Applied Genetics News articles from February 2001

Applied Genetics News archives from February 2001

BASIC SCIENCE: Tumors Grow Lymphatic Vessels.
February 1, 2001... Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified a surprising mechanism by which breast cancer cells metastasize to the lymph nodes and lungs. The report from the MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC) appears in the...

Clinical Review of c-K-ras Mutations.
February 1, 2001... Hana Strul and Nadi Arber of the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv, Israel) have published a review of the clinical manifestations of c-K-ras mutations in Medscape Gastroenterology [3(1), 2000; Website:...

Lupus-like Disease Created in Mice.
February 1, 2001... Researchers from University of California, San Diego, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Jamey D. Marth, have produced a disorder in mice that resembles the human disease systemic lupus erythematosus by knocking out a gene that...

GENOMICS: E-coli Sequence Holds Surprises.
February 1, 2001... The genome of E-coli O157:H7, the pathogenic bacteria that often infects ground beef with potentially fatal results, has been sequenced by Nicole Perna and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In particular, they sequenced...

Prostate Cancer Gene Identified.
February 1, 2001... Researchers at Myriad Genetics, Inc. (320 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108; Tel: 801/584-3600, Fax: 801/584-3640; Website: myriad.com) and their collaborators at the University of Utah and elsewhere (43 scientists in all) have identified...

Gene for Premature Ovarian Failure.
February 1, 2001... How are the eyes and ovaries connected? A genetic mutation that produces eyelid defects in newborns also triggers early onset of menopause decades later. The newly identified gene, called FOXL2, is required for normal eyelid development in...

Morning People May Be Mutants.
February 1, 2001... Are you aggravated by people who are just too cheerful early in the morning? Forgive them, for they may be suffering from a genetic disease called familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS). According to a research team from the University...

GENE THERAPY: P53 Induces Cancer Destruction.
February 1, 2001... Collaborators of Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (301 Congress Ave., Suite 1850, Austin, TX 78701; Tel: 512/320-5010, Fax: 512/320- 4166) have published a preclinical study in the January 2001 issue of Clinical Cancer Research demonstrating that...

CELL THERAPY: Frozen Cells Repair Rat Nerves.
February 1, 2001... Scientists from the Yale University of Medicine, led by Jeffery Kocsis, have successfully used frozen human cells taken from nerve tissue to restore nerve conduction in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Their study appears in the...

Stimulating Stem Cell Regeneration.
February 1, 2001... NeoTherapeutics, Inc. (157 Technology Dr., Irvine, CA 92618, Tel: 949/788-6700, Fax: 949/788-6706) has revealed that its lead compound, Neotrofin, stimulated the proliferation of brain stem cells in adult mice. Neotrofin is a purine analogue...

Fat Supplies Stem Cells.
February 1, 2001... Artecel Sciences (4819 Emperor Blvd., 4th Fl., Durham, NC 27703) has found a use for fat, other than for making soap. At the Pluripotent Stem Cells Conference (Durango, CO), the company presented in vitro proof-of-principle studies...

U.K. Legalizes Human Cloning.
February 1, 2001... As of January 23, 2001, the United Kingdom has legalized the creation of cloned human embryos, the first country to do so (although human cloning is not expressly forbidden in the U.S.). The regulations will allow scientists to create embryos...

ANTIBODIES: Anti-CD22 for B-cell Treatments.
February 1, 2001... Immunomedics, Inc. (300 American Rd., Morris Plains, NJ 07950; Tel: 973/605-8200, Fax: 973/605-8282; Website: www.immunomedics.com) has been issued U.S. Patent 6,183,744, covering methods for the therapy of B-cell lymphomas with anti- CD22...

Monoclonals for Neurological Disease.
February 1, 2001... Elan Corp., plc (Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Ireland; Tel: 212/755-3218, Fax: 212/755-1043) and Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT, The Science Park, Melbourne, England, Cambridgeshire SG8 6JJ, U.K.; Tel: 1763-363-223, Tel:...

