Applied Genetics News articles from May 2000

Applied Genetics News archives from May 2000

BASIC RESEARCH: Controlling Transcription in Specific Tissues.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The simple DNA element TATA is bound by a component of the basic transcription machinery, TATA-binding protein (TBP), thought to be essential for transcription to be initiated. Now, Robert Tjian and graduate student Michael Holmes (University...

End-Joining Protein Protects Brains Cells.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Howard Hughes investigator Frederick Alt and colleagues at the Children's Hospital in Boston report that XRCC4, a member of a family of proteins called nonhomologous end-joining proteins, is a new type of genomic caretaker - a protein that...

Complement Necessary for Arthritis.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Scientists from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (25 Science Park, New Haven, CT 06511; Tel: 203/776-1790, Fax: 203/772-3655) and Yale University have demonstrated that animals deficient in the complement component C5 are not susceptible to the...

Complement's Role in Cardiovascular Disease.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Researchers from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (25 Science Park, New Haven, CT 06511; Tel: 203/776-1790, Fax: 203/772-3655) and Brigham and Women's Hospital have described a new pathway for complement-mediated inflammation in cardiovascular...

GENOMICS: A TB Strain that Can't Cause TB.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... William R. Jacobs and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have created a mutant tuberculosis bacteria strain that fails to establish chronic infections in mice. "A principal reason that tuberculosis continues to be a...

UV-Induced Apoptosis Genes Identified.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Howard Hughes investigator Roger J. Davis and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (Worcester) and Yale University report that disrupting a pair of genes, JNK-1 and JNK-2, in embryonic mouse cells allowed those cells to...

Circadian Rhythm Mutation Explained.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Researchers from Northwestern University have pinpointed the cause of a genetic mutation in the tau locus that switches a hamster's biological clock from the normal 24-hr. day to a 20-hr. day. The team was led by Howard Hughes investigator...

Susceptibility Gene for Schizophrenia.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Researchers led by Ann Bassett, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, believe they have localized a major susceptibility gene for schizophrenia on chromosome 1, according to a study published in the April 28 edition...

Suppressor Genes Are Patented.(by Myriad Genetics Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Myriad Genetics, Inc. (320 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108; Tel: 801/584- 3600, Fax: 801/584-3640; Website: www.myriad.com) has been awarded U.S. Patent 5,998,145 for a method of determining an individual's predisposition to hypertension...

GENE THERAPY: Children Released from Bubble.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The field of gene therapy got a needed boost; two children were successfully treated by French researchers (INSERM Unit 429, Hpital Necker-Enfants Malades, 149 rue de S_vres, 75743 Paris Cedex 15, France; Email: fischer@necker.fr) for severe...

Lipid Delivery of Genes.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Genteric, Inc. (2061 Challenger Dr., Alameda, CA 94501; Tel: 510/522-3533, Fax: 510/522-1272; Email: info@genteric.com, Website: www.Genteric.com) has been awarded U.S. Patent 6,043,390 covering a new class of cationic lipid compounds expected...

CLONING: Return to the Future.
May 1, 2000... Cells from six healthy cow clones show no signs of the premature aging reported for Dolly the cloned sheep, according to researchers from Advanced Cell Technologies, Inc. (One Innovation Dr., Worcester, MA 01650; Tel: 508/756-1212, Fax:...

ANTIBODIES: Zonulin Elevated in Celiac Disease.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Celiac disease is caused by an immune reaction to wheat gluten, and affects about one out of 300 Europeans. The body reacts to gluten by creating antibodies that attack the intestine and cause severe damage over time. Celiac disease is also...

Abgenix, Genzyme Get Together.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Two companies riding the crest of a new wave of antibody therapeutics have entered into a collaboration that will take advantage of their complementary technologies. Genzyme Transgenics Corp. (GTC, Five Mountain Rd., Framingham, MA 01701; Tel:...

