Howard Hughes Medical Institute

HHMI taps 56 scientists for $600M research effort

John Carroll — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:11:04 -0400

With an eye to sponsoring groundbreaking research, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is funding a $600 million effort to back advanced medical research by 56 of the country's most notable scientists. At a time that the federal government has reined in research spending, the institute is pushing ahead with plans to back risky research projects that have the potential to offer major advances. The scientists' work, which was selected from more than a thousand applications, will be endowed over several years, allowing the scientists the freedom to concentrate on their work.

"We identify the best people and then free them up to do what they want to do and to be flexible and change directions and follow their noses into new fields," Hughes Institute President Thomas R. Cech told the Washington Post.

The projects that are being backed include research into the impact of global warming on infectious diseases as well as the application of engineering principles in other fields to the human immune system. The 56 selected scientists will continue to work at various universities and research institutes around the country, but will be employed by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

- check out the press release
- read the article in the Washington Post

ALSO NOTED: New stem cell research center opens;Clinical trials exclude key demographics; Clinton promises $300M for breast can

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research

The Jefferson Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Center has been founded in Philadelphia. The new research center will probe stem cell therapies for neurological diseases, cardiovascular ailments, cancers and more. Report

Scientists have discovered a new technique for turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue in what could prove a significant breakthrough in the quest to find new treatments for diabetes. Release

A team of scientists in Singapore has developed a method to develop antibodies and use them to "clean" embryonic stem cells, reducing the risk of tumors. Report

Researchers have created stem cells from skin tissue taken from people with seven different diseases. The Harvard team says the process will shed light on the process that pushes undefined cells to become diseases. Story

In just one year, collaborative discoveries by stem cell researchers from the University of California, San Diego, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Mayo Clinic and a San Diego pharmaceutical company, TargeGen, moved from identification of the most promising drug candidate to clinical trials for a new drug to fight a rare class of blood diseases called myeloproliferative disorders. Release

Genetics

The field of synthetic biology--"building living entities from lifeless chemicals"--promises to revolutionize genetic approaches to medicine. Article

New research into the genetic code that dictates height could offer new insights into therapies for cancer and arthritis. Report

New genetic markers for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have been revealed in a new study involving families of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Article

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have found that rare mutations in three genes contribute to blood pressure variation in the general population. Release

Maryland lawmakers passed a bill preventing insurers from using genetic data in setting insurance rates for customers. Report

Cancer Research

A mutation of chromosome 15 appears to increase the risk of lung cancer by 80 percent among smokers with two copies of the variation and 30 percent among smokers with one copy of the variant. Story

Hillary Clinton is promising to increase funding for breast cancer research by $300 million. And finding a cure will be a "top priority," she adds, after her election. Story

The slow advance of Merkel cell carcinoma research underscores the paucity of funds for researchers in the field. Report

More research

With fewer than one percent of the U.S. population participating in some 80,000 clinical trials each year, a new study says that drug research leaves out a large number of key demographic groups. Article

ALSO NOTED: Gates Foundation backs orphan drug program; Yamanaka forecasts looming stem cell cures; RNA blocks cancer; Autism l

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Spotlight

The Gates Foundation has put up $19 million to fund a hunt for a new drug to treat sleeping sickness, a malady that affects huge numbers of the world's poorest people but rarely attracts the attention of drug developers looking for the next big thing in therapeutics. Article

Stem Cell Research

Kyoto University's Shinya Yamanaka has taken a look into the future of stem cell research, and predicts that new cures and healing therapies can be available within 10 years. "This is because technology is very simple," he said. "All you need is a basic technology, cell biology" and "you don't need special technology or equipments." Report

California's stem cell institute says its $3 billion initiative has helped lure 24 of the world's top stem cell scientists to the state. Report

Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine researchers were able to create embryonic stem cells by removing individual cells from an embryo without harming the embryo. Report

Researchers at the Biomedical Research Institute at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston were able to change the surface of stem cells in a way that guided them to a predetermined spot in the body--a procedure that is likely to have a major impact on new programs aimed at tissue regeneration. Report

