johns Hopkins University (5601 Loch Raven Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21239-2905, Tel: 410/532-4646) have developed a gene therapy that, within a week, quells abnormal rhythms in pig hearts. It's believed to be the first use of gene...

BIOMANUFACTURING Chickens to Lay Golden Eggs.
December 1, 2000... The humble chicken has been chosen as the means to biologically synthesize lifesaving drugs and thereby produce untold wealth for the pharmaceutical farmer. The Roslin Institute (Roslin, Scotland) and Viragen, Inc. (865 S.W. 78th Ave., Suite...

CELL THERAPY: Growth Switch Produces Differentiation.
December 1, 2000... Ariad Pharmaceuticals' (26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/494-0400, Fax: 617/494-8144) Argent cell growth switch, which is activated by a small molecule, AP20187, has been used to produce therapeutically relevant quantities of...

ANTIBODIES: Alliance Creates 250 Antibodies.
December 1, 2000... Abgenix, Inc. (7601 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/608-6500, Fax: 510/608-6511) and CuraGen Corp. (555 Long Wharf Dr., 11th Fl., New Haven, CT 06511; Tel: 203/401-3330, Fax: 203/401-3331; Website: www.curagen.com) have expanded...

Screening Improves Antibody Generation.
December 1, 2000... MorphoSys (Lena-Christ-Strasse 48, D-82152 Martinsreid/Munich, Germany; Tel: +49 (0)89 89927 0, Fax: +49 (0)89 899927 222; Website: www.morphosys.com) has developed a new screening method, cysteine mediated phage display (CysDisplay), to enable...

Ribonuclease Kills Lymphoma Cells.
December 1, 2000... A frog egg ribonuclease may become a tool in the war against cancer. Onconase, a cytotoxic ribonuclease isolated from Rana pipiens oocytes, has been linked to the anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody, RFB4, which recognizes this human...

Therapy for Rare Stomach Illness.
December 1, 2000... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (Nashville, TN) scientists led by Robert Coffey, Ingram professor of cancer research, have identified the first drug therapy that appears to be effective in reversing the symptoms of a rare, premalignant stomach...

HORMONES AND CYTOKINES Neurotrophin Active Against Obesity.
December 1, 2000... According to researchers from Regeneron, Inc. (777 Old Saw Mill River Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591; Tel: 914/347-7000, Fax: 914/347- 2113), a drug developed originally to combat neurodegenerative diseases, Axokine, has shown activity against...

VEGF-138 Stimulates Endothelial Cells.
December 1, 2000... VEGF-138, a recent addition to the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, is biologically active in the stimulation of the growth of endothelial cells, according to research performed by Gera Neufeld at the Technion-Israel Institute...

ENZYMES: Hurler Syndrome Enzyme Patented.
December 1, 2000... U.S. Patent 6,149,909, entitled "Synthetic Alpha-L-Iduronidase and Genetic Sequences Encoding Same," based on work performed by John Hopwood and colleagues, has recently been issued. The patent claims are related to the purified...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Targeting Mucosal Induction Sites.
December 1, 2000... LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (920 Technology Blvd., Suite C, Bozeman, MT 59718; Tel: 406/585-2733, Fax: 406/585-2766; Website: www.ligocyte.com) will develop "M Cell" vaccine technology from Montana State University (MSU) that targets...

AG-BIO: Golden Mustard Oil to Provide Vitamin A.
December 1, 2000... Working in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) and Monsanto Co. (800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167; Tel: 314/694-1000, Fax: 314/694-7625; Website: www.monsanto.com), the not-for-profit Tata Energy Research Institute...

Corn Growers Don't Want StarLink.
December 1, 2000... Surprisingly to some, Keith Dittrich, president of the American Corn Growers Association (ACGA; Website: www.acga.org) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the temporary approval of StarLink corn for human consumption...

PUBLICATIONS: Battle over Bone, Joint Therapies.
December 1, 2000... The balance of power is shifting in the orthopedic markets between implant companies and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, according to a new study, Bones and Joints: Drugs, Devices and Regenerative Technologies, from Business...

INDUSTRY NEWS DNA Testing for the Dead.
December 1, 2000... Genetics is not just for the living anymore. LifeLink Genetics has figured out how to make money by storing the DNA of the dead. Based in Iowa, LifeLink Genetics is a newly developed company created to market GeneLink's (Atlantic City, NJ,...

Abgenix Acquires IntraImmune Therapies.
December 1, 2000... Abgenix, Inc. (7601 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/608-6500, Fax: 510/608-6511) has acquired IntraImmune Therapies, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for $9 million, cash. IntraImmune...

Diversa to Sample South Africa.
December 1, 2000... Diversa Corp. (10665 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 858/453-7020, Fax: 858/453-7032) has signed a biodiversity access agreement giving the company rights to obtain environmental samples from South Africa, a region known for the...

CALENDAR.
December 1, 2000... January 29-30, 2001, Cytokines as Drug Targets and Therapeutics, London, U.K.. Contact: SMi, Ltd.; Tel: (020) 7827 6000, Fax: (020) 7827 6001. February 3-7, 2001, Cell Death and Aging, Miami Beach, FL. Contact: University of Miami School...