Some immune cells turn themselves off by producing a steroid, researchers have found. The findings have implications for the study of cancers, autoimmune diseases and parasitic infections. "We were really surprised to see that these immune cells are producing a steroid. In cell culture, we see that the steroids play a part in regulating T cell proliferation," says the study's designer. "We had already...
A plant hormone once believed to promote flower formation in annual plants also plays a role in inhibiting flowers from forming. The dual role of this hormone, gibberellin, could be exploited to produce higher-yielding crop plants. ...
In this week's EuroBiotech Report, the AstraZeneca takeover saga continues to dominate the news agenda. With opinion polls showing that the British public thinks the government should intervene in acquisitions by foreign companies, the prime minister's welcoming tone toward Pfizer has hardened. And much more. ...
Merck picked up FDA approval for the clot-busting cardio drug vorapaxar, a treatment once billed as a potential warfarin successor before running into some alarming safety issues. ...
The genes of 894 men and women over the age of one hundred in Spain and Japan have revealed that the secret to longevity, at least in southern Europe, lies in a variant on chromosome 9p21.3, which had already been associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. Centenarians live at least fifteen years longer than the average person in the West. This exceptional longevity is partially genetic, and...
A 40-year-old theory on when and how cells divide has been overturned by a study that shows that 'parent' cells program a cell division time for their offspring that is different from their own. Scientists have shown that both phases of the cell cycle contribute to the overall change in division time rather than one staying fixed in duration as previously thought. They have developed these findings...
For the first time scientists have decrypted the interaction network of hepatitis C virus proteins in living human cells. Their findings will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind inflammatory liver disease caused by hepatitis C viruses and open up new avenues for therapy development. ...
The first method for generating specific and inheritable mutations in the species of the Platynereis model system has been revealed by researchers. The researchers found out that the induced mutations are heritable, demonstrating that TALENs can be used for generating mutant lines in this bristle worm. "This new tool opens the door for detailed in vivo functional analyses in Platynereis and can also...
Back in early 2009, when Pfizer pulled off its big merger with Wyeth, the pharma giant boasted that the combined company "will have more resources to invest in research and development than any other biopharmaceutical company." Combined, they easily outspent every other Big Pharma research operation around the world. And the company touted its new prospects with the Alzheimer's R&D...
After months of speculation and Wall Street tremulance, Chelsea Therapeutics finally got its buyout deal: Lundbeck has agreed to pick up the biotech for as much as $658 million, provided its banner drug can come through on the sales front. ...
Over the past two years IMS Health has counted 22 new cancer drugs on the market, a hefty portion of all new drug launches over that period. And by their calculations, the boom is just beginning. ...
Alder Biopharmaceuticals stumbled into Nasdaq today, accepting a discounted $10 price for its shares as signs mount that the bloom has come off biotech's rosy IPO boom of the past year. ...
Running at full tilt toward an accelerated approval for its hepatitis C combo, AbbVie today says that it has filed ABT-450/ritonavir, ombitasvir (ABT-267), and dasabuvir (ABT-333) with European regulators for genotype 1 patients. ...
Anxious to fight off Pfizer's $106 billion marriage proposal, AstraZeneca's research team has rushed its high-profile immuno-oncology drug into a late-stage test. And they're setting out by targeting non-small cell lung cancer in the first Phase III in the MEDI4736 program. ...
Single-cell genomics could provide new insight into the biology of Malaria parasites, including their virulence and levels of drug resistance, to ultimately improve treatment and control of the disease, according to new research. Malaria infections commonly contain complex mixtures of Plasmodium parasites which cause the disease. These mixtures, known as multiple genotype infections (MGI's), can alter...
Determining species diversity makes it possible to estimate the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems accurately. The environmental effects of salmon farming have been assessed, until now, by visually identifying the animals living in the marine sediment samples collected at specific distances from farming sites. A team of researchers analyzed this type of sediment using a technique known as...
Letermovir keeps the ubiquitous Cytomegalovirus in check for weakened immune systems of infected transplant patients. Researchers suggest that with this substance, cytomegalovirus, also known as human herpes-virus 5 can be effectively suppressed. The virus is harmless for healthy people but highly dangerous for the immune-suppressed. This evolutionarily ancient virus cannot be destroyed within the...
The power of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to detect genetic influences on human disease can be substantially increased using a statistical testing framework. Despite the proliferation of GWAS, the associations found so far have largely failed to account for the known effects of genes on complex disease -- the problem of "missing heritability." Standard approaches also struggle to find combinations...
DNA has been used by researchers to develop a tool that detects and reacts to chemical changes caused by cancer cells and that may one day be used to deliver drugs to tumor cells. The researchers' nanosensor measures pH variations at the nanoscale -- how acidic or alkaline it is. Many biomolecules, such as enzymes and proteins, are strongly regulated by small pH changes. These changes affect in turn...
Cells have to protect themselves: against damage in their genetic material for one thing, but also against attack from the outside, by viruses for example. They do this by using different mechanisms: special proteins search out and detect defects in the cell's own DNA, while the immune system takes action against intruders. Scientists have now shown that the two protective mechanisms are linked by...