A group of UC Irvine scientists recently published a study on a more efficient way to differentiate stem cells in the international journal Stem Cells. Release

Stanford University has snared a $20 million donation for its stem cell research work. Report

Cancer Research

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified small pieces of RNA that suppress the spread of breast cancer to the lungs and bone. The new research shows that the most invasive and aggressive human breast cancer tumors are missing three critical microRNA molecules. When the researchers put those molecules back into human breast cancer tumors in mice, the tumors lost their ability to spread. Release

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have determined that cancer stem cells for multiple myeloma build resistance to chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. Report

A team of researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory say that they have identified a biological switch that triggers metastasis. Report

Fruit flies are likely to play a bigger role in cancer research following new insights into disease pathways. Release

Genetics

Autism has been linked to two genetic defects; one that causes the disease in a tiny fraction of cases and another implicated in increasing a person's chances of having the disease. Article

An assay to determine apolipoprotein E genotypes has been developed by Chinese researchers that can help diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease. Release

A Chinese university reports that a pig genetically engineered to glow fluorescent green passed that trait to its young, demonstrating that pigs could be bred to produce organs for human use. Report

Researchers report that "variants in a specific gene, RGS4, predict the effectiveness of different antipsychotic treatments." Release

Scientists have identified six new genetic variants linked to heart disease risk. Release

Tools

Nycomed and Trenzyme have signed multi-year cooperation agreement for services in the areas of molecular biology, protein expression, and protein purification. Report

Scientists at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have developed the world's first gene detection platform made up entirely from self-assembled DNA nanostructures. The results, appearing in the January 11 issue of the journal Science, could have broad implications for gene chip technology and may also revolutionize the way in which gene expression is analyzed in a single cell. Release

Thermo Fisher Scientific has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award for its high content screening offering. Release

And Finally... The FDA approvals of 2007. Report

Synthetic compound works as targeted cancer therapy

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

A synthetic compound developed in the lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center mimics the cellular protein Smac, broadcasting a message to cancer cells that triggers their destruction. In a study published in Cancer Cell, the researchers--led by Dr. Xiaodong Wang--found that the compound induced cell death in about one quarter of all the lung-cancer lines tested while demonstrating activity against some types of breast cancer. Wang says the scientific team found that the cell lines that were sensitive to the action of synthetic Smac produced tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa), which by itself promotes the development of cancer. Combined with the compound, though, the cells die.

"The apparent ability of a Smac mimetic, as a single agent, to induce cell death in nearly one-quarter of lung-cancer cell lines tested was quite remarkable," said Dr. Wang, who is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at UT Southwestern.

- check out the release
- read the UPI report on the compound

Related Articles:
Synthetic biology spawns fresh approach to antibiotics. Report
Scripps team finds path to synthesizing natural compounds. Report

ALSO NOTED: Wilmut predicts common stem cell procedures; NGF a new biomarker for liver cancer; The debate over genetics;

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Renowned scientist Ian Wilmut predicts that the first stem cell therapies will become available in about a decade and quickly become as common as antibiotics. Report

A small subset of adult testes cells in mice have been coaxed into a variety of cell types for functional blood vessels, cardiac tissue and brain cells. The research work, accomplished by scientists with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, indicates that the process could be used to develop new therapies for males suffering from a variety of ailments, such as heart disease and Alzheimer's. Report

An investigator at the University of Connecticut Health Center is developing a new breed of mice that is designed not to reject embryonic stem cells with an eye to repairing damaged bones and tissue. Report

A state judge has blocked an effort by pro-life groups to stop a vote on a $450 million bond program to back stem cell research in New Jersey. Report

A German scientist who claims to have saved the life of a patient suffering from acute cardiogenic shock by transplanting adult stem cells to the diseased site is being accused by colleagues of making unscientific assertions at a time that German lawmakers are debating the country's stem cell law. Article

