Applied Genetics News articles from October 2001

Applied Genetics News archives from October 2001

BASIC SCIENCE: Anthrax Resistance Conferred by Mutations.
October 1, 2001... In an article published in the October 2001 issue of Current Biology, researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Whitehead Institute (9 Cambridge Ctr., Cambridge, MA 02142-1479; Tel: 617/258-5000) report that the molecular motor protein...

Cell Cycle Circuits Mapped.
October 1, 2001... Richard Young and his colleagues at the Whitehead Institute (9 Cambridge Ctr., Cambridge, MA 02142-1479; Tel: 617/258-5000) have mapped the complete circuit of the cell cycle. Their network diagram, published in the September 21 issue of Cell,...

Blood Vessels Trigger Pancreas.
October 1, 2001... Researchers led by Douglas A. Melton, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Harvard University, have discovered that blood vessels are responsible for the signals that trigger development of the pancreas. This type of biochemical...

How Do T-Cells Know to Attack?
October 1, 2001... How do "killer T cells" know when to attack virus-infected and cancerous cells? A possible answer is provided by Rockefeller University Robert Darnell and his colleagues in a study to be published in the November issue of Nature Immunology. ...

Shortest Telomeres Trigger Apotosis.
October 1, 2001... Using genetically engineered mice, scientists from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine led by Carol Greider have found that events associated with losing the function of telomeres, the repetitive ends of chromosomes, depend on the...

GENOMICS: Cables-a Tumor Suppressor Gene?
October 1, 2001... Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) (Boston, MA) have found that the loss of a recently discovered gene involved in cell growth may play an important role in the progression of some human cancers. Their results are published in...

CD44 Gene Linked to Atherosclerosis.
October 1, 2001... When a strain of mice prone to atherosclerosis-cardiovascular disease-were specially bred to lack a gene called CD44, scientists saw reductions of up to 70% in the type of damage to blood-vessel walls associated with heart attacks and stroke....

Hydrothermal Vent Dweller Sequenced.
October 1, 2001... Diversa Corp. (10665 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 858/453-7020, Fax: 858/453-7032) and Celera Genomics (761 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06859; Tel: 203/762-1000, Fax: 203/762- 6000) have completed the sequence of Pyrolobus fumarii,...

Single Gene Induces Blood Vessels.
October 1, 2001... Jeffrey Arbeit and colleagues at UC San Francisco have discovered that the continuous expression of a single gene, HIF-1a, can induce the formation of new blood vessels in mice. The HIF-1a protein comprises one subunit of the hypoxia-inducible...

GENE THERAPY: Artificial Chromosome Patent Issued.
October 1, 2001... MediGene (Lochhamer Str. 11, Munchen (Munich) 821, Germany; Tel: 089 89500033) has been issued U.S. Patent 6,277,621 covering the use of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) for generating recombinant viruses for research and therapeutic...

Tumors Synthesize Anti-Tumor Molecule.
October 1, 2001... Yale University researchers Alan Garen and Zhiwei Hu have found a way to make tumors poison their own vasculature. Their technique is reported in the October 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Garen and Hu...

CELL THERAPY: Catheter to Deliver Cells to the Brain.
October 1, 2001... Image-Guided Neurologics (IGN; 2290 W. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne, Florida 23935; Tel: 321/757-8990, Fax: 321/757-8619; Website: www.igneurologics.com) will design and build a proprietary catheter to deliver cells to the brain for BresaGen...

Dendritic Cell Kit Approved.
October 1, 2001... Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., P.O. Box 376, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; Tel: 313/930-5555, Fax: 313/665-0485) has obtained approval to affix the CE Mark to the DC-I Cell Therapy Kit for the ex vivo production of human dendritic...

Embryonic Stem Cells Lack Feeder Support.
October 1, 2001... In the October issue of Nature Biotechnology, Geron Corp. (230 Constitution Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025; Tel: 650/473-7700, Fax: 650/473-7701; Website: www.geron.com) has published results that describe the culture of human embryonic stem (hES)...