HORMONES AND CYTOKINES Start-Up Company to Develop IL-16.
February 1, 2001... Boston venture development company RCT BioVentures NE (Tel: 978/371-7100) and Boston University (BU) have formed Sedecim Therapeutics to develop Interleukin-16 (IL-16) as a therapy for a variety of pathological immune responses.. In addition to...

Interleukin 20 and Receptor Identified.
February 1, 2001... Researchers at ZymoGenetics, Inc. (12201 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, WA; Tel: 206/442-6600, Tel: 800/775-6685, Fax: 206/442- 6608), led by Yasmin Chandraskher and Hal Blumberg, have identified the gene in a new member of the interleukin family...

VACCINES: HIV Vaccine Trial in Kenya.
February 1, 2001... The first AIDS vaccine candidate designed specifically for Africa will enter clinical trials in Nairobi following an endorsement from the Government of Kenya. The trial was approved by Kenya's National Council on Science and Technology last...

Epitope Vaccine for Hepatitis-B.
February 1, 2001... Scientists at Epimmune, Inc. (5820 Nancy Ridge Dr., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 858/860-2500, Fax: 858/860-2600) and at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, report in the January 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology that a new epitope-based...

AG BIOTECH: Rice Genome Sequence Completed.
February 1, 2001... Myriad Genetics, Inc. (320 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108; Tel: 801/584-3600, Fax: 801/584-3640; Website: www.myriad.com) has completed DNA sequencing of the entire rice genome in collaboration with the Torrey Mesa Research Institute...

Detecting Genetically Modified Crops.
February 1, 2001... GeneScan Europe AG (Engesserstrasse 4B, 79108 Freiburg, Germany; Tel: 0761-5038-0, Fax: 0761-5038-111; Website: www.genescan- europe.com) and Clinical Micro Sensors, a Motorola division, have initiated a technical collaboration to develop and...

Artificial Chromosomes to Deliver Plant Genes.
February 1, 2001... Chromos Molecular Systems, Inc. (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) has initiated research into the development of plant artificial chromosomes through a new, wholly owned subsidiary, Agrisoma Biosciences, Inc. Agrisoma will receive R&D funding...

Enzyme for Auxin Production Discovered.
February 1, 2001... Researchers led by Joane Chory of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (San Diego, CA) have identified a flavin monooxygenase-like (FMO) enzyme involved in the production of auxin, a plant growth hormone that influences many aspects of...

INDUSTRY NEWS News Bits From Davos.
February 1, 2001... The World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, included many executives from the life science industries. Life science generated its share of news: *Hendrik Verfaillie, CEO of Monsanto (800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167;...

Hughes Institute to Build Science Center.
February 1, 2001... The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd., Chevy Chase, MD; Tel: 301/215-8856) has unveiled a 10-year, $500 million plan for a biomedical science center that will develop advanced technology for biomedical researchers and...

Pennsylvania as Venture Capitalist.
February 1, 2001... Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge is taking his TV role as pitchman to high-tech industries seriously. He has proposed a dramatic $90 million plan to capitalize on the life-science research now underway at Pennsylvania's leading universities and...

Money Is All Over the Place.
February 1, 2001... The science of genomics is rapidly changing two business sectors - venture capital and pharmaceuticals - leaders in those industries said at a January 27 conference at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. The conference was...

VCs Expect More Biotech Investment.
February 1, 2001... Silicon Valley venture capital firms (VCs) expect increased investment in biotechnology, a cooling of the Internet/mobile commerce sector, a more hands-on approach with investment companies, and a trend away from IPOs toward more sales and...

CALENDAR.
February 1, 2001... March 5-7, 2001, Human Genome Discovery: Commercial Implications, San Francisco, CA. Contact: Cambridge Healthtech Institute; Tel: 617/630-1300, Fax: 617/630-1325; Website: www.healthtech.com. March 8-9, 2001, Angiogenesis. Contact:...