Two human studies in South Florida will test whether stem cells can repair damaged heart muscles. Report

Scientists have developed unique technology to grow stem cells and other tissue in the laboratory in conditions similar to the way they grow in the human body. The technology, developed and patented by scientists at Durham University and its spin-out company ReInnervate Limited, is a plastic scaffold which allows cells to be grown in a more realistic three-dimensional (3D) form compared to the traditional flat surface of a Petri dish. Release

Cancer Research

Nerve growth factor, or NGF, may prove an effective biomarker for liver cancer. Report

One chemical event involving the Yap protein may play a key role in cancer, researchers say. And if they're right, they may have identified an important new target for cancer drugs. Report

Chinese researchers have identified a liver cancer marker in blood that may help identify patients with early-stage liver cancer and predict how well they'll do after treatment. Report

Genetics

A study at the NIH has determined that mutations in the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene is responsible for Job's Syndrome, a rare and painful disorder. There have been 250 reported cases of this affliction. Report

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found nearly 350 genes related to female fertility. Their research may open the door to much wider study in the poorly understood field of infertility. Report

British researchers say that they believe that a gene involved in the growth of connective tissue plays a key role in scleroderma. Report

Scientists have documented the genetic sequence of the parasite Brugia malayi, creating multiple new drug targets. Report

A genetic region on chromosome 9 which includes two genes called complement component 5 (C5) and TNF receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1) are closely associated with rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Report

More Research

Four years after the mapping of the human genome, science is waking up to the fact that there's a lot to disease that can't be explained by genetics. Biological processes occur in areas of DNA with no genes, upending the traditional dogma regarding biology. Article

New insights into a protein known as SRP-6 may shed light on ways to fight cancer or prevent heart disease and other ailments. By depriving cells of the protein, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh believe they may have found a key mechanism in controlling necrosis. Report

Scientists at Rice University have made the first optical images of carbon nanotubes inside of a living organism. Report

An editorial in the San Diego Union-Tribune concludes that the NIH should receive more funding in order to sufficiently back biomedical research. Editorial

Press Release: Reducing Insulin Signaling in the Brain Can Prolong Lifespan

Maureen Martino — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:45:38 -0400

One route to a long and healthy life may be establishing the right balance in insulin signaling between the brain and the rest of the body, according to new research from Children’s Hospital Boston. The study, published in the July 20 issue of Science, not only reinforces the value of exercising and eating in moderation, but also helps explain a paradox in longevity research.

Insulin sends a vital signal throughout the body telling cells to use sugar from the blood. But when cells become less sensitive to insulin, which often happens as we age and gain weight, the body must make more insulin to keep sugar under control and avoid type 2 diabetes. For a long time, clinicians and scientists thought that “more insulin was a good thing,” says Morris White, PhD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in Children’s Division of Endocrinology, who led the new study. “But the increased insulin also gets into the brain, where it can be detrimental.”

Studies in the worm C. elegans and in fruit flies show that reducing insulin signaling lengthens lifespan. But in humans and rodents, reducing insulin signaling often causes diabetes. The view that insulin could reduce lifespan is difficult to reconcile with decades of clinical practice and scientific investigation to treat diabetes.

White suspected that the key to explaining this paradox—and to maximizing both health and longevity—is to reduce insulin signaling only in the brain. To test this idea, White’s team measured longevity and other characteristics in several groups of mice. In one group, they used a genetic trick to cut in half the amount of Irs2, a protein that carries the insulin signal inside the cell, in every cell of the body. Two other groups of mice were genetically engineered to have half, or nearly all, Irs2 removed only from the brain cells. Another group of normal mice served as controls.

“To our surprise, all of the engineered mice lived longer,” says Akiko Taguchi, PhD, first author of the study. Even more surprising, the mice lacking Irs2 only in the brain lived almost half a year longer than the normal mice – an 18 percent increase in lifespan – despite being overweight and having higher blood insulin levels, changes that usually reduce lifespan. These long-lived mice were more active in old age, retained youthful metabolic cycles (burning sugar by day and fat by night) and retained protective levels of anti-oxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, which protect against oxidative stress, or “biological rusting,” in the brain and body.