Immature Articular Cartilage Created.
October 1, 2001... University of California, San Diego (UCSD) bioengineers have fabricated cartilage tissue that mimics the multilayered structure and cellular functions of natural articular cartilage. The tissue is made entirely from biological materials using a...

ANTIBODIES: Tissue Collection to Be Exploited.
October 1, 2001... MorphoSys AG (Lena-Christ-Strasse, D-82152 Martinsied, Munich, Germany; Tel: + 49 (0)89 99927 0, Fax: +49 (0)89 89927 222) has entered into an agreement with Oridis Biomed Forschungs-und Entwicklungs GmbH (Graz, Austria) that will provide...

Patent Issued for Properdin Antibodies.
October 1, 2001... Gliatech, Inc. (23420 Commerce Park Rd., Cleveland, OH 44122; Tel: 216/831-3200, Fax: 216/831-4220) has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for patent claims covering the use of anti-properdin agents as...

Anti-IL15 Effective at Arresting Inflammation.
October 1, 2001... Genmab A/S (Bredgade 23A, 3rd Floor, DK-1260, Copenhagen K, Denmark; Tel: +45 7020 2728, Fax: +45 7020 2729; Website: www.genmab.com) scientists have shown that HuMax-IL15, a human monoclonal antibody targeting the cytokine IL-15, demonstrated...

BIOMANUFACTURING Speeding Up Bacterial Evolution.
October 1, 2001... Genencor International, Inc. (4 Cambridge Place, 1870 Winton Rd., Rochester, NY 14618; Tel: 716/256-5200, Fax: 716/244-9988; Website: www.genencor.com) has developed a technology that facilitates the production of microorganisms for use in the...

VACCINES: Adenovirus Vaccines Under Development.
October 1, 2001... Barr Laboratories, Inc. (2 Quaker Rd., Pomona, NY 10970-0519; Tel: 845/362-1100, Fax: 845/362-2774; Website: www.barrlabs.com) has been awarded a $35.4 million, 6-yr. contract for development of Adenovirus Vaccines Type 4 and 7 from the United...

Grant for Malaria Vaccine Awarded.
October 1, 2001... Maxygen, Inc. (515 Galveston Dr., Redwood City, CA; Tel: 650/298- 5300, Fax: 650/364-2715; Website: www.maxygen.com) has received a $3.7 million, 3-yr. grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the research and...

Developing a Mucosal Rabies Vaccine.
October 1, 2001... LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (920 Technology Blvd., Suite C, Bozeman, MO 59718; Tel: 406/585-2733, Fax: 406/585-2766; Website: www.ligocyte.com) has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National...

HORMONES AND CYTOKINES: Trophoblasts Produce Hypothalamic Hormone.
October 1, 2001... The "master" hormone that commands the body's response to stress is also directly involved in the process that prevents a mother's immune system from destroying an embryo that has implanted in her uterus, according to study performed by George...

AG-BIO: Eelworms Get Wake-Up Call.
October 1, 2001... Researchers sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Tel: 31-70-344-0784) have produced a substance in the laboratory that wakens potato cyst nematodes (eelworms) from hibernation. These creatures cause serious damage...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Marketing C225 Around the World.
October 1, 2001... Imclone Systems (180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014; Tel: 212/645- 1405, Fax: 212/645-2054; Website: www.imclone.com) has reached agreements with two big pharmaceutical companies, Bristol Myers Squibb (345 Park Ave., New York, NY 10154 ; Tel:...

Eli Lilly Forms VC Unit.
October 1, 2001... Eli Lilly and Co. (Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN 46285; Tel: 317/276-2000, Fax: 317/277-3354; Website: www.lilly.com) has announced the formation of Lilly BioVentures, a venture capital group providing financing and support to newly...

CALENDAR.
October 1, 2001... October 28-November 1, 2001. Ninth International Conference on Microbial Genomes, Gatlinburg, TN. Contact: Oak Ridge National Laboratories; Email: smithky@ornl.gov or zhouj@ornl.gov, Website: www.esd.ornl.gov/microbial_genomes November...