CELL THERAPY: Cord Blood Cells for Leukemia Victims.
May 1, 2000... Hackensack University Medical Center and Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., P.O. Box 376, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; Tel: 313/930-5555, Fax: 313/665-0485) have published results from a feasibility study evaluating the safety and...

Regulating Stem-Cell Differentiation.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Researchers from ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/494-0400, Fax: 617/494-8144) and the University of Washington (U.W.) have shown that the growth and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells can be...

Liver Cells from Blood Stem Cells.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Scientists led by Eric Lagasse, from StemCells California, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CytoTherapeutics, Inc. (Two Richmond Sq., Providence, RI 02096; Tel: 401/272-3310, Fax: 401/272-3485) have managed to produce mature liver cells from...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Papilloma Linked to Head, Neck Cancer.
May 1, 2000... Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health have found the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) to be a likely cause of certain cancers of the head and neck, and also an indicator of...

Hepatitis B May Have Primate Origin.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Our primate cousins, already accused of starting the AIDS epidemic, may also be the source of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which now infects about 5% of the human population worldwide. The virus causes about 1 million deaths a year due to its...

Double-Stranded RNA as Drug Target.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Genelabs Technologies, Inc. (505 Penobscot Dr., Redwood City, CA 94063-4738; Tel: 650/369-9500, Fax: 650/368-0709; Website: www.genelabs.com) has synthesized a class of small molecules that have inhibitory activity against several RNA viruses....

Microparticulate Vaccines Patented.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Two U.S. patents have been issued covering technologies for vaccine delivery that will be used by Endorex Corp. (28101 N. Ballard Dr., Suite F, Lake Forest, IL 60045; Tel: 847/573-8990, Fax: 847/573-9285; Website: www.endorex.com). One of...

HIV Vaccine to Be Evaluated.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... BioQuest, Inc. (333 N. Sam Houston Pkwy., Ste. 1151, Houston, TX, 77060; Tel: 281/272-0000, Fax: 281/272-1149) has signed an agreement with Biovector Therapeutics S.A. (Rue Chene Vert, Labege 31670, France; Tel: 05 6100 71 60; Website:...

HORMONES AND CYTOKINES Immunosuppression in Lupus Model.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Administration of an immunosuppressive agent developed at ZymoGenetics, Inc. (12201 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, WA; Tel: 206/442-6600, Tel: 800/775-6685, Fax: 206/442-6608) inhibited disease symptoms and prolonged life in a mouse model of...

AG-BIO: Domestic Market Nixing GM Food.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... American farmers who expected domestic markets for their genetically modified (GM) crops found doors closing in their faces with the announcement that major U.S. food outlets and processors are rejecting GM crops. Frito Lay has rejected the...

Friendly Fungi Help Trees Grow.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Researchers at Michigan Tech are transferring altered genes into fungi that facilitate the flow of nutrients through tree roots. Genetically engineering fungi that live symbiotically with tree roots can ultimately help trees grow faster and...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Grants for Canada, Latin America.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) will award $16.25 million in new grants to support the research of biomedical scientists in Canada and five Latin American countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. The...

GM Awards for Cancer Research.
May 1, 2000... Five world-renowned scientists have been recognized by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (GMCRF) for their seminal contributions to cancer research. The awards, valued at $250,000 each, are among the most prestigious in the field...

Bioprospecting Agreement Upheld.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A federal court in Washington, DC has upheld the 1997 bioprospecting "benefit- sharing" agreement between Diversa Corp. (10665 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 858/453-7020, Fax: 858/453-7032) and Yellowstone National Park. The...

Duesberg and Rasnick on AIDS Advisory Board.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Peter Duesberg and David Rasnick, prominent U.S. scientists who deny that AIDS is caused by HIV, have been appointed to a 33-member South African presidential advisory board on the AIDS epidemic. The board, which is roughly divided between HIV...

CALENDAR.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... June 12-13, 2000, Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery and Development Conference, Princeton, NJ. Contact: Strategic Research Institute; Tel: 212/967-0095, ext. 251; Email: jliong@srinstitute.com. June 28-29, 2000, Future Trend in Therapeutic...