The mice with normal brain Irs2 levels aged less gracefully – they lost the metabolic rhythms of youth, became more sedentary, and had reduced anti-oxidant enzymes after meals, leaving them vulnerable to cellular damage. Such damage correlates with a host of age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, notes White.

White believes the study findings suggest a new approach to preventing diseases that shorten lifespan. “The engineered mice live longer because the diseases that kill them – cancer, cardiovascular disease and others – are being postponed by reducing insulin-like signaling in the brain,” he says, “regardless of how much insulin there is in the rest of the body.”

Drugs that regulate Irs2 signaling in the brain (but not elsewhere in the body) are one possible preventive strategy, but no such drug has yet been found. Targeted drugs will be important because Irs2 is needed in other tissues, particularly the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin.

“The easiest way to keep insulin levels low in the brain,” White says, “is old-fashioned diet and exercise.” Although obesity and sedentary lifestyles tune down the body’s sensitivity to insulin, exercise can bring it back and reduce blood insulin levels. Eating smaller meals keeps insulin low in the bloodstream, ensuring that less reaches the brain. The new drugs designed to fight insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes might have a similar effect.

“This study provides a new explanation of why it’s good to exercise and not eat too much,” says White. “It has less to do with how we look, and more to do with a healthy brain, especially in old age.”

The study also calls into question the long-term effects of insulin therapy for diabetes, White adds. “High insulin should be the short term solution to insulin resistance, because it might damage the brain in the long run,” he says. Better treatments for diabetes and healthy aging, he suggests, should concentrate on sensitizing the body’s cells to low amounts of insulin.

The work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Yamada Science Foundation.

Children’s Hospital Boston is home to the world’s largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 10 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children’s research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children’s Hospital Boston today is a 347-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children’s also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

Two new diabetes drug targets identified

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Scientists at Penn and Howard Hughes Medical Institute believe that their investigation of the role fat metabolism plays in the development of Type 2 diabetes has pointed to a new drug target. Their focus is a protein that plays a role in fat metabolism. The protein Akt2/PKB prevents fat metabolism by adding a phosphate group to PGC-1a, which is needed to trigger the genes needed for fat metabolism. Both PGC-1a and Akt2/PKB are good targets for new drug development, according to the researchers. The lead author is Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at Penn and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

- read the report

Related Articles:
Diabetes market in flux as FDA mandates new warnings. Report
Diabetes prevention spurs development programs. Report
Transplants offer possible new cure for diabetes. Report

ALSO NOTED: Mouse skin cells used in cloning; New approach to attacking tumors; PROs important in FDA approvals;

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Stem cell research

Researchers have cloned mice from mouse skin cells, raising the prospect of gaining human stem cells for therapeutic use that would be free of immune reactions. Release

Japanese scientists have developed a process to use stem cell-enriched fat cells in breast augmentation procedures. They're hoping to develop a more natural looking alternative to breast implants. Report

Human nerve stem cells transplanted into rats' damaged spinal cords have survived, grown and in some cases connected with the rats' own spinal cord cells in a Johns Hopkins study. Release

Embryonic stem cell banks in the U.S. and U.K. say they'll work together to help encourage research in the field while improving efficiency in making lines available to scientists. Report

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found a set of "master switches" that keep adult blood-forming stem cells in their primitive state. Unlocking the switches' code may one day enable scientists to grow new blood cells for transplant into patients with cancer and other bone marrow disorders. Release

The Iowa Senate approved a bill allowing embryonic stem cell research. Report

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has initiated a safety trial using an animal model of Parkinson's disease in primates. Release

Cancer research

A large animal study has shown that certain microsecond electrical pulses can punch nanoscale holes in the membranes of target cells without harming tissue scaffolding, including that in the blood vessels--a potential breakthrough in minimally invasive surgical treatments of tumors. Report

The same genetic mutations appear in several cancers, according to researchers, which raise the possibility that a drug for one may have multiple uses. Report

A team of scientists from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore have used liposomes to carry cancer therapies into a tumor, raising the possibility of a fresh way to attack tumors. To speed the activity of liposomes and enhance the therapy, the used the bacterium Clostridium to break down the liposomes and release the drugs more quickly. Report

Genetic fingerprints that reveal where a brain cell came from remain distinct even after the cell becomes a brain tumor, an international coalition of scientists will report in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research. Report

A study undertaken by a group of Spanish scientists, among which were members of the University Clinic of the University of Navarra and the Centre for Applied Medical Research, have recently discovered a new line of treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leucemia. The conclusions of the research have been published in Blood, the official journal of the American Haematology Association. Report

An Italian study has concluded that breast cancer patients taking tamoxifene can improve their rate of survival by switching to an aromatase inhibitor. Report

Researchers have presented a mouse model of non-small cell lung cancer which will serve as a useful tool to test the efficacy of novel chemotherapeutic drug therapies in the early stages of lung tumorigenesis. Their paper provides evidence to support the use of a relatively new class of drugs, called MEK inhibitors, for lung cancer patients whose tumors contain mutations in the BRaf gene. Release

Researchers have discovered that the same genetic regulator that triggers growth of stem cells during brain development also plays a central role in the development of the lethal brain cancer malignant glioma. In experiments on mice with such gliomas, they showed that knocking out the function of a particular regulatory protein, Olig2, almost completely eliminated tumor formation. Release

A study finds that p38-alpha MAPK can sense oxidative stress in cells and respond by inhibiting tumor formation. The research provides insight into the specific mechanisms by which á suppresses the development of cancer and identifies possible targets for development of new anticancer therapeutics. Release

More Research

Patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, are playing an increasingly important role in determining whether or not the FDA approves a new therapy. Report

Scottish scientists were able to learn how to switch off and then slowly switch back on the MECP2 gene in mice, eliminating symptoms of Rett syndrome, an ailment quite similar to autism. The researchers are quick to point out that they're still uncertain of the procedure, but that it raises hopes for a long-term solution. Article

A second genetic defect has been uncovered that contributed to osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease which causes brittle, easily broken bones. Report

Three new studies show how a blood test can be used to determine if a fetus has any of a number of genetic diseases. And researchers involved in the studies say their work also points to the development of new therapies for in utero use. Report

A complex molecule and snake venom may provide researchers with a more reliable method of diagnosing human diseases and developing new drugs. Release

Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), the University of Iowa and Roche Molecular Systems are the first to identify a new gene variant that makes women more susceptible to developing heart disease. The affected gene is called Leukotriene C4 Synthase (LTC4S) and its variant could be identified through a genetic test at birth. The use of such a test would allow physicians to initiate preventative treatments to reduce or even eliminate the risk of heart disease in those women possessing the variant gene. Report

Researchers have shown for the first time that a mutated form of the human parkin gene inserted into Drosophila specifically results in the death of dopaminergic cells, ultimately resulting in Parkinson's-like motor dysfunction in the fly. Thus, the interaction of mutant parkin with dopamine may be key to understanding the cause of familial Parkinson's disease--Parkinson's that runs in families. Report

Université Laval Faculty of Medicine researchers have discovered that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements while on a weight loss program lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Report

In a finding that could have implications for AIDS vaccine design, researchers led by a team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have generated an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV surface protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody. Release

Just as homes have smoke detectors, cells have an enzyme that responds to a buildup of fatty acids by triggering the production of a key molecule in the biochemical pathway that breaks down these fatty acids, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Release

Scientists know that a better understanding of how proteins bond could lead to more effective treatments for genetic disorders and other life-threatening conditions. Now, a pair of Florida State University researchers' new theory has been proven to accurately predict the association rate for proteins. Their theory is outlined in the February issue of the scientific journal Structure. Release

A completely new approach to the study of Alzheimer's disease, initiated by a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, may solve a critical piece in the puzzle of the disease. This tragic neurological illness progressively erases memory in its millions of victims. The key to the new approach is understanding the way certain proteins in the brain fold, or rather "misfold." Release

For those who pumped up the volume one too many times, UC Irvine researchers may have found a treatment for the hearing damage loud music can cause. A low-pitched sound, the researchers discovered, applied by a simple MP3 player suppressed and provided temporary relief from the high-pitch ringing tone associated with tinnitus. Report

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston believe they've found a way to spot the biochemical profile of an inappropriate immune response to viral infection--an important step toward developing new therapies that may stop the fatal immune system meltdowns caused by such deadly pathogens as the Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever viruses, as well as the virus strain responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic. Report

Reactivated p53 gene plays role in fighting tumors

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:01:39 -0500

A team of researchers at MIT, Harvard Medical School and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have successfully reactivated the tumor suppressing gene p53, dramatically reducing and in some cases eliminating tumors in mice. And if a drug that reactivates p53 can be developed, they say, it could play a major role in fighting cancer. P53 mutations are involved in up to half of all cancer tumors. Several compounds have been identified that can switch the gene back on, but this new research provides compelling data that this approach could make a major impact on the disease. Under normal circumstances, p53 regulates a cell's ability to repair itself or destruct if it can't be fixed. The study used mice engineered so that the p53 gene was turned off. The scientists then reactivated the gene after tumors appeared.

- read the report on the p53 research from MIT

Related Articles:
MIT researchers develop tiny tumor sensor. Report
Nanoparticles used to destroy tumors. Report
Agent prevents tumors from developing in bones. Report

ALSO NOTED: Experts support use of primates; Biotech mosquito researched; Virus found in breast cancer tumors;

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:01:38 -0500

More Research

A panel of experts in the U.K. has concluded that the use of primates is a moral necessity in drug research. While each case requires individual review, primates offer crucial insights into potential cures for diseases that kill millions of people each year. Report

Researchers have been exploring ways to create a biotech mosquito that can be reengineered so that it can't carry diseases like dengue and malaria. Report

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is committing $83.5 million to fund new research into malaria. Report

An Australian researcher has found the same virus seen in cervical cancer in breast cancer tumors, leading him to suggest that some cases of breast cancer may be sexually transmitted. Report

A family history of pancreatic cancer helped researchers discover a gene mutation that was responsible for the deadly legacy. The disease kills 95 percent of the people who contract it in the first year. Report

A child who has received an experimental stem cell therapy for the deadly Baten disease has been released from the hospital. Doctors hope that implanting fetal neural stem cells in the brain will allow the child to begin naturally producing a missing enzyme. Report

A prominent scientist, R. Michael Roberts, says that a study that appeared in Science magazine last October relied on manipulated images of mouse embryos. Report

A number of researchers are zeroing in on the genetic causes of autism. Report

Scientists have identified the first biochemical marker linked to sleep loss, an enzyme in saliva known as amylase, which increases in activity when sleep deprivation is prolonged. Release

Two Howard Hughes Medical Institute research teams working independently have discovered new information about how the botulinum neurotoxin shuts down neurons with deadly efficiency. By providing detailed views of the toxin plugged into its neuronal receptor, the new studies could aid efforts to engineer specialized versions of the powerful neurotoxin that is used to treat a wide array of medical problems. Release

Researchers say that male circumcision appears to reduce the risk of contracting AIDS by up to half. And some groups fighting the disease say they may fund the procedure. Report

Researchers have concluded that the spread of HIV is fueling malaria, and vice versa. Release

Tools and Technology

Researchers led by Dean Felsher at Stanford University School of Medicine, and bioengineers at Cell Biosciences in Palo Alto, collaborated to develop an automated, high-throughput, nano-fluidic system that was able to measure the levels of three oncoproteins: MYC, BCL2, and AKT, in tiny samples drawn as very fine needle aspirates from hematopoetic tumor cells in preclinical transgenic mouse models. The nano-fluidic system physically separates the proteins in very small capillary tubes and then uses antibodies for protein detection. It was also tested on human lymphoma samples. Release

Healthcare workers around the globe have been gaining access to new GreeneChip diagnostic devices that uses genetic material to identify any of 30,000 various bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. The workers place a sample of body fluid on the slide, which then binds with the related genetic material, allowing for rapid identification. Report

Columbia University has inked a licensing deal for a next-generation DNA sequencing technology to Intelligent Bio-Systems. This technology was invented by Dr. Jingyue Ju, professor of chemical engineering and head of DNA sequencing and chemical biology. The fundamentals of this new technology are being published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Release

The Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology and AlgoNomics have joined forces to develop a technology that verifies whether certain proteins induce an immune response in humans. The collaboration between VIB and AlgoNomics has yielded a biological test that supplements the current computer simulations. The additional data enable a more precise determination of the immune response. Report

Deals and Dollars

Phylonix Pharmaceuticals has received a $500,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Grant from the National Science Foundation to assess potential toxic effects of chemicals on the development of human organs and tissues using a panel of assays performed in zebrafish. Release

Congress has set aside a billion dollars that can be used to fund research to support its controversial Project BioShield. Report

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has announced the winners of its 2007 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. At its meeting on 7 December 2006, the DFG Joint Committee named ten scientists and academics--eight men and two women--as recipients of the research award. For the first time, the prize winners for 2007 will receive up to €2.5 million (previously it was €1.55 million) and be able to use these funds flexibly over a period of seven years (previously: five years) to finance their research. Release

HHMI unveils ambitious $500M research campus

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

The Janelia Farm Research Campus, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's $500 million stand-alone lab in Ashburn, VA, officially opens next month with the mission to undertake long-term biomedical research. Until now, HHMI has been a generous supporter of research programs at other institutions. Now it will both support programs around the world as well as fund research at the new campus. On campus, researchers will be free to pursue a variety of programs that are likely to take years to bear the fruit, including research on the human brain. And researchers will be allowed to devote all of their time to the research without any of the usual demands to teach or write new grant proposals. Some 500 scientists have applied so far to become one of the 24 group leaders that will be brought on by 2010.

- read the Wall Street Journal article on the research campus (sub. req.)

Genetic mutation linked to risk of infection

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Researchers in France have published new findings that support the idea that alterations in a single gene can make people susceptible to certain infections. Their work suggests a new approach to treating potentially deadly cases of brain inflammation. The scientists from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Necker Medical School in Paris reported on two patients who shared a genetic mutation and a susceptibility to herpes simplex encephalitis, which infects 80 percent of adults. In the vast majority of cases the symptoms are mild, but in some cases victims suffer potentially lethal inflammation of the brain.

Researchers began to hypothesize several years ago that victims of inflammation may be genetically exposed to the condition. Without a common family history of the disease, though, the researchers had to dig deeper, and found that people who had parents who were blood relatives were more likely to have two copies of a faulty gene. In one case, researchers found the patient was unable to produce type I interferon, an immune signaling molecule that left him susceptible to infections. That patient and later a second patient were found to have two copies of the mutated UNC93B gene. Their work suggests that in the future inflammation victims may be given type I interferon along with standard therapy to replace the immune signaling molecule that their bodies lack.

- read this article on the mutation from eMaxHealth

Researchers find molecular link to aging

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

A single molecular switch plays a central role in inducing stem cells in the brain, pancreas, and blood to lose function as they age, researchers have found. Mice lacking that switch show considerably reduced aging-related decline in stem cell function and tissue regeneration. "People tend to think that old tissues have less regenerative capacity because they are wearing out," said Sean J. Morrison, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of Michigan who led the study of the switch's role in the brain. "This work shows that they are not just wearing out; they are actively shutting themselves down."

- see the release on the discovery